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I received the following message from a Guernsey angler. Any insights
into this observation would be appreciated. Reproductive tissue has
been dismissed by the angler. Thank you for any help you can provide
with the identity of this growth in the peritoneal cavity.
From: Mark Page - [log in to unmask]
Further to our conversation on the 'tumours' found in Pollack,
Pollachius pollachius & ling, Molva molva, here's the info: I have
caught 3 fish with these 'tumours' (two pollack & one ling). They came
from 2 old (World War II or older I believe) wrecks on the edge of the
Hurd deep near Alderney, Channel Islands, Great Britain in 70 - 120
metres of water. I will have to check my diary, but I have had about
200 pollack, ling & cod off these wrecks since I started fishing them
last July. As far as I know, no-one else fishes them. The 'tumours'
come from the cavity containing the stomach, liver, gonads etc. The
'tumours' aren't really attached to anything, and appear to have grown
around the internal organs, taking on the forms of whatever they've
developed next to like a mould. They are medium brown in colour, and
textured. They feel like a stiff plastic or resin, but are definitely
biological, not plastic. Holding one up to a light revealed that it was
uniform in density, and cutting it revealed no obvious structure. The
fish they came from all appeared to be in a perfectly healthy condition,
and certainly fought as hard as any other fish caught there. I have not
noticed any defects in any of the other fish other than
discoloured/spotted livers in a few. I can't remember exact sizes, but
the fish on these wrecks average between 7 & 14 lbs (3 & 7 kg) in
weight. After leaving a 'tumour' outside overnight it had started to dry
out and turn paler on the edges. It was also attractive to my cats who
started chewing it!! Pictures here:
www.cwgsy.net/private/toerag/tumour1.jpg
www.cwgsy.net/private/toerag/tumour2.jpg
Feel free to forward this onto any interested parties. I have never had
any fish from anywhere else with these 'tumours', but then again I've
not had as many fish from other wrecks. I have shown a couple of
friends the 'tumour' in the picture, but they've never seen the likes of
it before, other than items in the fishes gut itself which have been
encased in a secretion from the guts (a bit like a fish version of
mother-of-pearl).
cheers,
Mark Page
Ps
The 'tumour' is definitely not a deformed roe sack as the fish have had
these present in addition to the 'tumours'. Position-wise, the
'tumours' seem to lie near the head end of the cavity, whereas roes are
at the tail end. The 'tumours' are on the outside of the internal
organs as one side is flatter from the body cavity wall. Cheers, Mark
------------------
Best Wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Richard
Richard Lord
Guernsey GY1 1BQ
Tel: 01481 700688
Fax: 01481 700699
Email: [log in to unmask]
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