That one in the photo was steamed --- you can just put them on a bed of hot
coals and they cook in their own juices --- when they pop open they're
ready. Delicious, too. But you have to be wary of paralytic shellfish
poisoning which comes from a sea-algea.
Sadly, Canadian DFO is unreliable in regards to their psp closures --- due
to budget cuts they under-sample and over-close, so unless you want to
simply never eat bivalves, you have to experiment on your own, just try a
tiny bit, wait for symptoms, try a slightly larger bit, etc.
Another unfortunate thing is the proliferation of captive salmon
feedlots --- they contaminate the bivalves for hactares, smell bad, drown
sealions and seals and eagles, and spread parasites like sea lice to wild
salmon. Captive bird feedlots like turkey or chicken farmers wouldnt dream
of putting their feedlots where their stock could mix with wild birds
because of disease considerations --- yet slamon feedlots are right in the
open and even use nightlights (for marginally faster growth rates) that
attract the wild fish right into the cages. Where fish farms are wild
salmon have died off, like Barkley Sound --- there are no wild salmon at all
there now, because of fish farms. Thats how 'For Sale' our BC government
is. I'm ashamed of these guys.

It's bull kelp --- a type of really big seaweed that attaches itslef to the
the rock at one end, and has a flotation bubble at the other with long
'leaves' streaming from it. It's also called bullwhip kelp because it
resembles a big whip when it washes up on a beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelp

Stalking the Blue Eyed Scallop --- hmmm, sounds intriguing. I'll look into
that, thanks.

I know we have rock scallops here but they attach themselves to rock and
don't swim, not like east coast scallops. That one muscle they have, the
cylindrical one that holds the shells together ---mmmm, that is so
delicious --- I've eaten them raw, damn the torpedos...

Forgot to add --- yes, we have beaucoup uni, and it's a favorite of mine.
Sea otters which feed on uni have been re-introduced though, so it's not the
uni bonanza that it used to be. Also, now the otters are back, they will
suppress the uni and the 'urchin barrens' (areas where uni have eaten all
the beneficial kelp) will shrink and this is good because many small fish
need kelp to help them lay eggs and reproduce and since the otters were
wiped out in the 1920's this has been a problem --- too many uni eating all
the kelp. The otters are cute, too, although they are actually more related
to weasels than otters. Sea weasels, lol.

On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:09:07 GMT, "tom" wrote:

I have the good fortune to be going on a kayak trip off Vancouver Island,
BC, and in order to try to stretch out my provisions, I'm planning to
supplement my protein intake by (sal****er-only) fishing...

Tom

My God Tom, that looked like such a wonderful trip you went on. The
photos were great!

I would never have the courage to go out like you did in such a small
vessel. From that level, when the seas are rough, it must be humbling
to be so tiny in such a massive scene.

Thanks for the view!

Merlin, thanks for your kind words. If you're interested, I have some more
photo-albums of similar trips. If you liked the Balaklava Island trip, I
recommend the Queen Charlotte Straight trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tomfromv...93584591706674

And, I have a bunch more albums of less adventurous, freshwater paddling on
Pitt Lake (world's largest tidal lake), Chilliwack Lake, etc. All of the
albums are linked to from this page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tomfromvan

Because my kayak is very small, too small actually, my trips have been cut
short due to running out of food, hence my interest in sushi and sashimi ---
if I can supplement my provisions with seafood I should be able to go for
multi-week paddles instead of multi-day trips.

Health Canada has a blanket recommendation to freeze all sushi fish, but I
won't be able to do that --- I think I'll just stick to snapper, inspect the
meat closely, and cook the rest wrapped in kelp buried in sand under a
bonfire.

I love sea urchin roe too --- I'll probably bang some of them off, also.
Mussels are all over the rocks, clams at low tide. You know the aboriginal
culture was highly advanced compared to many others because of the protein
rich environment --- it took maybe an hour to gather all the food you need
for the day and the rest of the time you could do whatever. Unlike say, the
Sahara desert where they had to go from sun up to sun down and still might
not have enough food.

On Mar 28, 3:34*pm, "tom" wrote:
Merlin, thanks for your kind words. *If you're interested, I have some more
photo-albums of similar trips. *If you liked the Balaklava Island trip, I
recommend the Queen Charlotte Straight trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tomfromv...Straights_July...

And, I have a bunch more albums of less adventurous, freshwater paddling on
Pitt Lake (world's largest tidal lake), Chilliwack Lake, etc. *All of the
albums are linked to from this page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tomfromvan

Because my kayak is very small, too small actually, my trips have been cut
short due to running out of food, hence my interest in sushi and sashimi --- *
if I can supplement my provisions with seafood I should be able to go for
multi-week paddles instead of multi-day trips.

Health Canada has a blanket recommendation to freeze all sushi fish, but I
won't be able to do that --- I think I'll just stick to snapper, inspect the
meat closely, and cook the rest wrapped in kelp buried in sand under a
bonfire.

I love sea urchin roe too --- I'll probably bang some of them off, also.
Mussels are all over the rocks, clams at low tide. *You know the aboriginal
culture was highly advanced compared to many others because of the protein
rich environment --- it took maybe an hour to gather all the food you need
for the day and the rest of the time you could do whatever. *Unlike say, the
Sahara desert where they had to go from sun up to sun down and still might
not have enough food.

Thank you for the links to your photo journals. Some of your photos
may become framed for the walls of my house. The old expression: "A
picture is worth a thousand words" is most accurate to me. When I look
at photos such as yours, it gives me a wealth of feelings that are
almost overwhelming in their intensity. To see such places and events
in real time would be a fascinating thing indeed.

Thank you again for your generosity in sharing your experiences.

As for eating sushi in the wild, (so to speak), I do something that is
both very fulfilling as well as quite often humorous to me.

I live one mile from the ocean near Jacksonville Florida. I have what
I call my "Sushi Kit". It consists of:

1. One gallon of fresh water,
2. A "Table-Mate" TV tray and folding chair.
3. A cutting board
4. My 12" Sushi Knife
5. A Tupperware container for my rice and another for holding the
clean fillets while I clean up.

I go to the beach with my fishing pole and 6 live shrimp in a live
bait bucket.

I catch a Whiting, (Southern Kingfish, Menticirrhus americanus), put
it on my cutting board and quickly fillet it and remove the skin. I
then wash it with fresh water and put the fillets in my small
Tupperware container until I've cleaned my cutting board thoroughly.
Then I take enough rice from my container and form my rice balls for
nigiri, cut my fillets into appropriate size and have my Sushi
Breakfast on the beach while watching the ocean, (and sometimes look
at the bikinis...).

The humorous part is when non-sushi-eating people walk by and see what
I'm doing. They'll watch until I take a bite and you should see their
faces! It's worth a million!

Of course, I'm met many people who love sushi and some even ask if
they could have a bite. I always share.

There is no sushi fresher than this unless you dive in the ocean and
eat them in the water, haha.

Good luck to you on your quest for Kayak Sushi.

Note: For catching Whiting easily, I use a number six, long shank,
chrome hook with a 1/2" piece of fresh dead shrimp on the "bow" of the
hook. By "fresh dead" I mean I cut it from a living shrimp, (it truly
makes a big difference). I use six pound line and a spinning reel on a
light to medium pole. I cast out only into the closest wave coming in
and immediately start reeling in my line at a slow to medium speed to
keep the bait in the wave where the Whiting pull food from during the
wave action. This method works each time, every time. It's rare that I
don't catch on on every cast. These are "schoolies", about 10 inches
long and mostly female. Excellent eating as sushi.

I checked with a Scientist who works for the FDA and he told me that
there are NO reports of this fish having parasites, ever. This same
Scientist put out a query among his peers and forwarded their emails
to me. There were about a dozen different people who each had
"Scientist" in their sig-blocks that agreed with his findings. That's
good enough for me.

Sorry Tom, I posted from another browser using "Google" and "John Doe"
is me, "Merlin".

Great pictures and great thread! I see an IK in Widgeon Marsh, tho
I'm not familiar with that particular one. I'm actually a lot more
interested in sea kayaking than sushi. I like muscle-powered vehicles
- kayaks, canoes, bicycles...

"IK" ? I'm not sure what you mean by "IK".

Yeah, muscle power is cool. I so hate it on lakes where theres a zillion
power boaters and jet skiers and the whole lake throbs with the sound of
their stinky, loud engines. Wind power is cool too, though --- this season
I'm going to try to get a towing kite to use to pull me downwind when the
wind is blowing the right way.

People really have to stop all this wastefull driving around of huge SUV's
and everything. Tonight is earth day --- we're supposed to shut off the
lights between 8 and 9pm --- I'm going to take part.

Thanks for the comments, have a good 'earth day' ...

Hah! Love the story about the beach-sashimi. Yeah, one bite and I bet the
curious become sushi devotee's, eh?

I looked up whiting --- I see it's an atlantic fish, we don't have them
here. The closest thing to your whiting, judging just from basic
appearance, is what we call rock cod, Sebastolobus alascanus, or perhaps red
snapper, Sebastes ruberrimus, red snappers are fantastic to eat cooked, and
are my favorite in fact. Rock cod were always the most highly prized of the
bunch by our chinamen customers. I have never heard of either of these
having parasites like I have heard the salmonids have, and they're easier to
catch by jigging than than salmon are which require trolling and flashers
and spoons and stuff.

I'm probably overly cautious, and could eat sashimi all day for years and
still not get a case or parasites, but still, I'm a cautious guy --- that's
how I've managed to come back alive from all of those ocean kayak trips ---
trips that have killed many unfortunate, less cautious kayakers.

I used to be a commercial diver for uni and geoducks many years ago before I
had my accident and collapsed lung --- one day a fellow diver showed me what
part of the uni is edible and I tried some and wow, it was so delicious. I
think I will try to make some kind of rake with which to take uni --- they
like shallow water so it shoudn't be hard. Also, where I'm going the sea
otters have not spread to, yet, so there should be lots of uni.

I will take photos so you can see how great this area I'm going to is ---
one of the last pristine wildernesses left in north america.

Sayonara...

tom wrote:
"IK" ? I'm not sure what you mean by "IK".

Yeah, muscle power is cool. I so hate it on lakes where theres a zillion
power boaters and jet skiers and the whole lake throbs with the sound of
their stinky, loud engines. Wind power is cool too, though --- this season
I'm going to try to get a towing kite to use to pull me downwind when the
wind is blowing the right way.

People really have to stop all this wastefull driving around of huge SUV's
and everything. Tonight is earth day --- we're supposed to shut off the
lights between 8 and 9pm --- I'm going to take part.

Thanks for the comments, have a good 'earth day' ...

Wish I could, but I have family over for a belated Easter dinner.. and the kids
need to see where they are going.

--
Dan

On Mar 29, 2:00 pm, "tom" wrote:
"IK" ? I'm not sure what you mean by "IK".



--- IK = inflatable kayak.


Yeah, muscle power is cool. I so hate it on lakes where theres a zillion
power boaters and jet skiers and the whole lake throbs with the sound of
their stinky, loud engines.


--- Me too. The obnoxious equivalent here in the desert is the all
terrain vehicles kicking up dust and making a racket, and in snow
country, the snowmobile.


Wind power is cool too, though --- this season
I'm going to try to get a towing kite to use to pull me downwind when the
wind is blowing the right way.


--- Roemer and Lindemann both crossed the Atlantic in folding kayaks
equipped with sails.

Merlin, what an awesome way to enjoy sushi --- when I come back you might
see pictures of me doing the same thing on a remote beach up-coast. You are
giving me inspiration ...

By the way, I thought my first trial sushi's were spectacularly good. I
used frozen salmon and crab-flavored pollock just to be safe and to see if I
really liked it --- damn, it was good. I didn't have a sharp enough knife
to start with and the contents squished out the side so I got a good
serrated knife and learned how to support the roll while cutting it --- I
can cut perfect rolls every time now. I made maki-type rolls with the
vinegared rice, avocado, cucumber, sesame seeds, pollock/salmon, and dipping
sauce with soy sauce and the cheap type of wasabi (wasabi should kill all
parasites, eh? LOL). Mmmm, I thought they were delicious --- and healthy
and not super-fatty and sugary either. Perfect to make a bunch and take to
eat later because you don't even need a knife and fork. Filling but not
fattening. I think I will be eating much sushi this season.

I noticed the vinegared sushi rice is kind of sticky and easily forms itself
into balls. How long do you think rice-balls will stay fresh for, at
outdoor temperatures ranging from +8C at night to perhaps +22C in the shade
during the day? Do you think its a good idea to make a whole bunch of rice,
enough for many days and bring it along? Or should it be made fresh every
time?


This is a little off-topic, I suppose I should start a new thread, but ---
I'm confused by the online info about Uni seasonality. Some sources say
they're always in season, others say Uni's of different colors are best at
different times of the year. Do you (or anybody) know which (if any) colors
of Uni are good in summer of the BC coast? How about late spring (May,
early June)?

tom wrote:
This is a little off-topic, I suppose I should start a new thread, but ---
I'm confused by the online info about Uni seasonality. Some sources say
they're always in season, others say Uni's of different colors are best at
different times of the year. Do you (or anybody) know which (if any) colors
of Uni are good in summer of the BC coast? How about late spring (May,
early June)?

Uni are less tasty during mating season since they expend their fat stores
in the process.

--
Dan