Worms in Fish

[kingtin]

Thought I'd put this here as the issue has been raised before and this response of mine was in reply to another thread but I thought it needed a more public airing.............................

You'd be surprised just how many fish actually carry worms and you never get to know about 'em 'cause they are buried in the flesh. The ones you easily see are invariably of a reddish colour but there are some (most) that are a cream colour and are not seen easily. These are actually more prolific than the red ones but being coloured similarly to the fish flesh they go un-noticed. Worm infestation of European cod is as high as 50% :o

They are not harmful to humans as they are killed in the cooking process............I reckon most folk who eat fish have eaten the worms at some time or other. OTOH, if you're one of those who eats raw fish, then although the human stomach will eventually kill the worm, they can make life a little unpleasant prior to the death of the worm. All EU sushi can only be served via frozen fish, so let that be a warning ;D

Sometimes, if the worm has got past the fish gut into the flesh, the worms will surface from the flesh if the fillets are left in the fridge overnight and they can be picked off.

They are more often found in the left-hand side of the fish and research suggests that is because the worm migrates from the gut and because there are less obstructions such as the liver on that side, they therefore choose the easiest migratory route.

If you are particularly squeemish and would rather not eat cooked worms........thank you ;D detection can be achieved by placing the fillets on a sheet of glass and shining a powerful torch from underneath. This will detect most of the larger worms but only has an overall success rate of approx 40%

Enjoy ;D

kev

[roz]

Interesting topic Kev.

I've seen plenty in the flesh of yellow tail kings, it certainly didn't stop me from frying up the fillets.

The worst fish I've encountered for parasites was a small marlin I caught ages back (and ate) not only did it have worms in it's flesh, but was covered in literally hundreds of small dark coloured parasites. The marlin seemed fine apart from all the extra baggage.

On the NSW south coast barracouta were always full of worms, they have a slighty darker flesh and the worms could be easily seen.

I did read that there is absolutely no risk what so ever, in eating seafood that carries these parasites. It's likely we all have anyway. Sorry I can't find the publication I'm quoting from.

r.

[reidy]

the bigger the baracouta (the southern species not cuda) carry heaps of parasitic worms esp. around the spawn.yes cooking doe's kill them but worm infested fish flesh is not to my liking.
Cheers
Reidy

[Custaro]

How did those yellow tail fillets go Roz? I was under the impression it was that parasite that caused the fillets to cook like poop. Some kingies I caught went bad but I never actually saw this worm in the flesh.

Grubs seem to be common in trout and cod up here off Yeppoon. I don't call them worms as they are short n fat and ooze a black mess just like garden grubs. Usually these things live under the fatty layer in the gut against the rib cage and along the spine. One cod I recently caught some big ones the size of a thumb within the flesh, but after a few surgical procedures the fillet was fit for a king. Just don't bring it up at the table "hey this is the cod with the big grubs...it tastes fine."

Clay

[tunaticer]

I once saw footage of guys hosing worms from jemfish fillets in NZ prior to packaging for export, the vid zoomed right in on the fillet and it appeared to have about 3 to 4 worms per square inch. Apparently this is standard practice for these fish.

[Nic]

Yeah we see a lot of the reddish ones in reefies. I thin out the thicker fillets so I can see all the worms (hopefully), and dig them out. And if I miss any, well... they get their wormy arses fried. Extra protein!

I didn't know live worms caused discomfort before they are digested. I wonder what it feels like?

[kingtin]

Yeah we see a lot of the reddish ones in reefies. I thin out the thicker fillets so I can see all the worms (hopefully), and dig them out. And if I miss any, well... they get their wormy arses fried. Extra protein!

I didn't know live worms caused discomfort before they are digested. I wonder what it feels like?

Next time you catch a worm infested reefie, don't cook it before eating..............let us know how you feel after..............if you can make it out of the loo ;D

kev

[SeaHunt]

You are all making me sick.:worried2: :wreck:

I am starting to think my pitiful take home rate is not such a bad thing. :-/

[DAZMC1]

Trag Jew always have lots of worms. I think thats why they never used to be commercially fished, but could be wrong.

[RayDeR]

Thought I'd put this here as the issue has been raised ... All EU sushi can only be served via frozen fish, so let that be a warning ;D

Enjoy ;D
kev


G'day Kev!

Sushi is a rice roll wrapped in dried seaweed with some filling which may or may not be seafood. It's very popular with "dieters" as a take-away lunch.

Sushimi/Sashimi is raw fish.

Ray de R

[fishplukka]

hi people i was fishing in maroochy down past bli bli and caught a few flattie and one of them had worms ! they were on the under siide of the head didnt seem to be much flesh there !they were about 2 mm long and as thick as a pin never seen them in that possie before ?"

[Dirtysanchez]

Ummmph, phew, there goes my lunch :(

Perhaps I should be thankful I am a sh1t fisherman ? How about Bream and whiting from the surf ? pls say not applicable ;D

[tunaticer]

If worms in fish tend to turn your guts DO NOT look at a piece of cheese under a microscope!!

As an animal on this planet humans are host to hundreds of parasites every day of our lives.

[Dirtysanchez]

Hence why I only have cheese on pizza..

Micro bacteria presumbaly ?

Think I will give my fish some combantrum before I eat them :(

[kingtin]

G'day Kev!

Sushi is a rice roll wrapped in dried seaweed with some filling which may or may not be seafood. It's very popular with "dieters" as a take-away lunch.

Sushimi/Sashimi is raw fish.

Ray de R

I stand corrected Ray.............sushimi it is............a slip of the finger ::) ;D


kev

[oldboot]

If you are worried about worms in fish......worms in meat are more of a problem and can most certainly effect your health......you can get a tape worm by eating beef/ lamb/pork that has in intermediate form of the tape worm in its flesh... and they are almost imposible to spot visulay.

eating the flesh of sheep with liver flukes can allow you to contract an infestation...... this can kill you

there is a particular worm like creature that you can get infested by from eating raw or undercooked beef .... this is a tiny creature that lives in your brain and can bee seen only by byopsy........in some populations the infestation rate is a significant portion of the population.

almost without exception all of these are killed by proper cooking.... most however survive normal refrigeration just fine.


I think you will understand why I will not eat raw meat of any type including fish.
AND I like my steak,.... well done.

I believe that the eskimos consider maggots from stored whale flesh a particularly special delicay.

If you are even the least squeamish.... do not even start to investigate parasites.
It has been enough to send people vegitarian..... but remember most of the intestinal worms have part of their life cycle on foaliage and this is the primary channel of infestation ........so you'll give up salad too.

If you are having difficulty with children taking medication..... tell them all about parasites with lots of pictures.... and then tell them it is a worm tablet
Very much a tried and true method in the 50's and 60's.

Whe knew a family that has a boarding kennel and was a do breeder...... MRS used to worm the dogs, the children and the husband every 6 months without fail;D

Worrrrms.

cheers

[roz]

How did those yellow tail fillets go Roz? I was under the impression it was that parasite that caused the fillets to cook like poop. Some kingies I caught went bad but I never actually saw this worm in the flesh.

Grubs seem to be common in trout and cod up here off Yeppoon. I don't call them worms as they are short n fat and ooze a black mess just like garden grubs. Usually these things live under the fatty layer in the gut against the rib cage and along the spine. One cod I recently caught some big ones the size of a thumb within the flesh, but after a few surgical procedures the fillet was fit for a king. Just don't bring it up at the table "hey this is the cod with the big grubs...it tastes fine."

Clay

No Clay, the worms didn't change the texture or flavour, however I have heard of the odd kingie fillets turning mushie, but it seemed quite rare.

The only place I've heard it happening was off the Tweed and points north, never from the NSW south coast, of course I can't be 100% sure.

I really don't think worms in the flesh of fish is a big deal, normal part of nature.

Not to metion that at some point in our lives we've all had worms in our digestive systems LOL.

cheers roz.

[yellowbeard]

Coop told me that most of the blackfish that they clean are "full of grubs." Don't know why they told me, 'cause I don't be 'em anymore.

[brisryan]

Hi,

Ive never actually seen this myself and after reading everyone's posts I had to find out, if anyone's interested, check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_1Nf_Ta-_k&feature=related

Regards,
Ryan

[dreemon]

I think I'll check my fish more carefully from now on :P,

Brisryan, did the filets still taste the same ?

[Nic]

Ryan that vid is gross... I'm feeling a bit less blazé about worms than I was before. Uuuuurgh... *ulp*

On occasion I have caught freshwater fish with a weird lump or two on their skin. I don't know if these are lesions from infections, or from worms. How can you tell the difference? If they are worms, I would like to help the fish by picking them off.

[PNG1M]

We used to catch those muddy 'pink eye' mullet up a creek off the Clarence River years back. When cleaning them we often noticed bundles of worms clinking to the stomach lining. Yep, it did put us off a bit and any fish that were particularly riddled we chucked under a bush lemon tree for fertilizer (along with the catfish).

Most of the pink eyes though we still wacked the fillets off and shallow fried the shite out of 'em for 20 mins at max temp (to kill any potential creepies). They seemed to taste ok and we never ended up doubled over with intestinal cramps. We did go off the old 'pink eye' though as they were too muddy - which was compounded by the worms.

I thought that once the worms were scraped out of the gut and the fillets were washed that'd be the end of em. I didn't think the worms could actually be in the fishes flesh. Geeze, now I do feel sick - even if it is 20 years later!

I do like that Combantrin idea though! Maybe soak the fillets in a liquid suspension 24hrs before cooking. That'd sort the buggers out - then look at em in the magnifying glass all doubled up & carked it.

[Freeeedom]

Caught a reasonable longtom at Mud on Thursday. Brought it home because they are a lovely eating fish with very good flavour. When I took the fillets off I changed my mind about eating this one. Check out the number of worms
Cheers Freeeedom

[BLOOEY]

Does anybody know if they infect tuna. Because i always have a few bits of sashimi with wasabi and soy when i catch them? Also why some fish and not others? Have caught small jew that i couldn't eat because there were more worms than flesh and big jew with none at all. Ben

[oldboot]

Guess why the small jew was small.

cheers

[Freeeedom]

Does anybody know if they infect tuna. Because i always have a few bits of sashimi with wasabi and soy when i catch them? Also why some fish and not others? Have caught small jew that i couldn't eat because there were more worms than flesh and big jew with none at all. Ben

I've had the same thing Ben. Little ones full of them and big ones with none at all. Also, although I've had big ones with a few, I've never had a big one with huge numbers in it, and I never seem to find many, if any at all, in medium size jew - around the 4-6 kg mark.
I haven't caught a lot of tuna so I can't really comment on them (although I've not found worms in the omes I've caught), but I have found worms (of various kinds) in bream, luderick, jew, yellowtail kings, coral trout, cobia and now longtom. Have never found a worm in whiting (summer or winter), flathead, tailor, mackerel (school, spooty or spaniard),snapper, parrot and other reefies.
Almost all fish are likely to have parasitic worms in their digestive system, but we don't usually see them. The ones in the flesh are most likely encysted forms which transfer to a new (and bigger) host when the fish gets eaten by another predator (fish, shark or bird most likely).
Cheers Freeeedom

[kingtin]

The ones in the flesh are most likely encysted forms which transfer to a new (and bigger) host when the fish gets eaten by another predator (fish, shark or bird most likely).
Cheers Freeeedom

From memory, I think I read that mammals and birds are the reproductive host............ the worms don't reproduce in fish but in dolphins, turtles, etc. Fish are the intermediate host.

kev

[Freeeedom]

From memory, I think I read that mammals and birds are the reproductive host............ the worms don't reproduce in fish but in dolphins, turtles, etc. Fish are the intermediate host.

kev

Because the chances of a successful transfer from one host to another is so small, most parasites have the capability of massive reproduction at each stage of their life cycle. Usually however that reproduction is sexual in only one stage of the life cycle and is asexual in the other(s). The host in which sexual reproduction occurs is considered as the definitive (main) host and the others are the intermediate host(s). I'm not sure if the life cycles of many of these marine parasites are understood very well. When you realise that there are more parasitic species in the animal world than there are free living ones, and that we don't even know everything about the free living ones, then it would be no surprise if very little is known about them. That said, encysted tapeworms are an intermediate form in the case of the pork tapeworm and the beef tapeworm, so you are probably right, Kev, in saying that fish are the intermediate host. Not sure if that would still be the case with the nematodes - the other major group of parasitic worms.
Cheers Freeeedom
Cheers Freeeedom

[Dignity]

I think I have found worms in every variety of fish I have caught. Some are dark blue as in coral trout, maggot yellow as in parrot. Does water temp play a part as I do notice that there appears to be more evident in parrot in the warmer months but rarely in winter. The vid was gross but as we put our fish on ice immedieately so we don't see them moving and cut them out, certainly puts a different perspective on things. Some of the ones I've seen in parrot have been several inches long.

[khemo1]

So are these saltwater worm parasites able to infect humans? i know we can get parasites from uncooked freshwater fish but not so sure about salt water.

Recently I filleted some bream from Hope Island and found long (5-6 cm) red worms in the gut cavity. They were mostly fluid and burst when I poked them with a sharp knife.

[onerabbit]

"I once saw footage of guys hosing worms from jemfish fillets in NZ prior to packaging for export, the vid zoomed right in on the fillet and it appeared to have about 3 to 4 worms per square inch. Apparently this is standard practice for these fish."

Interesting, I have caught quite a few Jemfish and have not seen a worm in them yet, but they do have VERY flabby soft flesh, which takes away a lot of the appeal of eating them, but they do taste very nice once cooked.

One fish that I DO find worms in a lot is sand flathead, caught on the 32s.....
I have found heaps of them with black intestinal worms 2-3 inches long and about as thick as a bit of spagetti.

Muzz

[Giffo65]

We caught some parrot off Bundy a few months ago(when there was no wind ), and was told the worms in the flesh were common for that area.I just cut them out and did not tell the missus !

[NEWBY]

There are always heaps of worms in the Coral Trout up here...Always in the gut cavity...Likewise, just slice em out...
Yummy

[sarg]

That video is the most feral thing I have seen in a long time!!!

Flathead is my main catch, but also whiting and Jack and from now on an extra carefull eye will be cast over the catch.

:dankk2: Kev for a wonderfull thread.....

:tekst-toppie:

[TimiBoy]

Ugh! Rotten film. Rotten.

Can you imagine what a bastard you would have to be in this life to be born one of them in the next??? Thank God I'm not a friggin' Buddhist.

Tim

[kingtin]

There are always heaps of worms in the Coral Trout up here...Always in the gut cavity...Likewise, just slice em out...
Yummy

You eat the worms? ;) ;D

kev

[Young Gun]

You eat the worms? ;) ;D

kev


Exactly what i was thinking, lol