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Sharksbaja
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Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Clam farming in Baja
I was impressed with the middens I have seen all along the Sea of Cortez. The hunter/gatherers were a busy lot. Some places I have seen are ten or
more feet deep. Sometimes in areas you would not expect them. Like up high on bluffs where they had to haul it all up just to bring the edible parts
back to camp or village.
I can only imagine the wealth of sealife and the ease of collecting many types of shellfish. They were not depleting a resource mainly because they
would move on to another area thereby letting the former sites rehabilitate. Whether or not this was intentional is not known. In the last 50 years,
the US(and others) has done serious damage to to continental shelf by way of trawls or dragging. Here in the NW it is estimated that for an area
heavily dragged will require up to 100 years to bounce back to the same as its untouched condition. It is mainly due to the cold water environment. In
warmer climes the process of rejuvenation by natural repopulation is many times faster.
When discussing the loss of invertebrates in areas like Bahia de Concepcion, in all probability a lot of places could be repopulated and managed
successfully. It may also be possible and feasible to farm clams and other shellfish on a sustainable level as which is done extensively in Puget
Sound and in scattered operations for AK to So. Cal. I am curious as to any attempt at this in Baja. I have seen the grant allocations for some ejidos
and other groups handed out. see:
http://www.greengrants.org/grantsdisplay.php?country%5B%5D=Mexico&year=2004[/url]
It could be very lucrative, especially with the more exotic sought after species.
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tehag
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clam farming
Lots of sea farming in Baja. Almeja Catarina, a clam known and marketed as bay scallop, is farmed in parts of Mag Bay, at Tambabiche, and in the south
end of Concepci?n. A large operation started but failed at Chuleta San Lucas near San Bruno. Commercial harvesters not affiliated with farming
operations are required to set out egg settling devices and disperse the relulting larva in order to obtain a permit to exploit the resource.
Shrimp are farmed in La Paz as are callo de hacha, at least experimentaly in the case of the callo. Abalone and oysters are being grown at Punta Abre
Ojos, and abalone and blue fin tuna are raised around Ensenada. There are schools offering engineering degrees in aquicultura in both Baja Norte and
Sur.
Baja is probably well ahead of the international curve in introducing marine aquaculture.
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Pompano
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Bay scallop farming in Conception Bay?
I would be interested to know where that is exactly? I live there and I could check it out and see how they are doing. Don't know how I could have
missed it, but anything is possible, I suppose.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Bruce R Leech
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Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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I must have missed that to Pompano.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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cristobal
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Location: california
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ABULON LABORATORY
PUNTA EUGENIA .... 17 miles NORTH of BAHIA TORTUGAS ...has a PLANT for growing ABALONE ... just EAST of the light house.  
It used to be south of the point but for some reason they changed locations.
The PESCADOR that attends the LAB ... said that there was also one on ISLA NATIVIDAD .... ... just 5 miles to the WEST.
ISLA CEDROS had one ...but NOT anymore .... 
  
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Bruce R Leech
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Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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Would you have the GPS Long. and lat. for the abalone farm.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Sharksbaja
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Verrrrrrrrrry Interesting......
Tell me more. Are they marketed domestically or exported. Do the Abs go for $50 a lb like they do in Cambria. Do they ACUALLY use the larvae
dispersal devices or ?
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cristobal
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in PUNTA EUGENIA ....
they have several tanks .... ABALONE in several different stages of growth. and different kinds.
They put a FEMALE and MALE in one tank .... and with the water at the correct temperature and plenty of oxygen and food ... these LABS can be very
effecient and produce many LARVAE that attach to plates hanging from wires above the tanks.
It is a LONG process that takes YEARS before the small ABALONE get released into the ocean. A diver takes a bunch out and attaches them to rocks in a
good location.
It sounds like they are selling for kind of inexpensive in CAMBRIA .....
They go for $90.00 per pound in NEWPORT BEACH, CA..... that is .... when they are available .... one time it came in .... at this one grocery
store that I used to deliver to .... there was 5 pounds .... one guy bought the whole load .... $450.00.
In the last 10 years ... I have got 6 or 7 cans of ABULON from the fishermen .... as gifts ..... I just save them for special occasions ....
From APRIL thru JUNE .... when there is not a problem with EL NINO .... many of the fishermen have ABULON for dinner..... at least once or twice a
week ... and NO one slices it thin and pounds it like they do NORTH of the border.
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Sharksbaja
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a long time ago
Actually that price was wholesale a few years back. I could never afford to serve it although it's one of my favorite seafoods. Abalone farming is a
difficult endeavor especially when farming. Ranching on the other hand (as you described) provides abalone with the nutrient rich environment needed.
High failure rates can occur as the Abalone are very vulnerable to disease and environmental changes. The CA. ab farm had numerous problems. I
understand that almost all is exported to Japan where they pay huge amounts on food. Most range in size from 2-4 in. Bambinos
Abalone may be caught by skin diving in N. Calif. and a friend who dove on them not to long ago said he saw plenty. Only seasoned divers with a good
amount of experience should dive in these areas I have abalone shells from years back taken in and around the Channel Is. It was unbelievable how much
was out there then.
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cristobal
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speaking of ABALONE shells ....
I have a dozen ... given to me by the kids in PUNTA EUGENIA and TORTUGAS that are .... more beautiful on the outside than on the inside ....
The kids spent some time on the buffer to clean off the crap.
They use many of them in the homes as ASH TRAYS ...
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Mexitron
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I was on a little research expedition to Isla Natividad in the 80's. They weren't growing the abs back then as far as I know but a local fisherman
made us dinner one night--abalone soup, served over rice. One of the best meals in my entire life--better than pounding and frying any day.
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woody with a view
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a little of topic, but anyway:
last may the son and i were driving into town from the point at juanico to re-up on some stuff and this local kid named nico came ROARING past on our
neighboring campers 3 wheeler. well, he slid down the berm into my door and gouged a nice little present into my door . boy was i peeed  , especially when he smiled and kept going.
the guy at the tienda told me to go to the cop shop, but i figured i'd give the kid a chance, since he was hangin out next door.
long story short, nico and his gringo buddies next door arrived 1 1/2 hours later with 4 shelled abs, a 10# fillet of tuna, 4 halibut (which he
fileted), all in my chest covered in ice.  
next morning we were on our way home-stoked!!!
it was the first time we'd ever had fresh abalone besides the fried strips 'n chips . my god, that was some good eating....
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Sharksbaja
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Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Clam soup
I was returning from Mulege with a local who hitched a ride. He insisted we stop at one of the roadside stands in San Quintin for a cup of clam soup
ala Baja. Man was that tasty with the tender large clams and avacados. Check it out!
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Sharksbaja
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wheres' the clams
Who has the clams??
As some may know, I go through buckets of clams(literally) and I use them in many dishes, entrees etc. Iam stuck in a rut cause I have use primarily
one type of clam extensively. Manila. They are a good tasting all around choice because they and generally small and sweet. Of course clams get more
chewy and less appetizing when over cooked. Our method of steaming seafood is ideal for "steamer clams" and since we do not fry, grill or otherwise
kill it with heat,our clams are ready in about 1 1/2-2 mins and tender and juicy. I have not been able to spend time tracking down or learning about
the wonderful bi-valves in the Sea of Cortez.
Where could I buy them in or around Mulege if I needed some?
Especially in the Bay of Concepcion. Pompano talks about the Chocolate clams and am not even sure I have tried those. Since I can manage to get wet
occasionally I will be seeking the elusive perfect ingredient, of which there are many. Hopefully my youngest son will get into it like I did and will
again. I was a spearfish maniac when I was young. I never forget the awesome diving in BOC many moons ago. I see evidence of the bounty the Sea stills
holds. I really think Mexico is closing in on its natural resources with a more defined approach which hopefully will lead to preservation through
education and better fisheries management. Yeah, right......
ok, where are they......................the clams, remember??
Pompano, Bruce Leech will tell you about getting home late...and from my casa downstream... I can hear the music just starting in Mulege at 11:30 PM
and lasting till 2:30 or 3 AM. Its ok, Iam partly nocturnal. But when it comes to fishin' I gots to get to bed early, at least by 1 or 2 AM 
but my wife is suspicious... and the 'gleaning knowledge' excuse, worn out. gnite
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Pompano
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The clams are under the sand...
 The pictured clams are the raw chocolates - that are now ready for the grill.
They are called 'choco-lah-tey eroticas' after an old Baja amigo, Johnny Tequila, who served a lot of these onboard his trimaran, Quetzal.
I know 'secret' bays full of these delectable clams, along with steamers, botejones, and hatchet scallops. I can be bribed easily with an excellent
boulabaise or ciopinno recipe.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Oso
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Abulone shells in the desert
Abulone shells are highly prized by my wife's people, the Otom?. They are true desert Indians of the Mezquite Valley around Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo,
just North of Pachuca. Seafood is almost unknown to them and to this day, my wife won't eat it (I know- I keep telling her what she's missing, but
it's no use.)
Periodically, they make journeys to the port of Tampico to buy the shells and haul them back to the desert. They are highly skilled artisans and they
use the shells to make beautiful objects of inlaid mother-of-pearl. They are particularly known for miniature musical instruments, mostly stringed-
tiny little one inch long guitars, violins, lutes, etc, complete with strings, frets, etc. They use jeweler's saws to cut tiny birds and flowers from
the shells and inlay them in the backs of the instruments with a black paste that hardens and is buffed to make the mother-of-pearl designs stand out.
They also do picture frames, hand mirrors, earrings and a variety of objets D'art.
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Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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abulone and shells...
Whow..that brings back some memories! Sitting around the cafe in Mulege we would be talking to the owner and he laments the fact he's got no abalone
for dinner. We look at each other and say, 'Hell, we can fix that!' and away we'd go.
Who knew how much these great treats would be so sought after? 20 and 30 years ago we would fly to Abrejos and bring back abs (yellows) by the gunny
sack from the co-op. Delicious meat and our wives and girl friends would make pretty earrings, ashtrays, buckles, etc. out of the shells. We gave
away so many abs I couldn't begin to count them. I still some old relics laying around the place, along with a collection of other seashells.
Salute to the best eating around and a toast...(seeing as how it's c-cktail time)...Would that the abs could come back as strong as ever.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Baja Bernie
`Normal` Nomad Correspondent
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Oso et al
Boy! You guys talking about abs has caused so may memories to surface in this fragile mind that I had to go to the kitchen to get a napkin?yea to
wipe the drool away as I write. Early ?50?s walking out waist high in La Jolla Cove and pulling greens all day long. Cut them, scrub them with a
vegetable brush, pound them and dust them lightly bread crumbs and cook them in oil. Best potato chips you could ever eat. Used to stuff ourselves
on them because they were so damn good and free?we couldn?t afford hamburger but the ABS were always there and free. Little did we know.
When we started to build our home in La Salina we would stop at Raul?s Cafe?always took a two quart pot?to buy Abalone soup. Worked all weekend on
our bit of paradise with only Abulon soup to nurture us as we worked?oh! Sure a little ?skunk beer?, that was Corona back then.
Fourteen inch Abulon shells?still have a few smaller ones here at home. taken off the rocks, a secret place where a few still reside.
The best food that that guy up there ever invented. And we all thought it would last forever. Sadly, we were wrong. A lot of this in Baja was
caused by guys like mi amigo Kio?he would harvest abalone the size of silver dollars to use in his FANTASTIC 7 Seas Soup. I would cry and cuss him
when I saw these baby abalone shells laying about outside his casita.
Last Abulon Dinner was at the Cava de Tigre south of Ensenada.---Good, but they stretched it with crab meat and more breading.
Last time I checked here in San Diego a pound was well over a hundred bucks WHEN you could find it.
Clams?PLEASE how can you utter their names in conjunction with Abulon.
Closest thing to Abalone is Conch-but a little to sweet.
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Sharksbaja
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Tasty treasures
Thanx Pompano, I'll be there in a couple weeks. Abs are great eating. I have tried many types and I must say that giant pinks are my choice(very
tender). Taken in deep 70 ft water... Hey, Mt St. Helens just blew a load .... what about that ab lab, have you been out there lately do they still
grow.. I had some small pinks and some greens from Baja but long ago. I remember the shells were very clean on the outside too. I am sure I have some
shells in the shop from Mex. But my all time favorite abs are my wifes.
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Ken Bondy
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Pompano
In the photo you posted the shell on the right is a chambered nautilus. I am extremely interested to know if that came from the Sea of Cortez??
Thanks,
++Ken++
PS Here's a live one from Papua New Guinea
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