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Author Topic: Killer roe (literally!)  (Read 6052 times)

milo

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Killer roe (literally!)
« on: November 08, 2013, 10:43:40 AM »

All concerned anglers, especially those who heavily use cured roe, should be made aware of the following:

"There is some concern that incidental consumption of eggs cured with commercially available cures for the purpose of sport fishing causes mortality in juvenile salmon. We evaluated this by feeding juvenile spring Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) with eggs cured with one of five commercially available cures. We observed significant levels of mortality in both pre-smolts and smolts. Depending on the experiment, 2, 3, or 4 of the cures were associated with mortality. Mortality tended to be higher in the smolts than in the parr, but there was no clear species effect. The majority of mortality occurred within the first 10 d of feeding. Removal of sodium sulfite from the cure significantly reduced the level of mortality. Soaking the eggs prior to feeding did not reduce mortality. We observed a clear relationship between the amount of cured egg consumed each day and the survival time. We conclude that consumption of eggs cured with sodium sulfite has the potential to cause mortality in juvenile steelhead and Chinook salmon in the wild"

To see the complete study, click on this link:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0021406
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MoeJKU

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2013, 11:48:51 AM »

I have always wondered the effects that the cures could have on fish. I always imagined that it wouldn't be the best for the little juvi's thanks for the ready.
I never fish with roe anyways anymore so i woun't have to change anything up.
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Suther

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2013, 12:43:42 PM »

Anyone know which,  if any,  cures don't have sodium sulfite? Never used roe because of the fact I haven't caught a fish to take it from,  but when I do I am going to need something...

Has any one ever tested the effects of boraxed eggs on fish?
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blaydRnr

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2013, 01:16:58 PM »

Why would anyone be surprised by the study? It's been long known that preservatives like sodium sulfite and nitrite are lethal at certain level of concentration. Sodium Nitrite which is used in curing ham and sausages is also used in culling ferrel pigs in Australia.... 28 gr is the lethal dose for humans if accidentally inhaled or ingested.
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RyanB

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2013, 04:55:18 PM »

I did a not-very-scientific experiment on Coho smolts at ambleside pier.  A school of them were directly below the pier and I had brought a bunch of shrimp with me for flounder fishing.

The shrimp were prepared in three ways: steamed, steamed with salt, and cured with a commercial cure.  I dropped small pieces of each into the water and watched the smolts react.

The smolts were attracted to the steamed shrimp and ate it.  The smolts were also attracted to the salted and ate it too. 

The commercial cure shrimp brought smolts very quickly to the shrimp but they would NOT eat it.  They would get within inches of it and then suddenly stop.  I watched them swim around it and let it sink to the bottom.

Since then, I don't use commercial cures on my baits. 
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‘Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don’t teach a man to fish…and feed yourself. He’s a grown man. And fishing’s not that hard’ - Ron Swanson

silver ghost

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2013, 02:28:11 AM »

I did a not-very-scientific experiment on Coho smolts at ambleside pier.  A school of them were directly below the pier and I had brought a bunch of shrimp with me for flounder fishing.

The shrimp were prepared in three ways: steamed, steamed with salt, and cured with a commercial cure.  I dropped small pieces of each into the water and watched the smolts react.

The smolts were attracted to the steamed shrimp and ate it.  The smolts were also attracted to the salted and ate it too. 

The commercial cure shrimp brought smolts very quickly to the shrimp but they would NOT eat it.  They would get within inches of it and then suddenly stop.  I watched them swim around it and let it sink to the bottom.

Since then, I don't use commercial cures on my baits.

Interesting. What commercial cure was it?
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RyanB

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2013, 05:53:50 PM »

Interesting. What commercial cure was it?

Not going to say, just that it is a well-known brand.  I think they were attracted to the colour, which means my next experiments will be with food colouring vs. commercial cures vs. plain.  I may have also used too much of the commercial cure, so I'm going to do a test with just a very light dusting on some shrimp.
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‘Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don’t teach a man to fish…and feed yourself. He’s a grown man. And fishing’s not that hard’ - Ron Swanson

BladeKid

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2013, 07:47:49 PM »

Why would anyone be surprised by the study? It's been long known that preservatives like sodium sulfite and nitrite are lethal at certain level of concentration. Sodium Nitrite which is used in curing ham and sausages is also used in culling ferrel pigs in Australia.... 28 gr is the lethal dose for humans if accidentally inhaled or ingested.

My dog will not eat deli meats of any kind…. and she's a beagle….beagles are gluttons.




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anorden

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2013, 10:06:34 PM »

Interesting hypocrisy here of all the roe fishermen who claim to be conservationists....
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sthdslayer

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2013, 03:58:48 PM »

This has been around for a while
this is from the Pro Cure website
"The Pro-Cure egg cures tested by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife had 0 (ZERO) mortalities. If you are concerned about potential smolt mortality we want you to know so are we, and our egg cures passed the testing done by ODFW."

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zap brannigan

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Re: Killer roe (literally!)
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2013, 08:10:56 AM »

I don't often use sulfite cures these days because of this, find borax works much better and also have been using the bor-x-o fire stuff if I want to add colour to my roe.
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