How did the worm get into the fish ?

Last week I went to a fishing trip with my neighbors. We didn't had a huge catch, but still had fun, and I learned something new.

My neighbor Denis advised me, not to tell my wife before or directly after dinner, so I decided to do it through this blog.

So anybody, who is easily irritated shouldn't read any further, all others, please see this fact I learned about fish.



Denis told me, in every fish is a worm, and I thought he is joking, since earth worms are often used as bait for fishing. No, he said, your fish is still alive inside.
So I asked him to show me. He took the cod we catched earlier this afternoon, we just gutted it, and I was up to cut fillets. At this picture on the right, he is pointing with a fork to the point, where a worm is hidden in the cods belly.

Its a parasite, a round worm which is confines itself to one kind of animal or group of animals, known as the host.


Its not dangerous and would not poison you, normal cooking or freezing for 60 hours under -20 C would kill it. On this picture on the left it was still moving and alive after we removed him from the fish.

Read on this page of the FAO details of the worm if you like, and its also described how it ends up in the cod in the first place.

Enjoy your next fish, with our without extra protein :-)