Has anyone else caught many salmon with tapeworms in them? I got two sweet feeder springs today out of Crofton, both about 10 pounds, and both hatchery. One was infested with tapeworms. One worm actually crawled out while in the fish box. I've only once before seen a tapeworm in Chinook.
Tapeworms in Salmon
- Thread starter adrianna3
- Start date
steeliehead
Active Member
I've seen it in a lot of different fish. It is in the intestines right? I don't think it can pass on to humans because it is not in the meat. I know in trout I think it is passed on through some sort of snail larvae that they eat.
Without asking you for your secret spot in the Crofton area , were you fishing in the Booth Bay area ?
I took some from there quite a few years ago and they were as you described but I only had that experience from that particular area of fishing , from Porlier to Tent and years ago when fishing around Idol Island on the East side they were clean of that type of parasite.
AL
I took some from there quite a few years ago and they were as you described but I only had that experience from that particular area of fishing , from Porlier to Tent and years ago when fishing around Idol Island on the East side they were clean of that type of parasite.
AL
Fish can get basically 3 types of common internal parasites: flatworms, roundworms, and encysted mongerians. There are other internal parasites, of course - but these are the most common internal ones.
External ones are commonly sea lice, gill hookworms, parasitic isopods, and "whitespot". External ones are most susceptible to changes in the external environment (i.e. no "sea" lice in freshwater, whitespot happens in freshwater, etc.)
Back to your question - everyone has their own pet names for each of these lovely and interesting critters. Many oldtimers call parasitic isopods on halibut "sea lice", but the real "sea lice" are parasitic caligid copepods like Lepeotherius salmonus. Some people call beach fleas sea lice, too.
So to know what you really have - you really need more scientifically validated terminology.
If the worm is unsegmented (like a white tootpick) - it is a roundworm (AKA nematode). If it is flat and segmented - it is a tapeworm (AKA cestode).
Herring often suffer tapeworms (which can trail out their anal vent - and I have seen other herring nibbling away at this enticing bait), and these worm segments are often ejected in seal faeces. Bothrimonus sturionis is a common tapeworm that herring and other marine fish get.
These fish get infected with B. sturionis when they eat marine amphipods (i.e. scuds or sideswimmers) that contain the larvae. These amphipods are easy prey as they are sluggish and apparently float to the surface once infected.
Roundworms are also common for most fish species, and can be passed on by bear poo. Most worms try to either leave the body (through any available orifice) when they sense the host is dead, and often congregate in the stomach lining after a fish dies.
Most parasites (not all) are very host-specific and cannot be passed onto us (a few exceptions). All are killed by thorough cooking. Freezing your fish in your freezer also kills parasites.
Encysted mongerians make cysts in the meat - and the flesh feels soft and gritty (these are the ones we can get) - it is thought Franklin's crew that sought the NW passage suffered from this.
the broad tapeworm, Diphyllobothrium spp., which can be found in fish - occasionally infects people.
Alley Cat; no, it wasn't Booth's Bay, but the one other fish that I saw with tapeworms in it did come from the Porlier Pass area. I think that you could get infected fish from anywhere.
AgentAqua; you seem very well educated, are you a biologist? I seem to have opened up an entire "can of worms" with this discussion. The worm in my fish today was definately a tapeworm; white, flat, segmented, and about 18" long. The worms I've seen in halibut and cod, the ones I called "herring worms", are about 2" long, look like monofilament, and are sometimes curled up and encysted in the flesh. The "whitespot" that you talk about, what is that? We caught some halibut up at Winter Harbour one time that had white parisites only on the white under belly. They looked like little leeches with a sucker. They were anywhere from a 1/4" to 2" long.
AgentAqua; you seem very well educated, are you a biologist? I seem to have opened up an entire "can of worms" with this discussion. The worm in my fish today was definately a tapeworm; white, flat, segmented, and about 18" long. The worms I've seen in halibut and cod, the ones I called "herring worms", are about 2" long, look like monofilament, and are sometimes curled up and encysted in the flesh. The "whitespot" that you talk about, what is that? We caught some halibut up at Winter Harbour one time that had white parisites only on the white under belly. They looked like little leeches with a sucker. They were anywhere from a 1/4" to 2" long.
N
new generation
Guest
Fishing with a guy at beechy head,he landed one about 20lbs.It didn't look like the nice gold color when we netted it.Cut it open to clean it and it was all full of worms.Threw it in for crab bait...
adrianna3:
Parasitology is very much an "expert" field, where one needs a good microscope, a good understanding of terminology, a good set of keys and much patience to figure-out exactly what each "bug" is. It is difficult to ID "bugs" through a layperson's description. Best I can do is guess at this end.
The curled worms are likely a roundworm, maybe Anisakis spp. They may look encysted, but might also be intertwined in the tissue surrounding the stomach cavity. If they have a u-shaped encysted "macronucleus", they are probably Trichodlna spp. Typically "encysted" refers to a build-up of a small, hard shell in muscle fibre, skin and cartilage.
The bugs that encysts are typically Trichodina spp., but may also be Icthyophonus, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (whitespot in freshwater), or even Myxobolus Cerebralis (whirling disease) in the Columbia River drainage. Check-out these names on google, and see if any pictures or descriptions sound familiar.
The ectoparasites on the underbelly of halibut are common, and are likely digenean flukes (i.e. trematodes), probably Steganoderma formosum. They look like leeches.
Hope this talk doesn't "bug" anyone. Parasites have been around way longer than humans - and deserve a little respect for their tenancy. They are fascinating in a creepy sort of way.
Parasitology is very much an "expert" field, where one needs a good microscope, a good understanding of terminology, a good set of keys and much patience to figure-out exactly what each "bug" is. It is difficult to ID "bugs" through a layperson's description. Best I can do is guess at this end.
The curled worms are likely a roundworm, maybe Anisakis spp. They may look encysted, but might also be intertwined in the tissue surrounding the stomach cavity. If they have a u-shaped encysted "macronucleus", they are probably Trichodlna spp. Typically "encysted" refers to a build-up of a small, hard shell in muscle fibre, skin and cartilage.
The bugs that encysts are typically Trichodina spp., but may also be Icthyophonus, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (whitespot in freshwater), or even Myxobolus Cerebralis (whirling disease) in the Columbia River drainage. Check-out these names on google, and see if any pictures or descriptions sound familiar.
The ectoparasites on the underbelly of halibut are common, and are likely digenean flukes (i.e. trematodes), probably Steganoderma formosum. They look like leeches.
Hope this talk doesn't "bug" anyone. Parasites have been around way longer than humans - and deserve a little respect for their tenancy. They are fascinating in a creepy sort of way.
D
dragonballs
Guest
if I can see the worms... I'm sorry that fish becomes crab bait.. that is just how it is.....
steeliehead
Active Member
Just because there are worms in the stomach area, does not mean that those worms are in the flesh. If there are the white cysts in the flesh I would also then chuck it. I have never seen actual worms in a salmons flesh just in their intestines.
wolf
Well-Known Member
There is worms in all the foods we eat beef,chicken,fish pork is the worst,but once you cook meat they completly dissolve there is nothing to worry about just think sight unseen if you think about it you would never eat meat again LOL
now pass me that t-bone to cook on the bbq LOL
Go to you tube and see what happens when you put coke on a pork chop!!!!!!!!mmmmmmmmmmmgooooood
Thats why I hunt moose,deer no chemicals and injected meat!!!
Enjoy Wolf
now pass me that t-bone to cook on the bbq LOL
Go to you tube and see what happens when you put coke on a pork chop!!!!!!!!mmmmmmmmmmmgooooood
Thats why I hunt moose,deer no chemicals and injected meat!!!
Enjoy Wolf
B
blueorca
Guest
Finally, someone on the forum smarter than me!!!!!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge there, AA.
Very informative. Think I'll skip breakfast this morning....
Thanks for sharing your knowledge there, AA.
Very informative. Think I'll skip breakfast this morning....
steeliehead
Active Member
i cecked that out on you tube, sick
Okay, how long untill someone dumps a coke on a chunk of Halibut LOL.
steeliehead
Active Member
I think its those cysts as well, I have seen what you mean, something to release as well.
I am, again, impressed with the observational skills and experience of adrianna3, alley cat, steeliehead – well, all of the posters on this thread, really.
I noted that these contributors also noticed that different fish from different areas have different loads and types of parasites. Science has noticed this as well, and sometimes scientists can use the types of parasites as a “mark” to tell what geographic area a fish might be from.
This is because most parasites have a complex life cycle where they often have more than 1 host, and the other non-fish hosts often include birds such as gulls and herons, marine mammals (i.e. seals), or terrestrial animals (e.g. bears). These hosts are clumped in areas, and the effects of disease and parasite transfer can be magnified in an enclosed water body.
So, if you notice an area that seems to have fish with more parasites – look around. See if you notice large numbers of fish-eating birds or mammals. If you can ID the parasite – the lifecycle is often known – and you can deduce what dynamic is happening.
I listed some of the known interactions already at:
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8847&whichpage=11
Obviously, we only notice a very small percentage of the interactions that are happing in the big blue (or green or grey) world that fish live in. We really known very little about how likely, how normal, or how disruptive interactions between diseases and parasites and their hosts are. Nobody is really looking.
That’s why you should intensely question the assumption from the fish farming industry that it’s interactions with wild stocks are benign. The open net-cage is just that – OPEN. Water, along with diseases and parasites flows both ways. It’s arrogant to a folly to not only assume we know all the interactions – but we can somehow “control” nature.
I noted that these contributors also noticed that different fish from different areas have different loads and types of parasites. Science has noticed this as well, and sometimes scientists can use the types of parasites as a “mark” to tell what geographic area a fish might be from.
This is because most parasites have a complex life cycle where they often have more than 1 host, and the other non-fish hosts often include birds such as gulls and herons, marine mammals (i.e. seals), or terrestrial animals (e.g. bears). These hosts are clumped in areas, and the effects of disease and parasite transfer can be magnified in an enclosed water body.
So, if you notice an area that seems to have fish with more parasites – look around. See if you notice large numbers of fish-eating birds or mammals. If you can ID the parasite – the lifecycle is often known – and you can deduce what dynamic is happening.
I listed some of the known interactions already at:
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8847&whichpage=11
Obviously, we only notice a very small percentage of the interactions that are happing in the big blue (or green or grey) world that fish live in. We really known very little about how likely, how normal, or how disruptive interactions between diseases and parasites and their hosts are. Nobody is really looking.
That’s why you should intensely question the assumption from the fish farming industry that it’s interactions with wild stocks are benign. The open net-cage is just that – OPEN. Water, along with diseases and parasites flows both ways. It’s arrogant to a folly to not only assume we know all the interactions – but we can somehow “control” nature.
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