The smell comes from a base when the fish breaks down. That's why a spritz of lemon is such a common thing; it helps to bring the pH back down. I'm a big fan of a simple grilled salmon. Wrap it in aluminum foil with garlic salt. Cook, and spritz with lemon when it's done.

It depends on the fish. Growing up, my mom would buy very cheap white fish and fry it in a ton of oil, so I always assumed I just hated fish. As an adult I have been able to try lots of other fish dishes and enjoyed just about all of them.

I agree for the most part, however, I fucking love sushi.

So it has something to do with cooking it that makes it bad imo

Depends on preparation, like anything else. You could eat an egg raw or burnt to a crisp and it would be a horrible experience, but if you have a recipe where it works well on its own or have experience with seasoning and combining it with other ingredients it works wonderfully as a meal.

Fish is similar, although I agree that some preparations are more appetizing than others to most people. You'll probably have more people clamoring for sushi or fish 'n chips (deep fried prep) rather than baked in an oven or grilled in a pan.

Also, some fish just are not worth eating, for sure.

What kind of shit quality canteen boiled fish did you only get in your life lol.

There are so many kinds of fish with so many different kind of cooking them, you can't just not like fish in general.

And I am not an especially big fan or expert of fish myself, I just think this statement can not be correct/accurate.

I eat fish twice a day It's incredibly healthy

Salmon fillet sections, coated in olive oil, dusted with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder, then cooked in an air fryer for 8 minutes. Serve with Spanish rice and oven-roasted asparagus (coated in olive oil, with a bit of S&P, broil in oven on Low for ~10 minutes, or until tips start to brown slightly). Yummy.... Kids keep asking for it, but shit's expensive 😅. I also just leave the skin on. Much easier to handle. Some eat it, I don't.

Another one is fish tacos with.....fishsticks. We call them "Del Taco style", and they're a hit in my house. Basic fishsticks, sour cream, halved cherry tomatoes, avocado dressing, shredded cabbage, and fresh lime slices. Served on either lightly-fried corn tortillas, or warmed flour tortillas. Both taco-sized.

Growing up as a lower class white kid in the USA, my main exposure to fish for the first 20 years of my life were cheap, frozen fish sticks.

Turns out good fish doesn't taste "fishy" like old cheap gross frozen fish bits.

Maybe you've tried good, fresh fish and didn't have my experience, I dunno. But I have had God-tier fish dishes that are in the same category as quality steak is to canned dog food.