Since there are a number of board members that are on Vascepa...I suggest the following test...
Everyone Open a Vascepa capsule and leave it and the contents lying around the house for 24 hours..(Not I discovered some capsules were leaking)...You will not detect any terrible smell...Even at 48 hours there might be just a hint of an aroma..not what I would call fishy...
JL, I prefer to swallow all Vascepa capsules prescribed whole(without breakage or chewing) per label instructions, rather than wasting contents of a capsule.
What does, or does not, happen to the contents of a broken V capsule when exposed to air for 24-48 hours in a household atmosphere is of no special scientific interest to me. That experiment does not resemble the conditions of use that have been familiar to me for the last 5+ years.