Fresh fish shouldn't smell at all. You can tell the freshness of the (whole) fish by holding it on it's side by the head; fish that are fresh don't "bend" - even flat fish such as sole.

If you can't find fresh fish at your local market they're probably being stocked by industrial trawlers, which keep their huge nets "out" for days at a time at depths not usually fished at. They're a major cause of over-fishing, catching fish people generally wouldn't eat because of the depth at which they live (usually ugly and tasteless), and because their nets are left out for so long the fish are dead long before they're brought to shore.

It's better to buy fish from small sellers near the coast (if possible; don't know your location). You may end up paying a little more, but you'll be helping the small fishing companies "stay afloat" in the current economic climate and "voting with your money" against the industrial trawlers causing much damage to the ecology.

If this isn't possible you may be able to reduce the smell of the fish by soaking it in milk for a short while (works better with white fish). An alternative which works great with darker fish like mackerel and sea bass is to "spice the hell out of it". Dark fish take on strong flavours very well, so throw on some BBQ sauce or chillis if you're not super-strict paleo.

When it comes to canned fish, try the fish preserved in oil or tomato sauce rather than in brine/salt-water. While there will still be some smell, it's not as strong as that in brine.

Since becoming paleo I've started making a simple lunch for eating at work which is basically a tin of tuna in sunflower oil, drained, with a few spoonfuls of fresh mayo and some dried herbs. It's quick, easy, tasty, and provides a nice protein hit after my morning gym session!

I used to force myself to eat canned fish and I HATED it. I don't do it anymore. It's not worth it psychologically and perhaps the bad smell is a cue that it's oxidized.

I buy fresh fish now (or get sashimi), I never have a problem with fishy smell.

it is a myth that fresh fish doesn't smell!! AND the fattier, the smellier. if you don't believe this, go fish for salmon. it smells up the boat when we bring it in. halibut and rockfish are pretty lean and are way less smelly than salmon. also the smell and fat is next to the skin so if you remove the skin, you remove much of the smell.

What things smell like is partly an individual and learned cultural response.

Some foods from traditional cultures are pretty unpalatable to modern tastes. I suspect some of our ancestors were less picky about what they ate than we are now :)

18 Stinky Foods From Around the World

Check out the following:

Surströmming (fermented herring).

Kiviak (liquified rotten seabird).

Hákarl (fermented shark).

Hongeo (rotten korean skate fish).

Shrimp Paste (left out in the sun to rot).

Eating canned tuna by itself pretty much feels like force feeding. Most people add mayo and relish to make it more flavorful.

Agreed... many types of fish still smell when fresh but the smell is different. To me, I LOVE the smell of a fresh fish market!!!

It is what you are used to and if you are used to steak n potatoes while growing up anything outside of your norm will smell funny. (If you're a westerner, curry may really turn your stomach, for instance.)

Humanity evolved MOSTLY around the shores of oceans, lakes and rivers and we evolved eating fish! But even meat stores better than fish. As our populations exploded, shoreline land got very scarce! Once we as a society started to store food (Neolithic), we learned that, even if fish was available, it did not store well and so we switched to other foods.

BTW... You watch... MOST of the time, if moms like fish then the kids like fish! lol

My nickname at work is 'fishman' for this very reason lol