It has come to my attention that lately a large number of fisherman report finding isopods in fish. I find this to be very unsettling and am will to eat only fish that I have bought and cleaned myself.
In case you don't know what isopods are, they are ghastly crustaceans. Some of the smaller species, usually just up to a few inches long, will slip into a fish's mouth and attach themselves to the fish's tongue. The isopod will slowly eat the fish's tongue, and once the tongue has been all but consumed, the isopod turns around and anchors itself with its hindlegs, of which it has many, to the remaining tongue stump. The isopod then begins acting as the fish's tongue, nibbling bits of the fish's meals.
Isopods can also be ingested by fish, and often isopods are found inside fish's digestive tract. Some species of isopods will burrow into a fish's tissue and live and eat as a true parasite.
I am mentioning this because I have heard more reports of isopods being found in fish caught in the Pacific Northwest. I thought you should know, although, admittedly, ignorance may be bliss. Can you trust the Gorton's Fisherman? Beware of the isopod and, if you are a seafood lover, check your tongue at least three times daily.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04etta/background/isopods/media/parasitic_isopod.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopoda
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/giant-isopod.html
In case you don't know what isopods are, they are ghastly crustaceans. Some of the smaller species, usually just up to a few inches long, will slip into a fish's mouth and attach themselves to the fish's tongue. The isopod will slowly eat the fish's tongue, and once the tongue has been all but consumed, the isopod turns around and anchors itself with its hindlegs, of which it has many, to the remaining tongue stump. The isopod then begins acting as the fish's tongue, nibbling bits of the fish's meals.
Isopods can also be ingested by fish, and often isopods are found inside fish's digestive tract. Some species of isopods will burrow into a fish's tissue and live and eat as a true parasite.
I am mentioning this because I have heard more reports of isopods being found in fish caught in the Pacific Northwest. I thought you should know, although, admittedly, ignorance may be bliss. Can you trust the Gorton's Fisherman? Beware of the isopod and, if you are a seafood lover, check your tongue at least three times daily.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04etta/background/isopods/media/parasitic_isopod.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopoda
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/giant-isopod.html
