Remember those tongue eating fish parasites?

 In the hands of director Barry Levinson, you'll never eat crabs again.

NSFL - Not safe for lunch, or breakfast, or even dinner...ditto snack time.




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Behold Parasite Hyperia galba!

Alexander Semenov spends a lot of his time with the creepier things in life, such as this Hyperia galba here.

Commonly known as a jellyfish parasite (who knew) these critters are found hitching a ride on and sucking the life's juices from jellies.

You can read all about them here a favorite parasite with the research community (again who knew).

Alexanders website deserves a special look and keep your eye out for a stunning face to face encounter with Nereis virens - the clam worm.

The next time you look at any ocean critter and think that life in the ocean is better than, say, life in a aquarium? Make sure you spend some time with the parasites that infest said critters before you make that distinction, at least in the aquarium they don't suffer the wrath of Sacculina!

Let's hope no one you know does.

Shark washes up in Oregon with unknown parasites

Now, this is disturbing. For the past 3 years we have been watching an increase in the numbers of Salmon Sharks (Lamna ditropis) that have been washing up on the shorelines of California and Oregon.

Until recently their migration patterns were unknown. We now know they migrate many miles south from Alaska and back each year.

The latest parasite development is always cause for concern:

SEASIDE, Ore. -- A shark that washed up on an Oregon beach was covered with unknown parasites.

Seaside Aquarium officials say the 4-foot salmon shark that washed up in the Cannon Beach area Wednesday was covered with a dense layer of parasites in an unusual way. Aquarium manager Keith Chandler said staff members could not identify the type of parasite and have begun seeking opinions from other marine experts around the Northwest.

It was the fourth salmon shark found by the Seaside Aquarium in the last six weeks. They have been showing up in the fall and late summer months in recent years, with increasing frequency.

Waiter,There's A Worm In My Salmon

A somewhat dis-gusting warning today about a parasitic worm that causes big problems in humans. You get these nasty critters from eating Salmon.

According to this diagram put out by the CDC-dolphins are in on it too. You should never trust a dolphin, dammit.

Anisakis simplex-In North America, anisakiasis is most frequently diagnosed when the affected individual feels a tingling or tickling sensation in the throat and coughs up or manually extracts a nematode (that's a live worm people).

In more severe cases there is acute abdominal pain, much like acute appendicitis accompanied by a nauseous feeling. Symptoms occur from as little as an hour to about 2 weeks after consumption of raw or undercooked seafood.

Here's the gross part:

"With their anterior ends, these larval nematodes from fish or shellfish usually burrow into the wall of the digestive tract occasionally they penetrate the intestinal wall completely".

What can you do to protect yourself?

1. Always cook your fish
2. Never buy fish on sale
3. Eat Kobe Beef