My Mediterranean Fishing Experience [Travel]

2009 Jul 9
So...this isn’t exactly a food story...but it was an experience that some people on the board might enjoy hearing about...I will warn you it’s a long story!

I recently got back from 8 days in Porto Vecchio, Corsica. I decided that I’d like to check out a commercial fishing operation, so fortunately in Corsica if you know the right person you can make these things happen and before I knew it I was invited by the husband of the local fish market owner to go the next day at 4:05 SHARP the next morning.

When I arrived I was greeted by a bunch of chain smoking fisherman who were repairing nets and although they were surprised why a tourist would want to come along with them, indicated that there was instant coffee in the galley and to help myself. The boat was about 70-80 foot commercial trawler with a captain and three fishermen.

We left at 4ish and by about 530 we arrived near the tip of Sardinia to drop the first net, which was to ride just above the bottom. Once the net was out (the planer boards were each the size of a small car!) we retired to the galley for cold heinekens and more smokes...I checked my watch it was just before 6! It was also the first time I had an ice cold drink in almost 2 weeks...I find really cold drinks aren’t exactly de rigeur in Europe. The guys found places to grab an hour or so of shuteye and I went above board with a book to catch the sun coming up over the Ligurian Sea.

Just before 8, it was time to pull the first net up. I watched anxiously wondering if there was going to be dolphins or coral reef parts in the net; as we all know trawling doesn’t have the best environmental reputation. They dumped the net and I was surprised to find a lot of...anchovies, sardines, squid and octopus. The net was sorted in about an hour, and I am thinking to myself “Sardines are 2Euro a kg, that is at most 100 Euro’s worth of fish...we have burned more diesel than that already.” They kept everything (almost nothing was tossed back, some small stingrays) and there was less than a grocery’s bag worth of garbage that came up in the net.

Once the next net (a mid-water net) was out the net was sorted and, more beers and smokes. It was now about 9. Before long, it was time to pull the net and it was a lot more of the same: some rock fish for bouillabaisse, some big rays, some dogfish, a lot of silver hake (called merlan by the French) , and more octopus and squid. I love octopus and squid so it looked good to me but I was still crunching numbers in my head and thinking that this wasn’t an especially lucrative morning.

All the fish was sorted by species and size, washed and packed loosely in ice. It looked and smelled amazing by the time it was going in the cooler; I was really impressed by how clean they kept the boat. Now it was time for lunch...

I had brought the stereotypical lunch of the “Amercain” (at least in the mind of the French fisherman I was drinking with) which was big kick ass versions of pan bagnat. That wasn’t going to do, so they invited me to sit down to a lunch of rabbit stew (prepared by one of the guys’ wives) and freshly caught hake which was lightly floured and fried in olive oil. Both were revealations...the stew was little more than browned rabbit, huge chunks of potatoes and lardons with a delicious gravy, and the fish was so fresh I would have eaten it raw...it was so mild and firm the closest thing it reminded me was of freshly caught lake perch, and that maybe isn’t a fair comparison. All of this was accompanied by lots of wine and lots of cigarettes for them. After about 2 hours, the lunch broke down into a discussion of whether a Tunisian is an Arab or not...I won’t delve into politics here, but lets just say it there was heated advocates on both sides of the issue, and I certainly had no opinion and could just barely follow all of the discussion ;)

Around 4:30 the last net came up, which was a shrimp/langoustine net. The fisherman had apparently put there argument behind them. When they opened this net up on the deck I finally saw how they make money...there was a pile of langoustines 10 feet across that rose to my waist...and langoustines sell anywhere from 20 to 60 Euro a kg. I saw all kinds langoustines crawling around the size of a small Atlantic Lobster...so I realized they were going to make out okay today.

I watched them sort the (mostly) crustaceans and saw them sneak a bite every so often so I was intrigued. One of the guys tossed me a big shrimp and showed me how to break off the head so that I could eat the tail and roe in one go (Shrimp roe looks like blue playdoh, who knew?). It was marvelous, not fishy-tasting whatsoever and actually quite sweet. I enjoyed this delicacy, rare at least for me.

It was a long day, we arrived back to the pier at 6:30 to a bunch of restaurateurs eager to snap up mountains of fresh langoustines, but I enjoyed the experience and definitely learned a thing or two about the state of the Mediterranean fisheries. Big, expensive fish like tuna, swordfish and turbot are exceptionally rare; these guys make their living off of crustaceans, blue fish (mackerel, sardines, anchovies) and cephalopods.

I’ll post pics soon...

2009 Jul 9
Tracinho - Fabulous story... thanks for sharing. As one who loves to travel I enjoyed this tale very much... You did a good job capturing the essence, I almost felt like I was there.

As a side note... Geez Louise, these fellows sure did a lot of drinking & smoking, guessing the life expectancy of a fisherman in these parts isn't that great.

2009 Jul 9
great write up - what a fantastic experience!

2009 Jul 11
I did write up a thanks for posting msg a couple days ago and see it didn't get through - dang wireless internet! It was a great read Tracinho, but I for one can't imagine beer and smokes at 6 am any more! Hoping for some pics soon.

2009 Jul 11
Sounds delicious. Thanks for the write-up.

I do admit that, if I were out fishing at 6 am, I'd probably want a beer, too.

2009 Jul 14
That sounds just fabulous! Heading to Greece in September for a sailing trip - hope we are lucky as you were!

2009 Jul 15
I'm leaving for Corsica, Bastia, St. Florent and Calvi. Can't wait to sail on The Mediterranean, the best sea in the World.

2009 Jul 15
"Pics or it didn't happen" (Momo's grandmother).

2009 Jul 15
Itchy - LOL, toooo funny!

Ya I want to see those beer slugging cigarette smoking Corsicans... date & time stamped video would be best. LOL

2009 Jul 16
Ok here you go...here is the boat at about 3.30 am...it was called the Circe

2009 Jul 16
Sun rise over the stern...looking east towards Napoli or Rome..

2009 Jul 16
The first net, you can see it was pretty slim pickings...

2009 Jul 16
Bringing in the second net...

2009 Jul 16
Another shot of the sorting process...

2009 Jul 16
This is the contents of the shrimp/langoustine net...it didn't turn out very well

2009 Jul 16
More sorting...

2009 Jul 16
A rather nice looking langoustine, check out those claws...

2009 Jul 16
And finally a typical Coriscan snack after a long day on the water...homemade wild boar salami and shepherd's cheese with a chestnut-flour beer.

2009 Jul 16
WOW! Looks great. I went fishing off the Pacific coast of Mexico and wasn't nearly as good as that.

Did you get to sample your wares?

2009 Jul 16
I tried some raw shrimp and some panfried hake on the boat, all of which were excellent. The next day we bought some langoustines from the market run by the captain's wife and had a feast...I wonder if langoustines are caught in our Atlantic fisheries; I have never seen them in any of our fish markets.

2009 Jul 16
Tracinho - Wow I am thoroughly impressed... great photos to compliment a great story... thanks for sharing. Gosh, all that seafood is making me hungry (and have a wicked craving)... looks like I'll have to russle up some sort of crustacean for dinner tonight.


2009 Jul 16
Sign me up for langoustine fishing and Corsican snacks. I'd stay out all day with just those two things. Well, those and a place to hide from the yellow, angry sun ;)

2009 Jul 16
Mr Red: I have been to Bastia and St. Florent(particular cool spot with a great port) however I know the south much better. PM me if you need any traveling tips or info...just remember extortion is the number one service industry in Corsica, and I am not kidding.

2009 Jul 16
FYI, Pietra is available at the LCBO.