Spoilage changes in the deep water fish, smooth oreo dory during storage in ice

Smooth oreo dory ( Pseudocyttus maculatus ), a deep water fish, was monitored for changes during storage in ice. Based on the sensory evaluation of the cooked flesh the storage life was 8 days for acceptable quality fish.
Bacterial counts of flesh and surface, the loss of inosine monophosphate (IMP) and the K value showed significant changes during the storage life. Therefore these were found to be useful for monitoring loss of freshness and development of spoilage. After 13 days there were off flavours in the cooked fish, dephosphorylation of IMP had levelled off, and the K value had reached 70%.
The changes that occurred during storage of this deep water species in ice were similar to those changes commonly observed in demersal species from shallow temperate coastal waters.