Parasitic bluefill gills?

[Fishermancraig]

Caught some snapper bluefish this fall in my local estuary and harvested them. Noticed each gill had atleast one of these parasites in it.

Then another day went fishing on a party boat. I noticed none of the bluefish on the boat in ocean water have these parasites.

Anyone know why? Is it because they are juvenile and eventualyl they get shed or are able to remove them? Or are they only noticeable in fish that live in brackish and not entirely clean water?

[Ol Pedro]

Do they drop off when they mature ?

[Fishermancraig]

I'm not sure, thats why I'm asking if anyone knows? They were pretty big for the size of the gill. I'm jjust wondering if that is indicative of the fish being unhealthy.

[AndyS]

I remember as kid fishing off the Norma K dock at night for snappers. We would would check for gill bugs every time we landed one. More often than not the fish had them, we simply peeled them out with our thumbs and released the fish unharmed.

[acabtp]

Lironeca ovalis. Safe to consume the fish. Doesn't bother them too much. *Not* Cymothoa exigua, the one that replaces the tongue

Parasite size increased with bluefish size, and a significant but small effect of parasitism on the bluefish mass-length relationship was found; parasitized fish weighed 3% less than nonparasitized fish at a given length. Infection did not have a significant effect on the mass of stomach contents at capture. Although there remain many questions regarding the host-parasite relationship between P. saltatrix and L. ovalis, the physiological cost associated with infection appears to be small and probably does not constitute a serious threat to individual bluefish survival.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/entit...b-877db0a8bba6

the parasites tend to be more abundant in the saltier systems

https://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/fishe...-1.asp?ID=2398

[bulletbob]

plain old gill bugs...Been around as long as there have been Bluefish. Not sure if I have ever seen them on any other species. I DO recall the first time i ever saw one many many years ago I was horrified beyond comprehension!