View Full Version : worms in my cod
scottythehips
05-03-2004, 19:33
<font color='#000000'>Caught my first decent cod of the season today , about 7lb and during filleting i noticed small worm like creatures curled up in the flesh. Is this normal or has my monster got some kind of fishy disease?? Any info greatly appreciated..</font>
<font color='#000000'>they where most likely round worms mate often found in the guts or flesh of many fish in larval form they liv in the guts of fish the cod worm is often found in cod and also in many other fish its scientific name is phocanema decipiens it can grow up to 4 cm long and varies in colour from creamy white to dark brown it is frequently found in in the belly flaps in a sac like membrane there life cycle is complex the adults live in the stomach of the grey seal the eggs pass in to the sea through the excreta or ****e in more common terms when they hatch the larval worms develop sum are eaten by small crustaceans and in turn they are eaten by the fish and the worms are released in to the stomach they then bore through the stomach wall and the life cycle is complete when an infested fish is eaten by a seal
there has been cases of human illness in countries where raw or slightly cured fish is eaten but if cooked they are killed
they die after 1 minute at 60c or over
hope this helps you out mate it`s taken about half an hour to find the book i got this info from i could remember reading it years ago when i was at catering college</font>
scottythehips
06-03-2004, 01:23
<font color='#000000'>Many thanks for the info deester - Although it sounds safe to eat it dont sound too appealling to me , might give it a miss..</font>
scottythehips
06-03-2004, 16:50
<font color='#000000'>Hey deester - are all cod infected with this or is it just a few?http://www.worldseafishing.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif</font>
<font color='#000000'>Hi
I have caught 1000's of cod in the middle north sea over the last 40 years . I now find it is rare to catch a cod without worms. There are many more seals in the area now than there ever was when I was kid. In those days only a few cod had worms. It has just got steadily worse as the seal population has increased locally. I now just cut off the laps (the flaps either side of the gut cavity). It is rare that they have spread further than this.</font>
<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote (scottythehips @ Mar. 06 2004,15:50)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><font color='#000000'>Hey deester - are all cod infected with this or is it just a few?http://www.worldseafishing.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif</font>[/b][/quote]
<font color='#000000'>hardly any are infected with it.</font>
fishing_fanatic
25-03-2004, 12:39
<font color='#000000'>Yes as was earlier mentioned it is not uncommon for there to be worms inside the flesh or guts of cod. These worms are generally found in most deep water fish, Ive never actually seen one in a bass or a mackerel, the reason for this being the tend to stay in shallower depths. Im not entirely sure but I think the worms are passed through the food chain.</font>
The Bear
29-03-2004, 11:46
<font color='#000000'>Just to let you know most of the Bass we've caught down South have been vicitm to the belly worms. The bass are still as fierce and just as good to eat!</font>
the old Grimsby trawlermen used to immerse the raw cod fillets in fresh water to kill the worms.
marinekeeper
28-09-2009, 21:05
The fresh water will not kill the worms, allot of fish do suffer parasitic worm infection. The vast majority are harmless to Humans; under cooked pork is a classic example of worm transfer to Human and that association is indeed pathogenic. The fish worms rarely are infectious to man; this is fortunate due to the increase in sushi. If you knew what was in half of the stuff you eat you would not eat :icecream:. I saw much of this when I worked for the food standards agency as a microbiologist.
pauliexjr
29-09-2009, 10:53
Found the same thing in Monkfish we got from our local fishmongeer.
The missus cut it into chunks and stuck it in marinade prior to skewering for a barbie. About 10 mins later there's screams from the kitchen, I go to investigate and she's found 4 or 5 worms writhing about in the marinade!
Although I know properley cooked they're harmless, but it's actually put us right off monkfish.
marinekeeper
29-09-2009, 19:12
Found the same thing in Monkfish we got from our local fishmongeer.
The missus cut it into chunks and stuck it in marinade prior to skewering for a barbie. About 10 mins later there's screams from the kitchen, I go to investigate and she's found 4 or 5 worms writhing about in the marinade!
Although I know properley cooked they're harmless, but it's actually put us right off monkfish.
pitty, Monk fish taste great!
Most of the cod bought into fish shops have worms.....all you do is pick them out, once cooked they are no problem.(not the worms the fish :laugh:
I worked in the kitchen of one of her majestys establishments in west london alongside a greek guy who owned a chip shop. We had cod delivered one day, and i remarked on the white worms in it. He told me that he went to billingsgate every morning for his fish, and would not buy cod that did not have evidence of these worms. They are obviously a parasite, are in all fish, and indicate the freshness, as they die relatively soon after the fish dies. And they are not as evident when not moving. They are absolutely harmless, but for obvious reasons the wet fishmonger will remove as many as possible before displaying the fish. After all, A cannibal would not turn down someone who had worms, would he ?.:):):)
PuddleSplasher
11-10-2009, 18:58
Although I know properley cooked they're harmless, but it's actually put us right off monkfish.
It puts most folk off any fish that are found with this affliction.:sad:
flearider
11-10-2009, 23:35
lol you want to see whats in beef, pork and chicken .. most would become veggies overnight ...
The Big Man
12-10-2009, 09:09
They are probably Phocanema which start off life as eggs in the gut of seals, these are excreted and eaten by small crustaceans which are in turn eaten by fish. The worms then migrate out of the stomache and into the flesh. The cycle is completed when the fish are eaten by seals!
They are killed by heat during cooking but if you're preparing sushi it's recommended that you freeze the fish for at least 24 hours.
squiddly
12-10-2009, 11:43
you get a lot of mackrell with worms in em..for the cod i just hold the fillets up to the light.and pluck the little sods out with a pair of tweezers,also look in the thick part of the flesh.
They are probably Phocanema which start off life as eggs in the gut of seals, these are excreted and eaten by small crustaceans which are in turn eaten by fish. The worms then migrate out of the stomache and into the flesh. The cycle is completed when the fish are eaten by seals!
They are killed by heat during cooking but if you're preparing sushi it's recommended that you freeze the fish for at least 24 hours.
more like a PHOCAN nuisance.
I mentioned this sometime back. Have found worms in Cod plenty of times. They are harmless but advice I was given is to gut the fish soon after capture as the worm migrates from the gut of the fish into the flesh soon after death, not sure how true it is but I have not seen any since doing this in the flesh of the fish.
I also understand Commercial hauls are tested for these worms and if the haul is infested then the fish are used for fertiliser instead of human consumption, not because they are harmfull but because its not very appealing.
Fillet and freeze,they are dead when you defrost to eat
ive ate hundreds that had a worm or two,
and im still here to blank:thumbs:
I mentioned this sometime back. Have found worms in Cod plenty of times. They are harmless but advice I was given is to gut the fish soon after capture as the worm migrates from the gut of the fish into the flesh soon after death, not sure how true it is but I have not seen any since doing this in the flesh of the fish.
I also understand Commercial hauls are tested for these worms and if the haul is infested then the fish are used for fertiliser instead of human consumption, not because they are harmfull but because its not very appealing.
As said previously, the worms in fish are neither A. Harmful or B. an affliction. We as Humans have worms in our bodies which would make even a fish cringe. And fish caught commercialy are not TESTED for worms, it is a known fact that they occur naturally, and testing for some fact that the commercial fishermen already knows would be rather pointless. Wet Fishmongers, for presentation reasons, remove as many of the worms as possible before displaying for sale. It is something that cannot be avoided by either Anglers or Commercial Fishermen. Prime Cod would certainly not end up as Fertilizer.
new to this forum and wow gota say im impressed with the standard of responses! u guys know ur fish! the FRW bath is a good one commonly used in aquaculture too. Basicly every fish u catch will have a belly full of some wormy 'parasites' and often the musculature and even organs. U can get anisakid nematodes which are transferable to humans in asia i believe.. There are more species of parasites than free living organisms on earth and even parasites of parasites of parasites of parasites...
new to this forum and wow gota say im impressed with the standard of responses! u guys know ur fish! the FRW bath is a good one commonly used in aquaculture too. Basicly every fish u catch will have a belly full of some wormy 'parasites' and often the musculature and even organs. U can get anisakid nematodes which are transferable to humans in asia i believe.. There are more species of parasites than free living organisms on earth and even parasites of parasites of parasites of parasites...
LITTLE FLEAS HAVE LITTLE FLEAS
UPON THEIR BACKS TO BITE'EM
THESE LITTLE FLEAS HAVE LITTLER FLEAS
AND SO AD INFINITUM:crazy:
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