Otter Spraint

[Rhoda]

While on our river tracking bimble we came across this otter spraint full of fish eggs. I have never seen this before and am wondering how the eggs got through the digestive process unharmed...any ideas??

More (and better!) photos here

 

[Spaniel man]

A few years ago, i managed a fish (trout) farm on the River Otter in Devon. It was a constant battle of wits with the local otter population, as they came in and took fish on a regular basis. I was constantly tracking them up and down river to find where they got in, and where they came from. I have to admit that otters played a big part in consolidating my tracking skills. I was able to lower the river levels to expose the mud on each side of the river, which turned into 'otter highways' this enabled me to track their movements in and out of the farm. I have seen fish roe in spraint a few times before, and can only put this down to the toughness of the skin of the eggs. I used to make various food products out of the trout i reared and one of the most popular was smoked trout roe. I used to salt the roe by soaking it in a very strong brine solution for a few hours, then drain and wash it, then tip it onto mesh trays to be put in the smoker for 8 hours. All of this process was pretty hard on the eggs, but yet they hardly ever split or squashed. Also when i had eggs come in for growing on, i would wash them in an iodine solution to disinfect them, to prevent the spread of infections and disease in the hatchery. Pretty tough eggs!! Might be interesting to see if they survived the human digestive tract as well!

 

[Spaniel man]

Oh, by the way, hows the puppy?

 

[Rhoda]

A few years ago, i managed a fish (trout) farm on the River Otter in Devon. It was a constant battle of wits with the local otter population, as they came in and took fish on a regular basis. I was constantly tracking them up and down river to find where they got in, and where they came from. I have to admit that otters played a big part in consolidating my tracking skills. I was able to lower the river levels to expose the mud on each side of the river, which turned into 'otter highways' this enabled me to track their movements in and out of the farm. I have seen fish roe in spraint a few times before, and can only put this down to the toughness of the skin of the eggs. I used to make various food products out of the trout i reared and one of the most popular was smoked trout roe. I used to salt the roe by soaking it in a very strong brine solution for a few hours, then drain and wash it, then tip it onto mesh trays to be put in the smoker for 8 hours. All of this process was pretty hard on the eggs, but yet they hardly ever split or squashed. Also when i had eggs come in for growing on, i would wash them in an iodine solution to disinfect them, to prevent the spread of infections and disease in the hatchery. Pretty tough eggs!! Might be interesting to see if they survived the human digestive tract as well!

That is amazing, thanks for the explanation! I was a bit baffled when we first looked at it.

 

[spamel]

While on our river tracking bimble we came across this otter spraint full of fish eggs. I have never seen this before and am wondering how the eggs got through the digestive process unharmed...any ideas??

More (and better!) photos here

I'm sure we had that served to us in the Mess Hall when I was in the Army!

 

[Rhoda]

mmmm yummy!

 

[bikething]

I'm sure we had that served to us in the Mess Hall when I was in the Army!

Jasmin rice?

 

[Chips]

A few years ago, i managed a fish (trout) farm on the River Otter in Devon. It was a constant battle of wits with the local otter population, as they came in and took fish on a regular basis. I was constantly tracking them up and down river to find where they got in, and where they came from. I have to admit that otters played a big part in consolidating my tracking skills. I was able to lower the river levels to expose the mud on each side of the river, which turned into 'otter highways' this enabled me to track their movements in and out of the farm. I have seen fish roe in spraint a few times before, and can only put this down to the toughness of the skin of the eggs. I used to make various food products out of the trout i reared and one of the most popular was smoked trout roe. I used to salt the roe by soaking it in a very strong brine solution for a few hours, then drain and wash it, then tip it onto mesh trays to be put in the smoker for 8 hours. All of this process was pretty hard on the eggs, but yet they hardly ever split or squashed. Also when i had eggs come in for growing on, i would wash them in an iodine solution to disinfect them, to prevent the spread of infections and disease in the hatchery. Pretty tough eggs!! Might be interesting to see if they survived the human digestive tract as well!

Salting toughens eggs.

I have occasionally salted salmon eggs, they are so effective as fishing bait that it is illegal even to carry salmon roe without a good reason. Of course, I'd never fish with them because this is illegal and wrong.