# Increase in Parasites in Rockport and Upper Laguna fish (redfish, trout and drum)



## idlethru (Oct 11, 2007)

Anyone else notice the unusual increase in Spaghetti Worms in our fish in the Upper Laguna and Rockport areas? Just about all my fish in the last couple of months have had several to way too many of these little critters. I'm finding them in trout, redfish and drum. I've had some drum with so many...I've just had to donate to the pelicans. It's in all ranges of the slots...not just the upper slots.

The ones on these pictures are from trout in Aransas and Rockport. All fish in the teens.

I have done some research on them...and appear to be no threat to humans...but they still freak me out...esp. after seeing Discovery's Monsters Inside Me.

Research states that our gamefish are just host for the spaghetti worm until it reaches it's final life cycle in sharks and becomes a tapeworm.


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## idlethru (Oct 11, 2007)

*SPAGHETTI WORMS IN FISH*​Spaghetti worms are common parasites of saltwater fish in the drum family, which include speckled and white trout, black drum, redfish, and croakers. While they look alike to most fishermen, several different worms use these fish as hosts. Most common in sea trout is _Poecilancistrium caryophyllum_. Worms found in black drum are most often _Pseudogrillotia pIeistacantha_. For ease of discussion, we will dispose of these tongue-twisting Latin names and refer to them all as spaghetti worms. 
Fishermen frequently find these white, one to three inch long worms when filleting their catch. In trout they are usually found in the middle of the fillet in the area just below the dorsal fin. Research has shown that approximately 40% of Louisiana and Mississippi speckled trout are host to spaghetti worms, with an average of between one and two worms occurring per fish. It may appear that many more worms exist, but often one worm is cut into several pieces during filleting. Spaghetti worms in black drum are more common near the tail of the fish with a typical fish hosting 5 to 15 specimens. 
The spaghetti worms we see in these fish are really parasitic tapeworms of sharks, who are just using the trout or drum as an intermediate host. The cycle begins with eggs produced by an eight-inch long adult worm which lives in a shark's intestine. After being passed into seawater, the egg hatches into a tiny swimming larva called a coracidium. If this larva is eaten within two days by a small marine crustacean like a copepod, it develops into another stage called a procercoid. 
At this stage some uncertainty exists as to what happens. The copepod may be eaten by a trout, passing the larval worm on the trout. However, since small animals like copepods are seldom eaten by larger trout and since very few trout under ten inches long have spaghetti worms, another host is suspected. More than likely, a small bait fish like an anchovy eats the copepod and it in turn is eaten by the larger trout. In any case, once the larval worm is in the trout's digestive tract, it tunnels its way into the trout's flesh where it may live for several years. The life cycle is completed when a shark eats the trout and serves as host for the adult worm. 
The fact that a spaghetti worm may live several years (up to 6 or 7) may surprise many fishermen, since they often claim that more fish are infected in one season than another. This may possibly be due to different populations of trout with different infection rates, moving up and down in a marsh system seasonally. 
The number of trout carrying worms seems to be directly related to the characteristics and quality of the water in which the trout live. In general, the saltier the water and the less polluted it is, the higher the levels of infection are. This may be due to either one of the intermediate host's or the larval worm's needs for saline, unpolluted waters. 
Another interesting fact is that once a trout becomes host to one or several spaghetti worms, it seems to develop an immunity to further infections. If this were not the case, large, old fish would have many more worms than a 12- or 14-inch fish, but they don't. 
Finally, while the spaghetti worm may be somewhat unappealing to the eye, it certainly doesn't prevent good eating. Since, they are large enough to easily see, they are simple to remove during the filleting process. Simply grab the worm between the knife blade and thumb and gently pull it out. With a little practice, it becomes easy. 
Many people don't even bother to remove them before cooking. After cooking, they are unnoticeable and cannot be tasted. In a survey conducted at Mississippi fishing rodeos a few years ago, less than 25% of the trout fishermen avoided eating fish with worms. 
While cooking does, of course, kill the worm, even without cooking they are not a human health problem. No human infections have been recorded and researchers have been unable to infect warm-blooded animals with the parasite. 
So good fishing and "bon appetit."​


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## foxyman (Oct 6, 2009)

Will go away when you cook them. Don't throw them away, call me.


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## reelthreat (Jul 11, 2006)

I don't think I have ever caught a fish without them... up and down the Texas coast.


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## BMTAngler (Aug 17, 2008)

Got some last night in some trout.....they tasted fine to me lol


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## Figfarmer (Nov 25, 2007)

Today's thought:

"If fishermen don't mind eating fish fillets with worms would we mind eating a Whataburger with worms"? 

I think I just became a totally CPR fisherman after seeing the worm pics.


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## Spotted Hawg (Apr 15, 2006)

*Good water=Worms ?*

The number of trout carrying worms seems to be directly related to the characteristics and quality of the water in which the trout live. In general, the saltier the water and the less polluted it is, the higher the levels of infection are. This may be due to either one of the intermediate host's or the larval worm's needs for saline, unpolluted waters

I'm trying to find something good about this worm thing. Man, I'm glad my wife did not see this thread!!!


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## willsoonbfishin (Dec 8, 2006)

Kind of reminds me of those films we saw back in jr high about where babies come from. :dance:


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## jhbarc (Aug 28, 2006)

The worms have always been there. I have fished the coast for over 30 years and it is rare to see a trout that does not have worms.


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## Sow Trout (Jun 28, 2004)

They taste like fried fish.


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## idlethru (Oct 11, 2007)

spotted123 said:


> The number of trout carrying worms seems to be directly related to the characteristics and quality of the water in which the trout live. In general, the saltier the water and the less polluted it is, the higher the levels of infection are. This may be due to either one of the intermediate host's or the larval worm's needs for saline, unpolluted waters
> 
> I'm trying to find something good about this worm thing. Man, I'm glad my wife did not see this thread!!!


I hear ya...my daughter and girlfriend are just now really enjoying eating more fish at home that we catch...they would totally freak if they saw these pics or me digging them out of the filllets at the marina.

I don't see as many trout with them down south (Baffin area). I guess this is due to the lack or absense of sharks in the area. All our trout from this past week had several on each side of it's body.


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## greenhornet (Apr 21, 2010)

Never seen those in any fish besides black drum, been carving up plenty of fish from ULM lately.


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## Bocephus (May 30, 2008)

Just get the oil good and hot....and like everyone says, don't ever tell the girls about them.


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## bafazan (May 6, 2009)

One of the things we used to toot our horn about here in Baffin was that our trout have no worms. You could clean a limit of trout and maybe find one trout that was wormy. Now I am seeing more in our trout than in years past, but still on average not that many of the fillets have them.


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