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How long does Fish last in the freezer?

6 kinds · each with its own window

Fish, raw but headed and gutted · From purchase · in the freezer

Best quality by6 months

Counted from the day you bought it

USDA FoodKeeper figure · as published

How this date is worked out

From KeepsUntilIt is past the dateThe FDA and USDA FSIS rules, and where to ask when a date runs out Where these numbers come fromThe USDA source, the parse rules and what this site cannot tell you Every food on the siteOne page, every product, longest first

Turning the range into a date

Fish (raw but headed and gutted) keeps 6 months in the freezer. Enter a day and each row becomes a calendar date, worked out in your browser.

Fish, hot smoked, air pack

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by9 months to 12 months after the day you bought it
From purchase · in the fridgeUse by14 days to 45 days after the day you bought it

Fish, hot smoked, vacuum pack

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by6 months to 12 months after the day you bought it
From purchase · in the fridgeUse by14 days to 45 days after the day you bought it

Fish, cold smoked, air pack

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by9 months to 12 months after the day you bought it
From purchase · in the fridgeUse by14 days to 30 days after the day you bought it

Fish, cold smoked, vacuum pack

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by9 months to 12 months after the day you bought it
From purchase · in the fridgeUse by21 days to 30 days after the day you bought it

Fish, breaded

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by18 months after the day you bought it

Fish, raw but headed and gutted

From purchase · in the freezerBest quality by6 months after the day you bought it
After cooking · in the fridgeUse by3 days to 4 days after the day you stored it

Every storage figure the USDA publishes for this item

USDA FoodKeeper lists 6 kinds under Fish.

Fish, hot smoked, air pack

From purchase · in the freezer9 months to 12 months
From purchase · in the fridge14 days to 45 days

Fish, hot smoked, vacuum pack

From purchase · in the freezer6 months to 12 months
From purchase · in the fridge14 days to 45 days

Fish, cold smoked, air pack

From purchase · in the freezer9 months to 12 months
From purchase · in the fridge14 days to 30 days

Fish, cold smoked, vacuum pack

From purchase · in the freezer9 months to 12 months
From purchase · in the fridge21 days to 30 days

Fish, breaded

From purchase · in the freezer18 months
In the fridgenot recommended

Fish, raw but headed and gutted

From purchase · in the freezer6 months
After cooking · in the fridge3 days to 4 days

What the USDA adds in words

Word for word from the FoodKeeper record.

Fish, breaded, in the freezer, from the day you bought it. Keep frozen. For safety, cook as directed.

Fish, breaded, in the refrigerator. Not recommended to refrigerate after cooking due to decreased quality.

Fish, raw but headed and gutted, in the freezer, from the day you bought it. Keep frozen. For safety, cook as directed.

Fish, raw but headed and gutted, in the refrigerator. Recommendation is for storage after cooking.

From KeepsUntilWhere these numbers come fromThe USDA source, the parse rules and what this site cannot tell you

What USDA FSIS and the FDA say about this food

For: Fish, raw but headed and gutted

Thawing
Thaw frozen seafood gradually by placing it in the refrigerator overnight. If you have to thaw seafood quickly, either seal it in a plastic bag and immerse it in cold water, or — if the food will be cooked immediately thereafter — microwave it on the “defrost” setting and stop the defrost cycle while the fish is still icy but pliable.

FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, retrieved 4 November 2026. Quoted word for word.

Other foods on the same USDA shelf

Food safety rules that apply to every food

Keep the refrigerator temperature at or below 40° F (4° C). The freezer temperature should be 0° F (-18° C).
Never allow meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or produce or other foods that require refrigeration to sit at room temperature for more than two hours—one hour if the air temperature is above 90° F.
Though food will be safe indefinitely at 0° F, quality will decrease the longer the food is in the freezer.
Never thaw food at room temperature, such as on the counter top. There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter, or in hot water and must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours.
If you're not sure or if the food looks questionable, throw it out.

Sources: FDA: are you storing food safely · FDA: safe food handling · USDA FSIS: safe defrosting.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure and note on this page is reproduced from USDA FoodKeeper as published; the calendar date is the only arithmetic, and it runs in your browser.

Source: USDA FoodKeeper, retrieved 1 September 2026. A figure that does not match the source? Tell us. How the site is built.

The answer at the top is for Fish, raw but headed and gutted, the kind this site shows first; every kind the USDA lists under this name is printed with its own figures.

USDA index terms: air pack, bread, breaded, cold, cold smoked, gutted, headed, hot, hot smoked, pack, raw, smoked, vacuum, vacuum pack

KeepsUntil is an independent reference built on public USDA data. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration. Storage times are reproduced from USDA FoodKeeper as published; when in doubt, follow the FDA and USDA FSIS guidance linked on every food page.