Can I eat the Tilapia

[Jeff S]

I had a power outage and lost 47 lbs of Tilapia to lack of oxygen. Are they still edible? If so how do I store them while waiting to fillet them? Seems like all the big ones died.

[David]

Well the easy answer is no. But if you know why they died then maybe. When you catch fish and leave them on a stringer, do you eat the ones that died, or only the ones that are still alive when you put them in the cooler? How long were the fish dead and in what temperature? Death by lack of oxygen should not affect the meat. Also many other causes of death affect the gills and internal organs, not the meat. But dead organic matter decaying at temperatures above refrigerated conditions will breed bacteria quickly. If cooked properly many pathogens are neutralized. I ate some catfish fillets from (freshly) dead or dying fish a few months back and I'm still okay. Was it worth the risk? In my situation I viewed the risk as low or miniscule. I filleted them immediately and froze the fillets for later use. I cooked them properly and enjoyed the meal.

[Jeff S]

I gave the first ones to a guy and he ate them the same day with no problems. I threw about 30 lbs away.