One man has 100 on best ormering tide for 30 years
Tuesday 22nd March 2011, 2:29PM GMT.
Left to right, Peter Le Sauvage, Andy Le Prevost and Andy Loader with some of the ormers taken into Seafresh. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 1112830)
ISLANDERS queued up to sell their catches at a fishmonger’s yesterday after what has been called the best ormering tide for 30 years.
Seafresh owner Andy Le Prevost said between 15 and 20 people arrived at his shop laden with shellfish to sell.
Mr Le Prevost said there were always a few people wanting to sell their catch after an ormering tide, but that they usually turned up with between 15 and 20 ormers.
‘This time, everyone had between 50 and 60 and one man had 100. We probably won’t see that again for a long, long time.’
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I wondered why I only found 5!!
Surely 100 is being greedy…and they will be the first to moan when there are none next year!
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Only take what YOU are going to eat!
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The reason for taking so many is they are making money from selling them to the likes of Sea Fresh and the fish mongers are making a lot more. i agree with both Teresa and Eh take onle what you can eat.
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Does nuclear uranium pollution in the sea water from the nearby French nuclear processing site/s soak into all shellfish including ormers?
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This is pathetic, there’s limits on sizes but not limits on sizes of catches? If there’s none next year I blame the bloke who caught 100.
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Agreed, should be a bag limit of a dozen. Massive tide means access to not normally uncovered rocks, those same rocks which usually replenish the normal areas each year.
Good luck next year!
It’s very unlike fishermen to rape the sea for all it’s worth without any thought for the future though eh…
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I would agree that taking 100 is a bit on the high side.
However let’s Be fair, it didn’t state he had himself caught 100.
Maybe he gathered from others and would therefore share.
Could also be that he never even went ormering,
Let’s be fair folks… I try to see the right side, even if at times I get a bit of ‘Barney’
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Maybe there should be a limit to what each can take but to call people greedy for taking what is in a sense £10 notes is rather silly.
Greed is part of the human nature.
Eh
Does that mean you shouldn`t take none for the wife or kids?.
The Truth
What has any of this got to do with the fishermen?.
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You may see it as greedy but as long as they stuck to the rules as they are in place to preserve stocks and has at least put some of the rocks back I don’t see a problem. If you want to talk about greed just take a look at the banks and finance sector after all what will this person get for his ormers £200.00? (plus I bet they had to work hard to get them)
They may have had an area to themselves other areas may have had say 20 ormers all finding 20 each.
A better option is if we think there are a few to be found now. Lets raise the size limit again then we can all go to the beach and get a 100.
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After 30 years of trying, i still haven’t found 1.
I’m pretty sure i’m doing it wrong
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J
Are you visiting the beach on high tide or low tide?
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bcb – his wife and children should collect their own! If the child is big enough to eat them, it is big enough to collect them!
But what I really meant by that comment is that nobody should be allowed to sell them.
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Ray
It doesn’t seem to matter.
I follow other ormerers and they get them all first, I lead the way and they find all the one’s I’ve missed.
Also can never remember if your supposed to leave the rocks turned over or roll them back?
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Eh!
now that about selling them is rather a harsh way of going about it, for many reasons.
It would mean that those who can’t possibly go ‘ormering’ will never have the chance to taste again the delicacy of ormers.
it is no worse that any other goods offered for sale.
I personally would nebver sell; but at one time; I bought for a lady, bedridden and longed to taste once again our very own ormers.
Please don’t be so harsh, to buy and sell is the foundation of life.
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Islander – If people can’t sell them, they wouldn’t take so many. Just the same as if you dive for scallops without a fishing licence, you are not permitted to sell them.
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Eh
Don’t get me wrong,
all i say is the fact that there those who cannot go ormering… for many reasons age .ill health,
So how can they possible get a nice; once in awhile meal of this wonderful item.
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Eh
With your last comment you are not makeing much sense, you are saying one group should`nt sell them and the other group can?.
So if we apply that it would mean the ones with a licence can get as many as they like (ormers) then sell them. But i hear you say there will be less people operating? which would be true and then only those that can afford them can buy them? bit like scallops. You think thats fair?.
I dont think anyone with would take a 2 or 3 year old ormering with them and expect them to catch their own or how about gran who`s 85. Your just mean :)
Islander
you are correct.
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@j
It would be best for the habitat if stones were turned back. If left upside down, everything on the top (sponges, algae, eggs, crustaceans etc) which requires light is left in the dark and everything which requires shelter is left exposed.
The arguments against leaving stones unturned include the one about the risk of crushing crabs and other organisms and also if a stone is replaced, it will be repeatedly turned all season. Plus, a large storm might move a few stones, so it occurs naturally to a degree.
None of these lame reasons is sufficiently valid to leave vast expanses of stones upside down. What shore-gatherers really worry about is using up their valuable time turning stones which have already been done.
A month after the stones have been left, all of the pink and red algae, on which the ormers feed, has died and green algae has moved in. By the end of April, the beach is well and truly devastated.
My friend tells me that as a lad, he would get a clip round the ear from his dad for leaving stones turned. Sadly, this respect and concern for the beach is now largely absent in today’s ‘slash and burn’ approach. A good proportion of today’s gatherers need that clip round the ear…
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@Islander,
The flaw with the current system is that the more keen gatherers can take half a day off work and go and gather so many that they earn more than when they are at work.
If selling ormers was stopped, then we could return to the days when the average ormerer would go and get a reasonable catch and give a few away to friends and family, instead of making a bee-line to the local fishmongers at the end of the day.
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I was quoted £21.00/pound as the price for unshucked ormers from Seafresh and was told by the embarrassed looking counter staff that one person had paid £19.00 for just two ormers. I did not pay that price and wouldn`t.
This must mean that Seafresh offer a good price per ormer from gatherers so who can blame them for selling their catch. A nice little earner if you can catch enough.
I still have my doubts about how Mr Le Prevost`s suppliers are obtaining the amount they are. It`s a very under-regulated passtime and if divers were to catch well how would they be checked when selling on to fishmongers.
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