Fresh fish storage starts with a cold trip home
Choose fish that is refrigerated or displayed on a thick bed of fresh ice. Fresh fish should smell mild, not fishy, sour, or ammonia-like. Pick up seafood near the end of your shopping trip so it spends less time out of refrigeration.
Take fish home promptly and put it in the refrigerator at 40°F or below. Do not leave perishable seafood at room temperature for more than two hours, or more than one hour when the air temperature is above 90°F. If your trip home will be long, use an insulated cooler with ice or cold packs.
Set up the refrigerator to prevent drips
Keep fresh fish wrapped and place it in a container or on a tray that can catch leaks. Store it below foods that will not be cooked, such as washed produce and leftovers. This helps keep raw seafood juices from reaching ready-to-eat food.
Check the refrigerator temperature with an appliance thermometer rather than relying only on its dial. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below. If you use ice to help keep fish cold, keep the fish contained and replace melting ice as needed; ice does not replace a properly chilled refrigerator.
Use it soon or freeze it
Plan to use refrigerated fish within two days of purchase. If that will not happen, wrap it tightly in moisture-proof packaging and freeze it promptly. Label the package with the fish type and the date so you can identify it later.
Keep the freezer at 0°F or below. Food kept continuously frozen at that temperature remains safe, although quality can decline over time. Freezing does not make fish that was mishandled before freezing safe to eat, so start with fish that has been kept cold.
Thaw without warming the fish
The refrigerator is a straightforward place to thaw frozen fish because it keeps the fish cold while it defrosts. Put the package on a tray or in a container to catch liquid. Allow enough time for it to thaw before the meal you have planned.
For faster thawing, keep fish in a leakproof bag and submerge it in cold water, or use the microwave's defrost setting. Cook fish thawed by either faster method immediately. Do not thaw fish on the counter, where the outside can warm while the center is still frozen.
Handle and cook it carefully
Wash hands with soap and water before and after handling raw fish. Use separate utensils and cutting surfaces for raw seafood and ready-to-eat foods, then wash equipment that touched the raw fish. Keep fish refrigerated until you are ready to prepare it.
Cook fish to an internal temperature of 145°F, using a food thermometer in the thickest part. FDA also describes cooked fish as opaque and separating easily with a fork. If fish has a sour, rancid, fishy, or ammonia-like odor, do not eat it; a normal smell alone cannot confirm that mishandled fish is safe.
Use the details you have
Questions that need a little more context
How long can fresh fish stay in the refrigerator?
FDA recommends using fresh seafood within two days of purchase when it is kept in a refrigerator at 40°F or below. If you will not use it in that period, wrap it tightly and freeze it.
Should I put fresh fish directly on ice in the refrigerator?
Ice can help keep fish cold, but contain the fish and catch any meltwater or leaks. Check that the refrigerator itself remains at 40°F or below. Do not let raw fish juices contact other foods.
Can I thaw fish on the kitchen counter?
No. Thaw fish in the refrigerator, or use cold water or a microwave when you can cook it immediately afterward. Counter thawing can let the outside warm while the center remains frozen.
Can I tell whether stored fish is safe by smelling it?
An off odor is a reason not to eat fish, but a normal smell does not prove it was stored safely. Use its handling history, time out of refrigeration, and official temperature guidance when deciding what to keep.
Read the original guidance
We checked these links on September 17, 2026. The numbered badges jump to this source list; a source listed here does not support every sentence above. Agency pages and product instructions can change, so open the relevant link when making a current decision.
Supports seafood selection, refrigeration within two days, freezing, thawing, and cooking guidance.
Supports refrigerator and freezer temperatures, appliance thermometer use, and cold-storage practices.
Supports cleaning, separating raw foods, cooking, chilling, and limits on time out of refrigeration.
Limits of this guide: CrispSum cannot inspect a specific food or reconstruct its temperature and handling history. Follow the product label and current official instructions for recalls, outages, illness, and emergencies.
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