Wormy Rock Cod

I didn't want to take over the DFG thread with this topic so....

I noticed a few Rockies I caught had worms in the meat. Can you prevent them? How do you do it? Is cleaning the fish out on the water the best way? It would seem to attract those seals more.

If you do find worms in the fish, what do you do with them: 1) Cut out the affected sections, or 2) forget about them as you are going to cook the fish anyways?

I ended up cutting out the wormy sections, but wonder what others do. Those worms just give me the heeby jeebies and I hate to waste fish.

Thanks!
Marc Mc

Which type?  I've noticed worms more prevalent in olives & grass rockfish (especially in carmel/monterey area).

I tend to avoid those particular species unless someone specifically requests me to shoot some for them.  Big lings & cabs tend to be wormy as well.



If filleting fish that I'm planning on keeping, I've gotten into the habit of "candlelighting" them or holding the fillet up to a light to see if there are any worms to be removed in there.  Once removed it doesn't bother me too much.

The ones I recall last were olives from the Carmel area.
Thanks. I will try candlelighting.
Marc

The ones I recall last were olives from the Carmel area.
Thanks. I will try candlelighting.
Marc

Thought so.  As I mentioned, olives are one of the worst in that area, especially the large ones. 

I candlelighted a bunch of fillets & by the time I finished hacking the worms out... I decided to give up on taking any more olives.   

WHITE ONES....That's just great. Here I am worried about the ones I can see.  I don't know why they give me the heeby jeebies, but they do.
I definitely cook all my fish and leave the sushi making to the experts so it isn't a big problem, but I was curious what others do.

Thanks for the info, but BlueKayak....you really need a hobby at home if counting nasty little worms is something you find fun. 
Thanks!
Marc

Here's a good primer on parasites in our neck of the woods...  I usually pick out the wiggly ones that coil up into a ball (roundworms).  The ones that look like grains of rice (protozoa) are just flavor nuggets... you'll never know they were there once they are cooked.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/parasites.html

from the book called "probably more than you want to know about the fish of the pacific coast"....those guys are larval roundworms. the eggs of this worm are eaten by krill and copepods, in turn eaten by fish where they grow.

if consumer alive these worms can work their way into the lining of your stomach and it would require a medical procedure to remove it.

author milton love also says that in japan they get about 1000 cases per year of this "anisakiasis" its called.

you can prevent this by freezing 24-60 hours at 40 deg farenheit , thoroughly smoke it, or cook it well , these will kill the worm.

also, by pickling or making ceviche your days are numbered in avoiding this worm. it does not necessarily die by either of these methods.

good luck and eat safely.

Thanks to all.
KZ, that is a good bit of info. Thanks for the link!

 

Marc Mc

"Freezing" at 40 degrees F? 

"When the flesh is held up to a light, the worms will appear as shadows. This process
is called "candling". Another approach is to freeze the fish at -4° F ..."......DFG

Most home freezers don't make -4 degrees F.

"Freezing" at 40 degrees F? 

"When the flesh is held up to a light, the worms will appear as shadows. This process
is called "candling". Another approach is to freeze the fish at -4° F ..."......DFG

Most home freezers don't make -4 degrees F.

yeah thats what the book calls for and i sure as heck would not follow that tip. what i cannot believe is when people make sashimi out of rockfish because just because you cant see em it does not mean they are not there. and not all of them are full grown either.

i dont think 40 F degrees is considered frozen right? that is weird. maybe a type in the book.

john

The meat and worms have some salt in them, so the freezing point is actually a bit below 32'.  Going past that is to gurantee that it freezes solid.  I freeze sashimi-to-be in my chest freezer, which is considerably colder than my refridgerator freezer, though I'm not sure if it's all the way down to 4 below.  The meat is much easier to cut into nice strips when it's half thawed, so I'd reccomend it anyway for a good presentation. 

"Freezing" at 40 degrees F? 

"When the flesh is held up to a light, the worms will appear as shadows. This process
is called "candling". Another approach is to freeze the fish at -4° F ..."......DFG

Most home freezers don't make -4 degrees F.

yeah thats what the book calls for and i sure as heck would not follow that tip. what i cannot believe is when people make sashimi out of rockfish because just because you cant see em it does not mean they are not there. and not all of them are full grown either.

i dont think 40 F degrees is considered frozen right? that is weird. maybe a type in the book.

john

Exactly.  Just cause you get the full-grown ones doesn't mean you won't get a bunch of adolescents...

I personally candlelight ling/rockfish fillets just because I don't want those spiraled hard worms in my fillets.  They get cooked anyways, but makes me feel better not seing them.  As I mentioned earlier, the olives & grass rocks are consistently bad, so I just don't keep them unless requested.