I don't see where you are, but where I live (northwestern IL), anything "fresh" would actually be thawed, no matter what they say. If I'm going to buy something previously frozen, I'd much rather buy them frozen if I can get individually quick frozen (IQF) (some scallops come to the store in a large frozen block, more than most of us could possibly use). The fact is that the ones I can buy locally are so good, no one can tell the difference -- probably because they're never going to taste them side-by-side. I'm happy with them. The nearest large airport is a 3 hour drive away, trust me, what is being sold is thawed, not fresh. Not like clams, oysters and lobsters, which I can sometimes buy or special order live.