Soft Fleshed Salmon

[lure-washer]

Recently, I thawed several frozen salmon, which we have caught this spring, for canning.
During the process I noticed that two of the five fish, had very soft flesh, with the remainder being firm as normal. I have noticed this in the past, but not to the same degree of softness of these two fish. The two fish in question were 11 and 12 lbs live weight, with two others smaller, and the final one 17lbs.
During canning, I never identified which were which, but we have since opened several cans, and found some to be firm as expected, and others to very mushy.
All of the fish were handled in the same manner.
I have heard of soft flesh syndrome in salmon, which pertains to mostly farmed salmon, and I`ve also heard that handling the fish by the tail after catching can cause the flesh to be soft, but why only two of the five being soft beacuse of identical handling?
Does anyone have any information on this problem?
Lure-washer

 

[lorneparker1]

Where were they caught?

Lorne

 

[tubber]

Is it possible that the soft ones spent more time unbled and in an uniced fishbox/cooler before being dressed and frozen than the firmer ones?
Or were those two caught by jigging in a net pen? Those ones are all soft(and likely toxic).

 

[lure-washer]

All of the fish were caught in front of French Creek
Every fish I catch is bled immediately, and cleaned as soon as, or shortly after, the gear is back down.
The fish were in the freezer within 3 or 4 hours. Since the temperature was barely above freezing, I did not have Ice on the boat, but the fish were in the shade and were cold. They were all handled exactly the same.
Lure-washer

 

[Theb55]

Get hold of Morton. Check for ISA

 

[GLG]

I have heard of soft flesh syndrome in salmon, which pertains to mostly farmed salmon
Lure-washer

Sounds like Kudoa thrysites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudoa_thyrsites
no cure at this time for salmon but DFO is spending large dough to help the salmon feedlots with their problem.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/sustainable-durable/summaries-sommaires/2009-10/P25-eng.htm
It could be that the wild ones pass it on to the farm salmon.
Darn those wild fish......

 

[Rockfish]

Sounds like Kudoa thrysites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudoa_thyrsites
no cure at this time for salmon but DFO is spending large dough to help the salmon feedlots with their problem.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/sustainable-durable/summaries-sommaires/2009-10/P25-eng.htm
It could be that the wild ones pass it on to the farm salmon.
Darn those wild fish......

So it may be that wild fish have passed on a nasty little bug to farmed Atlantic Salmon. Lets hope so, - Nature fights back.

 

[GLG]

So it may be that wild fish have passed on a nasty little bug to farmed Atlantic Salmon. Lets hope so, - Nature fights back.

Oh I wish.... but the sad fact is a wild fish (herring or salmon) that passes this to a salmon feedlot causes the feedlot to become infected. It then acts like a large tank (with holes in it) of disease growing medium able to pass it on to healthy wild fish that have come near it.
And so the cycle grows......

 

[Rockfish]

Oh I wish.... but the sad fact is a wild fish (herring or salmon) that passes this to a salmon feedlot causes the feedlot to become infected. It then acts like a large tank (with holes in it) of disease growing medium able to pass it on to healthy wild fish that have come near it.
And so the cycle grows......

I know, the feed lots amplify the incidence of the disease in wild fish. I was having an Avatar moment. The old nature triumphing over evil bit.

Still, one would hope that if this is a natural disease of pacific salmon they would be a little more resistant to it than atlantics.

 

[lure-washer]

I thought about this being Kudoa thrysites [soft flesh syndrome] but was under the impression that it was more prevalent in farmed fish, and transferred to wild fish, rather than the other way around.
Regardless of which way it`s transferred, if this is what I had in these two fish which were caught a few days apart, and is an indication of what`s to come, we`re in big trouble unless we are content with catch and release.
My understanding of ISA is that the symptoms are quite differant than what I saw.
I hope that it`s in some way related to the handling. I am going to stop handling the fish by the tail, but I think that I`m kind of grasping at straws.
Lure-washer

 

[stones93]

how you freeze (flash vs regular) and how you thaw (in water, or overnight in fridge) can have a difference. I have recenlty noticed that when i thaw vaccum sealed fish in a sink of water vs overnight in fridge, it seems to be mushy. No science, just my 2 cents

 

[lure-washer]

I thaw my fish at room temperature until they are semi frozen, then put them in a cooler with ice overnight.
In the morning, they are still semi frozen, but after scalling with a garden hose, they are usually ready for cutting up to can. I can 58 to 63 cans at a time, so there is no way of thawing the fish in a sink, or fridge. I suppose that I could thaw them in a cooler with ice, but I`m not a kid and may not have that much time left. I have done this procedure for many years, and never had this kind of problem.
Lure-washer

 

[Canso]

Maybe they were big pinks, after the freezer you can suck them up with a straw.