Let me ask you this question - What does Sushi, Poke, Sashimi, Kokoda, Ceviche, Crudo, and Tartare have in common asides being delicious (actually I have not tasted most of them) is that they are all made with raw fish. Raw Fish!! Yes. One thing that raw fish can give freely is parasite since parasite are everywhere in water body that is why we are always advised to cook our fishes properly with warnings like "eating raw or undercooked fish may cause foodborne illness".
A lot of parasites take fish as their host so if you are eating food recipes made from raw fish including sushi and sashimi, then there is a possibility that you can end up having parasite in your gut. While eating the egg might be a thing of concern, the major concern is if the egg hatch in the body. Marine animals have parasites like Anisakis (anisakid nematodes (worms)) and it could be gotten when sashimi is eaten. You might begin to question the state of your stomach with this news you are getting.
According to a research, 10% of salmon sushi in Seattle restaurants contained dead anisakis worm and this worm is dead because the restaurant followed regulations which includes freezing the fish for 7 days at a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius causing all the eggs as well as the parasitic worm to die but if the restaurant didn't follow regulations or if a person catches a salmon and eats it raw there there is an increased chance of consuming the worm.
When this worm gets into the body, it develops just like other worms that are eaten by crustaceans after being released into the ocean by marine mammals. The crustacean go about their daily activity when they are then eaten by fishes which are then eaten by marine mammals. This is how the cycle should be normally but when people eat these fishes raw, the nematodes find their way into the human digestive system as they reside in our stomach, lining of the intestine, and the throat. The parasites that live inside our body do not have to go in as adults, all that needs to be done is for their eggs to be eaten.
Euhaplorchis californiensis is another parasite that resides in salt mashes which lives in three host from birds who release their eggs for horn snails to eat. The parasite castrates the snail, reproducing inside the snail after which it goes out and find its way to the gills of the California killer fish after which it finds its way to the fish's brain. For the purpose of survival, the parasite tricks the fish to swim at the surface of the water making it more likely to be eaten by birds compared to ones without the parasite.
You see, parasites are everywhere from air, land, to sea, and they make up a large amount of the animal kingdom. It is difficult to estimate the number of parasite on earth as a result of their forms. Parasites can be plants, animals, microbes, or fungi. While it is important to kill parasites, killing them can cause an imbalance in the cycle of life. For instance in the case of Euhaplorchis californiensis, the snails that are not infected reproduce and this can be in a large number leading to the fewer plants, and fewer fishes for bird to eat since they will not come to the surface. While we do not like them and I for one want them off, destroying them will affect the ecosystem balance.
It is no doubt raw fish dishes can be delightful, but they come with risks that should not be overlooked. Understanding the potential for parasites and adhering to proper food safety guidelines, such as freezing fish to kill parasites, can help mitigate these risks. Parasites play a complex role in ecosystems, and while they can be harmful to humans, their complete removal could disrupt the natural balance. Therefore, it's essential to approach the consumption of raw fish with both caution and respect for the delicate ecological systems involved.
Reference
https://wsg.washington.edu/marine-parasites-on-the-rise/
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/aquarium-fish/parasitic-diseases-of-fish
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920408&slug=1485375
http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Educational%20Materials/EH/FPS/Fish/IllnessCausingFishParasitesJan13.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/anisakiasis/index.html
https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/nematodes-roundworms/anisakiasis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2679081/
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3057
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/03/13/save-the-parasites-healthy-ecosystem
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Euhaplorchis_californiensis/
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