worms in my cod

**scottythehips** · 05-03-2004, 18:33

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..

DEESTER · 05-03-2004, 21:40

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

**scottythehips** · 06-03-2004, 00:23

Many thanks for the info deester - Although it sounds safe to eat it dont sound too appealling to me , might give it a miss..

**scottythehips** · 06-03-2004, 15:50

Hey deester - are all cod infected with this or is it just a few?

bridey · 07-03-2004, 13:41

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.

sweet · 25-03-2004, 10:25

<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">Hey deester - are all cod infected with this or is it just a few?

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hardly any are infected with it.

**fishing_fanatic** · 25-03-2004, 11:39

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.

**The Bear** · 29-03-2004, 11:46

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!

**waggy** · 28-09-2009, 20:55

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

. I saw much of this when I worked for the food standards agency as a microbiologist.