Worms in Cabezon ???

Are you eating it raw? In general, benthic fish will have more worms than pelagic but in reality they all have parasites. Even fleas have fleas. If you eating it raw I would just slice it thin and inspect the fillets. If cooking, don't even worry about it.

Quote from Tomlynch

Definatly cooking it, the wife wont touch uncooked local fish . She's weird like that.

OK, then tell her that there are never worms in cabs. When it comes to parasites and food, ignorance is bliss.

Basically all of CA's fish sometimes have worms. I've found round worms in everything from halibut and lingcod to cabezon, rockfish, even the occasional yellowtail. So long as you cook it, its perfectly safe. If you intend to eat it raw, DFG recommends freezing below 0 degrees F for 48 hours (this is a lot colder than most home freezers get). Does that deter me from filleting a yellowtail and putting it straight into some soy sauce and into my mouth? Not at all.

These larval roundworms are the most common and the only kind known to cause any problems: California Department of Fish & Game, Marine Region, Common Parasites of California Marine Fishes

I read a thread on this talking about how fish that hang out on the bottom layer of water usually are more prone to bacteria and parasites. Cabs being one of those fish. But the only thing i heard of was white visible worms that are not harmful when cooked. I heard Hali's are the worst.

Quote from Taylorwoodgo

I heard Hali's are the worst.

Boccacio rockfish are the worst in CA without a doubt.

Age might be a factor.

Both carter and mike are right on the money. Older fish definitely have more worms than younger fish from what I've seen. Lime juice won't kill them and you have to freeze them in a commercial sub zero freezer for a while to kill them. Usually slower moving fish tend to have more than faster fish but again like carter said I've seen them in barracuda and yellowtail this is because I think it moves up the food chain in other fish.

I usually only eat the back muscle portion in fish RAW, I also try to gut my fish asap to keep the worms from burrowing from the stomach cavity into the meat. Cooking it will kill the worms and you won't notice them unless your fish is infested.

I've said this before, one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a parasite specialist was NEVER eat any freshwater fish raw. The worms in there can easily live in your body. Saltwater fish can also have worms that live in your body but they have to get by your blood chemistry difference and also get thru your stomach acid. It can happen so be careful.

LOL Scare tactic , yeah I want to keep them all for myself :laughing2:
Next time you get one turn off the lights and hold the fresh fillet to a candle / light box :@

ALSO PLEASE NOTE THE ROE IS TOXIC TO HUMANS so be carefull with your filleting ...

Quote from Tomlynch

So mabe I'm just out of the loop or this is a scare tactic ? I have found no information on this on the internet . Are they visible worms ? Will they die from freezing ? Is it true all Cabezon have worms ? Any insight would be awesome . Thank you guys :confused1: