By Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
From time to time, and again recently, I hear questions, see photos of fish from some Nebraska water that had some kind of parasite. Yes, parasites are disgusting. They also are a part of life, especially life in the wild for any creature including fish.
Most of the time, those parasites are not noticed. However, there can be circumstances or individual fish where some kind of parasitic infection will be obvious.
The good news is none of the parasites found in fish in our waters are a threat to humans. That is especially true if the fish are thoroughly cooked. No, I would not recommend eating raw fish and no, I would not recommend eating raw internal organs.
Unfortunately, some of the parasites found in our fish are found in the flesh, meat. Again, remember those are not a threat if the flesh is thoroughly cooked. But, who likes the thought of eating any kind of parasite? If I find some kind of “grub” or parasite in a fillet, I usually just trim it out, prepare and eat the rest of the fillet.
Let me also note that if you are releasing the fish you catch, you do not have to worry about any parasites they might have.
Can anything be done about fish parasites in our waters? No, usually nothing can be done. The life cycle of fish parasites can be complex where they infect different hosts at different life stages. Some of them infect freshwater snails, and fish-eating birds as well as fish. As a result, it is impossible to eliminate or prevent the presence of parasites.
If you are interested in more information, we have a pamphlet that used to have the title of this blog post. You can still see the contents of that pamphlet and learn more about some of the fish parasites that are out there, Fish Parasites and Diseases .