There is one fact that stands out to me, but has not been mentioned. All of us brine our fish in some way, all of our brines must include some form of sodium, sodium is a cure. Highly salted meats have been in existance for centuries. It keeps away the nasty bacterias.

As to our product getting up to room tempurature. (68 degrees) I doubt there is an individual on this board that has allowed the "product" to become room temp while processing. With multiple fish to fillet I always use the two cooler method.

My fish comes from the fridge or freeze, is cut to size, and straight into the fridge for 24 hours in the "brine" (salt).

I let my fish stand for an hour + until the tacky film is formed. The fish is still cool and has not reached an internal room temp.

The smoker has been preheating while the tack has set up....Straight in it goes...Never had a problem, and highley doubt I ever will.