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Frozen sprats (Sprattus sprattus sprattus) were thawed and separated into three lots: two lots were wrapped and kept chilled in a refrigerator at 4C, one wrapped in aluminum foil (AF), the other in cling film (CF) and a third lot left unpackaged and held in melting ice. Biochemical tests, performed at intervals over a 16‐day period, showed better quality and an extension of shelf‐life for sprats stored unpackaged in ice compared with those held at 4C packed in AF or CF. The levels of trimethylamine oxide‐nitrogen (TMAO‐N) decreased throughout storage and significant differences (P<0.05) were observed between the lot in ice and the lots stored in AF or CF (P<0.05). However, significant differences (P<0.05) were not observed between AF and CF lots during the experiment. Increases in total volatile base nitrogen (TVB‐N) and trimethylamine‐nitrogen (TMA‐N) were significantly retarded, as were reductions in sensory quality, in the ice‐stored fish compared with packaged, refrigerated fish.