| Question: My buddies and I fish for rockfish out of Pillar
Point Harbor and are very careful about following the rules. We usually return
with legal limits. However, on occasion one or more of my fishing friends
decides not to take their entire catch home. When that happens I might leave
the marina parking lot with my 10 fish as well as additional fish caught by
other licensed fishers. I’m thinking that since we caught them legally and
returned to the dock legally, we are ok. Am I right? (Bill L., Half Moon
Bay)
Answer: No. You cannot ever be in possession of more than the
possession limit, even if the extra fish came from another angler who caught
them legally. Your buddy may only give away fish to someone who does not
already have a limit in their possession. If you have your limit and then take
additional fish from another angler, you may be cited for having an overlimit
regardless of who gave them to you.
Question: A friend shot
a wild pig and while skinning it he saw worms in the armpits and groin
area. He cut out and discarded the surrounding meat, processed and ate the
rest. Is this a seasonal problem? Was this meat safe to eat? If one gets
an infected pig, how should one dispose of the bad meat or entire carcass? Bury
it (how deep)? Burn it? Toss into the trash can within tightly sealed plastic
bags? (Ray, Arbuckle)
Answer: Adult Trichinella worms are found primarily in the
gut of the host, whereas larval, or immature, worms tend to be present
throughout the rest of the body. According to U.C. Davis graduate student Jamie
Sherman and DFG Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Ben Gonzales, only adult
Trichinella worms are visible to the human eye, and are described as “white
flakes” along the intestines. Larvae within the muscles are only visible under
a microscope. Therefore, it is unlikely the worms seen in your friend’s pig carcass
were Trichinella.
Other parasitic worms can
infect wild pigs though, such as the pork tapeworm Taenia solis, which can
appear in the meat as “measly pork”, much as you describe. Ingestion of raw or
undercooked infected pork results in tapeworm infection in the human gut
(taeniasis). These tapeworms produce larvae which can be shed in the feces of
the human host, and once ingested by other human or animal hosts, the larvae
penetrate the gut and migrate to sites such as the muscles, eyes or nervous system
and can cause serious disease (cysticercosis).
Your friend took the right
steps to protect himself if he cooked the meat adequately. Removing the measly
areas for appearance and then cooking the rest of the meat to an internal
temperature using a meat thermometer to 160O F will eliminate the
risk of infection from the pork tapeworm as well as from Trichinella. By
cooking the meat thoroughly to 160O F and by following safe meat
handling practices such as washing hands and disinfecting utensils and cutting
boards thoroughly after handling raw meat, you can prevent parasitic and
bacterial infections derived from consuming wild game or domestically raised
meat.
Trichinella and other
parasitic worms are not a seasonal problem, but a lifelong disease. Once an animal
is infected, larval worms can remain in the muscle tissue for the lifetime of
the host. Humans then get sick when they consume raw or undercooked meat
containing the larvae.
Regarding various
recommendations for proper carcass disposal:
1) Burial: There is no
specific depth requirement for the disposal of carcasses via burial. The goal
of burying a carcass is to prevent other scavengers from consuming the
potentially infective meat. Therefore, they should not be able to dig it up.
Burying the carcass a few feet under the ground should be sufficient. It is
also important to make sure your burial site is not within 100 feet of any
water source, in order to prevent contamination.
2) Burning: This is an
effective tool for destroying pathogens and reducing the volume of solid waste.
However, since the act of burning can increase the risk of wildfires and can
create potent fumes, it is important to make sure to follow safe fire
practices.
3) Trash: Disposing of
carcasses in the trash is discouraged because once the carcass reaches the
landfill it has the potential to be scavenged by other animals (e.g. rats,
raccoons or even other wild pigs). Determined scavengers can easily break open
plastic bags. There are, however, some landfills that are specially permitted
to safely dispose of carcasses. Local county health department officials can
help identify these landfills.
The Centers for Disease
Control has excellent online articles on trichinellosis at www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/,
taeniasis at www.cdc.gov/parasites/taeniasis/
and cysticercosis at www.cdc.gov/parasites/cysticercosis/index.html.
# # #
Carrie Wilson is a marine biologist with the California
Department of Fish and Game. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s
questions, she will select a few to answer each week. Please contact her at CWilson@dfg.ca.gov.
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