I caught a couple fish in the 10-12lb range Friday evening and wanted to show you guys what I found inside. These fish were caught in Big Creek.







These last two pics are of a different fish that had a much worse infestation but with a thorough cleaning and you can still see the black spots in the fatty tissue.




The abdominal wall & spinal areas were packed with these things. I spoke with Biologist Anthony Rabern at the DNR office today and he told me that he believes this is a common Trematode parasite that travels from birds to the ground and to fish. Humans are not part of the life cycle but he still didn't like to eat fish that have a heavy infestation. He said he has not seen to much evidence of this in Stripers though. I sent him theses images and he said he would give me his best guess after looking at them.

The fish is already in a dumpster so there is no chance of bringing any in to the DNR but if anyone else sees this you may want to drop it off to them for better analysis.

Crazy gross! What the heck???

Shortly after starting the this tread Anthony got back to me. Here's what he had to say:

Looks like a bad case of black spot disease to me. I copied some information below from the Minnesota DNR about this parasitic infection.
This is the first case I've seen in striped bass. I suspect they acquired the parasite during the spring when they were running in shallow water.

Anthony



Neascus (Black spot disease)
Cause of disease: Parasite - Uvulifer spp., Neascus spp., Black grub What does it look like? These parasites are small and produce black pigmentation that resembles black pepper sprinkled on fins or flesh
(fillets) of fish.

Fish species affected:
All species of fish in Minnesota lakes and rivers are susceptible.
Fish that inhabit shallow areas are most affected.

Life cycle:
Eggs are released by fish-eating birds into the water. Eggs develop into intermediate stages of the parasite in snails. These free-swimming parasites penetrate the muscles of fish and encyst. Black pigmentation is deposited onto these cysts. Infected fish are consumed by birds where the life cycle starts all over again. Adult worms are seen in fish-eating birds.

Where is the disease is found?
Very common throughout Minnesota.

Is it safe to eat?
Yes, although unsightly, the fillet is safe to eat if it is well cooked. Always cook fish well before consuming.

How can I prevent the spread?
There are no practical means to control this parasite.

Disposal of unused portions:
Unused or uneaten portions of fish should be buried or disposed of with household waste. Fish entrails should never be discarded back into the lake.



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Anthony Rabern
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Lake Burton Hatchery



Hi Anthony,

Here are the pictures I told you about.
Imag0142 & 3 are from a different fish that had a much worse infestation but after thorough cleaning you can still see the remaining parasites in the fatty areas of the tissue.

I know pictures won't give you enough information to know exactly what it is but I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today.

Regards,

Adam

Lots of Striper parasites on this board.

I can't see the black spots in the last two pictures. The rest of the pictures appear to be from inside the abdominal cavity (they don't look like my filets). Are the parasites confined to the abdominal cavity? Would you see them in the filets if you did not cut inside the rib cage?