While trying octopus for dinner at a local restaurant a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I’d like to go ormering. That passing comment set the wheels in motion for my very first foraging trip – which turned out to be a huge success despite the fact that I was woefully unprepared.
A very last minute trip to Mick’s Fishing Supplies on Friday afternoon saw me ready to go on Saturday lunchtime with literally a pair of gloves, the neoprene boots I use for sea swimming, and a bucket.
I was told that under no uncertain terms I had to be ready to be picked up, meaning there was no time to wash my hair. It didn’t really matter what my head looked like though as I was leant some enormous waterproof gear so I truly did look Instagram ready…
Sarcasm aside, what did look Instagram ready was the view at Perelle.
Walking down the slipway beneath Fort Richmond – further than I’ve ever walked down the shore at low tide – there was an element to ormering that I’d not considered before. The peace and solitude, enjoying the sunshine, no mobile phones to hand, just nature all around.
I think I’ve made clear that I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I knew ormering involved turning over rocks at low tide, but where to go and when to go was beyond me, and yet here I was in my oversize waterproofs following two chaps down the beach.
Luckily they did know what they were doing and the location chosen turned out to be an ormering gold mine.
Once we’d got down below the low tide mark the rocks revealed their secrets and there were lots of them.
We found loads of slightly undersized ormers – a good sign for future years I am told – and lots of full-sized ones including some absolute monsters.
Some were hidden under large boulders, growing in crevices, and clinging to the base of the rocks making up the reefs that are usually inaccessible. Others were hidden beneath much smaller stones – ones easily turned by my fair hand.
After around 90 minutes we gave up because we had so many already and it was a long walk back up the beach with our heavy buckets and bags.
With well over 50 in our bucket we gave some away and still had around 30 for ourselves.
Now it was time to feast…after the shucking, gutting, battering, and cooking of course.
Not knowing where to start with cooking an ormer I turned to YouTube for guidance and found some expert advice from ‘Guernsey Gary Fishing’ and ‘Smash Fishing’ among others.
There’s a knack to shucking an ormer, but once you’ve got it you’re flying! They can come out quite easily and cleanly – and if not, that’s where the boyfriend comes in handy to do the gutting.
We had enough for two meals at least so Saturday night they were fried with chips and bread and butter, and Sunday night we had ormer casserole with mash and beans.
If you’re wondering about the taste, I was pleasantly surprised.
I do eat a lot of fish and shellfish – and although the texture was more meaty, it was similar to a white fish.
Fried in Guernsey butter they came up light and crispy, and simmered for hours in stock with onions and garlic they became soft and delicate. Either way they still had a strong taste.
Would I eat them again? Yes. But it may be limited to a once-per-year hunt and feast event.
Considering how many we collected in a short length of time, and seeing so many for sale and being donated to residential homes over the weekend, it seems ormer stocks could be healthier than they have been in years.
Past concerns about declining ormer stocks may have abated but it is easy to see how the problem could occur again.
I had thought it would be much more difficult to find ormers, and that we’d be turning over rock after rock after rock before finding any large enough to take.
The opposite was true.
It was ‘easy-pickings’ for us at Perelle last Saturday and if one wanted, one could have pulled bags full of ormers off the beach.
With another 12 ormering tides this year, the ones just slightly undersized last time could be ripe for picking next time.
But there are plenty much bigger out there that are better taken this time round, leaving the smaller ones some extra time to grow for next year.
Sea Fisheries advises anyone ormering to carry a proper measure (we got ours from Mick’s) and to return any undersized ormers.
With an 80mm minimum size in place for some years now it’s worth noting that some people have suggested this be increased to further protect the existing stocks and to enhance future stocks.
Sea Fisheries says officers will be carrying out routine coastal patrols this year with anyone found in possession of undersized ormers liable to prosecution.
With so many out there at the moment, my in-experienced take on it would be that there is simply no need for anyone to risk taking an undersized ormer anyway.
Ormering rules
Strict rules cover when ormers can be collected, how and the size they need to be.
You can only collect ormers on the days of the full moon, new moon and two days following from 1 January to 30 April.
You cannot collect them between sunset and sunrise and they need to be at least 80mm, measured along the longest axis of the shell.
This year’s ormering tides and a reminder of the rules can be found HERE.