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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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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 ....must be the heat wave... 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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Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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for Ken Bondy..
Ken, the chambered nautilus in my photo on the pool table is not from Baja...at least not that one. I just happened to pull if off a shelf to show
some comparison with the Baja abulone shell and 8-ball. We probably got that along with others at a shell shop on the Oregon Coast. We buy a bin or
two of variable types there and scatter them on our housefront beach for the kiddies to find.
I don't think those nautilus are found here, but I could be wrong. Years ago, we would go out with the big shrimp boats all night long and collected
many beautiful shells that were dredged up in thier nets...before we knew what harm they were doing to the seafloor ecology.
I have some gigantic shells here that were brought up from a good depth..many 'repollos'...that look indeed like a head of cabbage!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Sharksbaja
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Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Surfballs
No, not surfers balls.....While living on Catalina a researcher nabbed two or three Nautilus' in a (very)deep water trawl. Not even supposed to be
here but then again, not to long ago during a 'El Nino' a Dorado and a Marlin were caught off our coast in Oregon. These swimming creatures can decend
to over a thousand feet. They are normally found off the coast in deep water in the So. Pacific. They are related to squid & octopus and are in danger
of overharvest.
It is strange.... but we here in Oregon don't see a lot of sea shells on the beach..... they import them in order to sell em to folks like Pampano and
myself. Anyone know what surf-balls are?
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Sharksbaja
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Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Balls
Not even close.....not animals......
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Sharksbaja
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Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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If we get pufferfish washing up on the beaches I won't have to go to Baja. Its coming to us..... it was 72 degrees here yesterday.
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azusa_bob
Banned
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Location: Rose ah ree toe
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Mood: Hot to Trot!!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sharksbaja
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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I prefer the bearded variety!!  :moon::moon:
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Ken Bondy
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Pompano
Thanks! It would have been quite a scientific find if a nautilus was discovered in the Sea of Cortez. To my knowledge they are found in very deep
water (800fsw) in the Indo Pacific. I have been on dive boats in Papua New Guinea when they drop a baited trap down to 800 ft overnight and pull it
up in the morning with 2-3 nautilus inside. The photographers play with them for a while and then they head back down to the depths. They appear to
be unaffected by even drastic changes in pressure. Amazing prehistoric animals. Thanks again,
++Ken++
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz
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nautilus
We find Nautilus shells on the magote outside of La Paz every winter after heavy winds out of the north. They range in size from 1in to 4-5 in. they
are very fragile its difficult to find one not damaged.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Ken Bondy
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Comitan
That would be a spectacular find if the shells you found are truly nautilus pomilius, the chambered nautilus. The Monterey Bay Aquarium site
describes their range as:
"along deep slopes of coral reefs from the Philippines south through Indonesia to Australia and eastward to the Fiji Islands"
If you have an interest in this type of thing, you should take some of the shells to a marine scientist in La Paz and have them positively identified.
Thanks for the input,
++Ken++
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The squarecircle
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Registered: 11-28-2004
Location: El Cajon
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Clam farming in Baja
Greetings all; >>> Couple of years ago, I visited a clam farming operation on the Pacific about 8 miles west of San Quintin. Most certainly liked the
price of 1 dollar per dozen of large delicious clams. The clam herders shucked them and provided the salsa and you had to use your own plate and
fork. I've never had any fresher and so good that I ate 3 dollars worth! Wonder if the farm is still there. Best wishes, >>>sq.
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Sharksbaja
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Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Clam ranch/farm
I haven't heard tell of that "farm" fer talkin about. I didn't realize you could go 8 mi west of San Quintin. Last time we headed out to the beach we
got evryones 4x4 stuck up to the axles in the salt flat behind the dunes...... the clams are great in San Quintin. We use to find them just laying on
the beach at low tide.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sharksbaja
I haven't heard tell of that "farm" fer talkin about. I didn't realize you could go 8 mi west of San Quintin. Last time we headed out to the beach we
got evryones 4x4 stuck up to the axles in the salt flat behind the dunes...... the clams are great in San Quintin. We use to find them just laying on
the beach at low tide. |
The town of San Quintin on Hwy. 1 is about 6 straight miles to the Pacific, so via dirt road perhaps longer... or if the farm is slighly south on the
San Quintin peninsula, even more...?
Regardless of the miles, squarecircle's description sounds great! Yummy!
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The squarecircle
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CLAM FARM!!!!!!!!
Greetings >>> The sq. made big mistake on last comm. That is an oyster farm not a clam farm west of San Quintin. Said farm was/is Mexican
government supported as an experimental attempt to cultivate these marine bivalve mollusks. I really did eat 3 dozen of these tasty mocos and would
like to do it again. My tongue gets hard just thinking of how absolutely fantastic they taste! Yes, you can drive out there without getting stuck if
you have a Toyota. Happy dreams. ...sq.
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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K.Bonde
I don't know what the tecnical description is we call them paper nautilus its nothing new or unknown many people go out and look for them every
winter.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
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I have a collection of paper Nautilus
that were found on some beaches down here. The largest is about 7" across the opening of the shell.
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White Angel
Junior Nomad
Posts: 57
Registered: 2-25-2005
Location: Danvers, Mass
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Oyster Farm @ SQ
A couple of years ago, we had a feast out at the oyster farm by San Quintin! A fellow rowed out to fetch them from a submerged "keeper". They were
outstanding and very inexpensive. If there was a problem, it was that the oysters were TOO big and plump! Could only manage to eat a half dozen or so.
The odd part to us was that there were none availible at the Old Mill when we tried to order them for supper. They would have been perfect if fried!!
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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oyster farm
I recently sampled some San Quintin oysters and I must admit.....not bad. A little on the large size. Anyone know there method of growing? Are they
raised on the seafloor or are they seeded on ropes and grown in the water column?
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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shell middens and abalone
Sharksbaja------
I too have wondered about those huge clamshell piles along the coast of the Sea of Cortez-----considering that the indigenous peoples were living
along that coast for 1000's of years, it seems very reasonable to me that they knew/learned the art and science of rotational harvesting, if for no
other reason than by trial and error, and survival. This storehouse of knowledge is probably lost, possibly never to be recovered. Just my
speculation.
Baja Bernie-----
I too used to harvest Abalone off La Jolla in waist deep water in the early/mid 50's. They were everywhere, and people used to line up along the
cliffs to watch us, undoubtably thinking we were nuts. We also made regular trips to the beaches south of Tiajuana harvesting Abalone---never more
than we needed for our own use, and to give to friends. Great times!!!!
Barry
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White Angel
Junior Nomad
Posts: 57
Registered: 2-25-2005
Location: Danvers, Mass
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San Quintin Oysters
As I mentioned; it's been a couple of years and I've visited several oyster and mussel "farming" ventures; but I'm pretty sure the SQ oysters were
seeded onto ropes. The sample we had that day were taken from a submerged wooden keeper though. However grown; they had been previously harvested.
Living in New England and being from old Yankee fishing stock; I'm a bit of a fish snob; but these were good. Just over-sized.
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Oso
Ultra Nomad
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Location: on da border
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A chunk of years ago, I worked for the Morro Bay Oyster Co. (run by Mormons who didn't drink or smoke or use caffeine or chew gum or whatever. All
they did was eat oysters and make babies.) Many of those oysters were "large" in comparison to East Coast oysters. I prefer them that way,
especially roasted on grill in the shell- when they open, hit 'em with a pat of butter and a shot of Tabasco or Texas Pete. I love oysters but have
been very dissapointed with tiny sized ones many times. The worst was a couple years ago at a "famous" seafood place on River Walk in San Antonio.
They only had fried oysters. They were the size of a pinky nail and so crisp they might as well have been fried croutons. I couldn't tell the
difference and could not even detect a flavor of oyster. I say hooray for big'uns.
BTW, there we used recycled shells as the medium for the seedlings. The mudflats and tides made for a natural cycle. I'd take the skiff out at low
tide with a bunch of teenage workers who would slog through the mud harvesting oysters in small baskets and emptying them into great big baskets with
marker buoys attached. At high tide, I'd take the barge with crane, drop off empty big baskets and pick up the full ones. Then it was back to the
dock to offload. Then shuck. I was never as good at that as the guys who specialized in the shucking. My wife worked inside, sizing, sorting and
filling jars with selects, etc. I enjoyed the hell out of this hard work and had great respect for the Johnson family. Working a constantly shifting
schedule based on tides rather than clocks was a strange and somehow enlightening experience. Unfortunately, we could not continue. We were paid
minimum wage. That might not have been so bad, but even then, in the mid 70's , there was absolutely no place in Morro Bay that we could possibly
afford to rent and the commute from Grover City was just too long. It saddened me to bid adieu to the Johnsons, they were good people. It was sadder
still to leave working in the natural world and go back to cubicles, fluorescent lighting and bureaucratic politics. But, you play the cards you're
dealt.
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