Fresh fish does not smell or have an odor.
Not necessarily so: I speared one perfectly alive fish, that totally grossed me out when I cleaned it. I think it had just swallowed a turd dumped from a boat. Also, cleaning some abalone I harvested at 85 feet depth off Bird Rock (La Jolla) just about made me unable to eat them. Their guts STINK to high heaven, even if they are still alive. This was within about an hour after prying them off the rocks. The pasta with abalone sauce I made from their feet was wonderful, but you really need a nose plug to clean them.
