Safe to Eat?????

[BIGSTEVE]

Just got back from a long weekend of fishing. The kids wanted a fish fry so we decided to catch a bunch of panfish for the feast. Upon cleaning our harvest...lol......I noticed that almost all the rock bass had little black specs in their flesh. I usually hate cleaning panfish so I dont have much experience with rock bass. However, the sunfish and perch did not have any of these black specs in their flesh. Does anyone know what these black specs are? We froze the fish and did not eat any yet. Are the fish safe to eat?

Many thanks!

[joco]

MMMMMMMM


KEEP THEM FOR VISITS YOU DONT WANT..

PUT MORE BREAD CRUMS ON THEM..THEY WONT SEE. .

I DID EAT SOME OFF THOSE BLACK SPOTS BEFORE AND I AM OK.

i think..

its the little white worm i dont like and wont eat.

but black spot..is more a parasite i think i take it off wit the poit of my knfe.

but again no epxert here to say yes or no its not safe.

have a good shore lunch.

jooc

[troutnmuskiehunter]

Steve,

Joco's right.....those little black spots in the flesh are parasites and are very common. They're not harmful and will die when you cook the fish...they've been around for ever and I wouldn't worry about it all

Steve

[Pints]

Here is the link for the Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Le ... 65396.html

Here is the section on Black Spots from the Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish:

a) Black spot
Black spot, one of the most frequently
observed parasites of fish, appears as small
black spots or cysts in the skin, fins and flesh
of fish. In the black spot life cycle, fish-eating
birds such as herons and kingfishers eat an
infected fish. The larval stage, which is inside
the black cyst, develops into an adult in the
bird. Eggs are laid by the adult and pass
into the water where they hatch and infect
snails. Eventually they leave the snail host
and burrow through the skin of fish and form
cysts, which the fish surrounds with a black
pigment. This organism does little harm to the
fish, but gives the fish an unsightly appearance.
Infected fish can be consumed with proper cooking.

[Mr. T.]

It's funny, a coworker and I were talking about the same thing this morning.

Thanks for the clarification Pints.

[I-make-stink-bait]

"Black Spots make for an excellent shore lunch."

- Darryl Cronzy

[Iceman]

"Black Spots make for an excellent shore lunch."

- Darryl Cronzy

Me thinks Darryl has had a few too many shore lunchs