The behavior of the natural microflora of Mediterannean gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata) was monitored during aerobic storage at different isothermal conditions from 0 to 15°C. The growth data of pseudomonads, established as the specific spoilage organisms of aerobically stored gilt-head seabream, combined with data from previously published experiments, were used to model the effect of temperature on pseudomonad growth using a Belehradek type model. The nominal minimum temperature parameters of the Belehradek model (T min ) for the maximum specific growth rate ( max ) and the lag phase (t Lag ) were determined to be ؊11.8 and ؊12.8°C, respectively. The applicability of the model in predicting pseudomonad growth on fish at fluctuating temperatures was evaluated by comparing predictions with observed growth in experiments under dynamic conditions. Temperature scenarios designed in the laboratory and simulation of real temperature profiles observed in the fish chill chain were used. Bias and accuracy factors were used as comparison indices and ranged from 0.91 to 1.17 and from 1.11 to 1.17, respectively. The average percent difference between shelf life predicted based on pseudomonad growth and shelf life experimentally determined by sensory analysis for all temperature profiles tested was 5.8%, indicating that the model is able to predict accurately fish quality in real-world conditions.Fresh fish are among the most perishable food products, and the monitoring and controlling of fish quality is one of the main goals in the fish industry. Fish shelf life is influenced by a number of factors, such as initial microbiological quality, season, handling, and feeding (17,37,40,41) and consequently can vary significantly from batch to batch. The limited and variable shelf lives of fish are major problems for fish quality assurance. This is the reason for the extensive research which has been carried out in the last few decades on the development of direct product methods (microbial, sensory, and biochemical) for the evaluation of fish spoilage (14,15,16). Nevertheless, several problems are related to the use of these methods mainly due to time and sensitivity limitations. An alternative to direct product testing is predictive microbiology. Predictions of food quality can improve significantly distribution and marketing, especially for chilled foods such as fish (28).Application of mathematical modeling for shelf life prediction requires sufficient knowledge of the product spoilage mechanisms (20). In the case of fish and fish products, spoilage is caused by a fraction of the total fish microflora, the specific spoilage organisms (SSO) (16). Since temperature is one of the most important factors influencing microbial growth, modeling the growth of the SSO as a function of temperature is essential in shelf life prediction. Although a large number of models for the prediction of growth of spoilage organisms at various temperatures have been developed, the majority of these studies have been carried out under constant cond...