The Nasty

[Randy]

OK , Im gonna risk it !
WORMS! ..... Im probably gonna get ruded out again but here goes.
Some of these fish are LOADED with worms, long skinny white with flat heads. Some I dont seem to find any in. I've been reading some medical info on them and they can give "inflamation of the stomach wall" and a "serious disease" . They recomend 24 hours of freezing and then cooking well. They are also not recomended for nursing or pregnant women and recomended for consumption only twice per month because of the elevated mercury content. :shock: Anyone with some input on this inquiring minds wish to know. What do you guys do ? If I knew which ones had them I'd release them , God knows one fish is enough , It fills the whole freezer chest ,I dont need to take them home if I already have some. Any Ideas ? Randy

[jerry]

Worms, I hate them. I have seen a few fish myself with them. Mostly I find them inside the stomach and have never noticed them in the flesh. I hear from a marine biologist that they really wont hurt you especially if cooked. (yummy) I tend to shy away from any fish meat that has worms in it.
As far as the mercury, I searched many articles on the matter. My method is to eat swordfish at the most 2 times per month. I wont give any to a pregnant woman or to a young child. Maybe paranoid but better safe than sorry.

[Randy]

Could I have just gotten a couple "Fluke" fish ? One left worms right on the floor of the boat when we unloaded it. After that I checked it when filleting and there were worms in the flesh ! MANY worms. You can see them at every cut and grab them and pull them out squirming. Can this just be a unusual incident ? (HOPE) One was FULL of worms , one had some and I didnt look closely at the first 4 so I dont know about them. They were about 1-2" long, thin as a needle with flat heads . Nasty lookin. The next day after taking the fillets out of the fridge i inspected and they were still ALIVE ! I cleaned them and bagged the fillets and popped them in the freezer but i also am "shaky" about eating them. I may have to throw them out. One buddy threw all his out the other just said "They dont eat much" . More I think about it the closer they're gettin to the trash.

[CaptainEd]

I have caught a few fish that had those worms in the meat. Only one had a lot of them. I clean the fish right away and steak it. Then I cover the steaks and immediately and freeze all of them except the portion(s) I will eat within the next day. They are only frozen for a short time. I freeze them because to vacuum seal a fresh sword steak properly it needs to be frozen first. Otherwise you suck the juice out of the meat greatly effecting the taste. The freezing and vacuum sealing will assure the meat is fresh and any worms are dead. Worms should not be a regular problem. The way I described to store your steaks will give you meat that keeps for months and tastes like it was caught yesterday. As for the mercury it's greatly exaggerated. Some of the older larger fish maybe loaded up. But eating these pups isn't going to kill you even if you catch as many fish as Capt Ken does. Anyone who has concerns about eating their freshly caught sword meat please contact me and I will glad to take it off your hands where it will be consumed by me several times a week

[jerry]

I guess I should be thankful I dont fillet the fish too much. I usually clean the boat and gear while my buddy does the filleting and bagging. I wonder how many worms I have digested. :shock: He has told me that he sees worms in the flesh but I have not noticed any as yet. I cook all my fish so I will have to start inspecting the steaks prior to seasoning. There is an old saying here in Jamaica, "what dont kill you can only fatten you" :lol:

[Randy]

Thanks Ed , I will contact you through the forums here and give you the fish if I cant "get past" a wormy fish. It might be psychological but I just cant eat one if it has a bunch of worms squirming around. I hope your in the Lauderdale area , Ill steak it and if its wormy freeze it and contact you to pick it up right away. I don't wanna kill this fish if it cant be eaten and there's no way to tell if its wormy without opening it. Too bad I cant tell at the boat side , I'd release it. I think It would revive like the sails if i use the same technique if I knew wormy or not. These fish seem to figh till almost dead.

[hannaman]

The only way to tell is to look them square in the eye up close. Put a flashlight to the eyeball, if the eye looks docile and helpless than he most likely has the worms. If he looks angry and pissed off with a squint in his eye you better stab him quick and pull him in the boat. He's good eaten!
I don't have to much to do today or for the next few days while these storms are around. I gotta find something to do. :razz:

[Randy]

Ha ! You guys are funny , Im not lookin nothin in the eye longer then me , Thats pissed off and swingin a SWORD !!! Sounds like my EX ! :lol: If they're a squirmin Im gonna contact Edd ! I agree , this weather is the pitts , Im hopeing MAYBE this storm will blow this weather pattern weve been having for TWO WEEKS (years) away ! I havent been fishin or divin since it started and have had to go to work for TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT ! The pitts .

[LHPfish]

Most have some form of worm. i've seen fat ones and skinny wiggly ones. I see more in the summer time.