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Wow, okay, I've never seen worms in my fish. Now I'm wondering if they've been there all along and I just never noticed :\

wild seafood always has the possibility of parasites. That is why Sushi chefs in Japan have long apprentiships and training periods, to identify and remove the obvious. THere have been cases of transmission to humans from improperly prepared raw fish. There are reasons humans learned to cook food.

More common in warmer weather, be especially on the lookout for worms in cod at this time of the year.

Eating raw fish can result in anisakiasis, an infection caused by an infestation of Anisakis worm larvae.

Now, don't panic, it's not that bad. They're not BIG worms. Not like one of those tapeworms, which can be a foot or two in length and take up more room in your abdominal cavity than you do.

No, these are LITTLE worms. They grow up to a mere one inch in length.
If you're lucky, the worms will wind up in your stomach, where the chief symptom is generally a sudden attack of intolerable pain. It starts within 12 hours after eating the affected fish and continues for two or three days, until the worms expire.

If you're not as fortunate, the larvae head down to your intestines, where they can take up permanent residence.

Cases of anisakiasis turn up from time to time in Japan and the Netherlands, where raw fish eating is common. Here the disorder is often misdiagnosed as appendicitis, peptic ulcer, or stomach cancer.

The only treatment is to poke a tube down your craw and remove the larvae one by one. The only preventive measure is to cook the fish or else freeze it at least three days.

Some of the assassins who run sushi bars will tell you they can check for worms by "candling," holding the fish up to the light and cutting out the larvae before slapping what's left on your platter.

The Centers for Disease Control, however, say the efficacy of this method is on a par with rain dancing.

@Martini Me - are you joking or serious?

He isn't joking. Wild parasites are common and the human body will support all sort of intestinal and muscle encysting worms. That is why many of us don't favor Seared free range pork and raw and seared fish. Cook to Kill.

Oh no.

I have a new perspective on life ARGH!
Thank you sincerely for posting this topic.

This is good to know! I'm heading out to the beach next month and will be sure to freeze all my catch for at least 24 hours before I cook it.

I eat a lot of fish, more so than meat, and I've never seen these things as far as I know. I have had stringy tuna though - was that a parasite?

Also, do they live in the meat of the fish while it's alive and are there when you take a fresh fish and cut it up? Or do they get there after the thing is dead?

My cousin was manager of a huge Japanese restaurant in a major American city. He told me that all their fish - including that used for sushi - was frozen before it was used because of the parasites.

And yes, the parasites are still there, only dead. Yummy, huh?

Then I got to be friends with a marine biologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who told me why he never ate anything from the oceans, and, after that, I never ate fish again.

Never will............................

I worked with a guy who used to tell horror stories about the worms he pulled out of swordfish. Big worms. Frequently.

I had come to the same conclusion after watching "Monsters Inside Me" on Animal planet about parasites. No more raw fish for now. I'll miss it.

Halibut is full of worms.....my mom used to pick them out, but finally gave up and we enjoyed the extra protein.

does salmon have worms, too? i have heard about halibut and cod, but how about salmon from colder waters, like scottish or norwegian salmon?

i've been off fish for some time now.... it's such a shame because i love a good piece of fish.... i usually stick to salmon (wild or arctic char)....

People, usually jewish women, who prepare gefilte fish, often taste the raw fish mix as they season it. Some have found themselves with a tape worm as a result.

A NY Times article on this tells of a doctor's wife who got very sick. She had a tapeworm in her intestine three feet long. The worm required a powerful purging medicine to get it out.

Diphyllobothrium latum, the fish tapeworm, was identified by the pathologist.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/08/health/08case.html

Great i'm on my way to work soon, @ a restaurant, I don't even want to look at the fish in the cooler, this story is creeping me out, Im glad I dont eat any fish there. Ewwwww

Went vegetarian last week. Was missing seafood. Not anymore.

I have an aunt who refuses to eat fish. She told me there were worms in fish. At the time, I thought, it can't be that common. Well, after reading through all these posts, I've changed my mind. I am also wondering when is the next time I will have sushi (it's inevitable, I will have some at some point in time).