Can you Live off the Bounty of the Sea?

[nagrom snoyl]

i should,nt really know how to catch sea gulls but there is 2 ways that i know of one is a wide flat board with a couple of pieces of fish on it and they will dive onto it and knock themselves out, or just a small hook and line and when they take the bait whip them out of the sky score i like chicken tonite

[Blue Crab]

Regarding eating seagulls, I note several mentions of chicken... we always called gulls flying rats ... to offer a slightly different angle to "bounty of the sea." Maybe you could but would you incorporate a gull into your normal diet? To those of you nodding "yes", and you know who you are, here's a tip or two from Crisis Times:

Seabirds have proven to be a useful food source which may be more easily caught than fish. Survivors have reported capturing birds by using baited hooks, by grabbing, and by shooting. Freshly killed birds should be skinned, rather than plucked, to remove the oil glands. They can be eaten raw or cooked. The gullet contents can be a good food source. The flesh should be eaten or preserved immediately after cleaning. The viscera, along with any other unused parts, make good fish bait. ... Birds ... circle you hoping for food. That's your chance to catch them by hand, spear them, catch them with a net, or just improvise. Finding Food at Sea

Bon Jovi oops ... Appetit

[gjordan]

I had to laugh about the seagulls being Chicken Of The Sea. I have eaten Chicken Fed By The Sea. In the Marquesas the locals feed their chickens with table waste and fish and crabs. Birds fed that way really taste fishy, and so do the eggs. It was not a good experiance, but if I was starving, my standards could adjust. It was interesting to see that when the women wanted to bake , they would send the kids on an egg hunt. They didnt keep the chickens penned, so the kids went looking thru the bushes. _____Grant.

[messias]

Selling your catch is not only illegal in most countries (although you probably wont get caught), but it will turn against you the local comunities that really depend on this way of life... believe me... you don´t want a poor professional fisherman on your back!
I´ve been spearfishing - freediving (thanks, but no tanks!) for over 20years now and I have "survived" of my fishing for quite a loooooong time!

Just Trade it!

No kidding... even in "modern society" something that you need, can probably be "traded" for something that you have/can provide.
"I´ll trade you that rabbit for a lobster" is something that not only does not make enemies, but it makes friends wherever you go.
I have made "fish-based-friends" from Europe to the Beagle Channel and Africa´s coasts.

And I still don´t own a sailing boat!

A good fish atlas should be enough to identify the majority of species and the really dangerous ones are mostly in coral reefs (obviously exceptions apply, even to the bright beautifull colors = don´t eat me). With shells its a whole different thing and bacteria-poisoning not only depends on species, but also depends on Season, so caution and knowledge is very advisable, specially when you cannot just run into the nearest hospital.

BUt you CAN extend your time "alone" before the "need" to run into a supermarket. You bet!

[tomfl]

I have come across several web pages with recipes using seaweed. I know in the past I have bought dried seaweed a few times and it was not bad.

One of the sites said you could dry seaweed in the sun eat it kinda like chips.

I have never tried using fresh seaweed, only the dried stuff I bought in a store. Anyone here have personal experience preparing fresh seaweed from the ocean, and if so how do you rate it.

[Irish rambler]

Someone pointed out that my reply,119 to Tomfl was out of context,in fact it was a reply to post 114 on this thread but it's nice to know someone's paying attention.
As regards to catching seagulls and other birds, we had an influx of Polish immigrants in Ireland and they decimated local duck populations, and nearer the coast, seagulls using a fishing hook in a piece of bread. Likewise the local fishing lakes were raped of breeding stock. You can imagine the local feelings on East European immigrants.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by tomfl

I have come across several web pages with recipes using seaweed. I know in the past I have bought dried seaweed a few times and it was not bad.

One of the sites said you could dry seaweed in the sun eat it kinda like chips.

I have never tried using fresh seaweed, only the dried stuff I bought in a store. Anyone here have personal experience preparing fresh seaweed from the ocean, and if so how do you rate it.

I have never eaten seaweed - but over here during WWII (German Occupation) it was a popular (?!) supplement to the diet. Of course the locals nearly starved once France got cut off (post D-Day) until the Red Cross ships turned up (we held out a day longer than Berlin ).

I think you can also make soap from it........

[Irish rambler]

Following on from David, I can confirm that seaweed is still eaten on the Northern coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland and is called Dulce (pronounced phonetically as Dullas) and is a popular treat at the Ballycastle fair.They also use seaweed as a fertiliser in South West of Ireland, gives an idea of the taste ! I've also tasted Samphire (zamfire) when cruising along the Cornish/Devonshire coast of Southern England. I would think if you Google it you will get more info on the subject.

[Blue Crab]

I once had sea turtle steak in Key West. It was served like chicken-fried steak but it tasted like what I imagine a goldfish tastes like. Awful.

[messias]

Just found a list of the most "tasty" algaes. The last one is the famous "NORI" used in sushi.
They are used quite in a variety of our "daily-life" products from ice-creams to pudings and, of course, pharmacy.

There´s even a company solely dedicated to drying and selling sea algae. Take a look here:
http://www.algamar.com/quienes.php?id=2

• (Gelidium sesquipedale)
• (Ulva lactuca)
• (Eisenia arborea)
• (Palmaria palmata)
• (Eisenia arborea)
• (Fucus Vesiculosus and Fucus Spiralis)
• (Hiziquia fusiforme)
• (Laminária ochroleuca and laminária sacharina)
• (Chondrus crispus)
• (Undaria pinnatifida)
• (Phorfyra umbilicalis and phorfyra linearis

...Bon apetit

[tomfl]

As I posted there are multiple sites on the internet with information about eating seaweed. The thing is they mostly seem to be about buying seaweed already prepared by someone else. I have bought dried seaweed at local stores and prepared it myself as well as eating seaweed with sushi.

What I was looking for was responses from folks who had harvested seaweed when at sea and prepared it themselves. It is easy to find sailors who have personally prepared canned fish or fish jerky on their boats and I have made jerky myself. I am not wondering if you can eat seaweed, rather if it is feasible to prepare it yourself when sailing.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by tomfl

As I posted there are multiple sites on the internet with information about eating seaweed. The thing is they mostly seem to be about buying seaweed already prepared by someone else. I have bought dried seaweed at local stores and prepared it myself as well as eating seaweed with sushi.

What I was looking for was responses from folks who had harvested seaweed when at sea and prepared it themselves. It is easy to find sailors who have personally prepared canned fish or fish jerky on their boats and I have made jerky myself. I am not wondering if you can eat seaweed, rather if it is feasible to prepare it yourself when sailing.

I use to watch the Koreans pick seaweed in Guam,they would lay it out on a flat woven mat and dry it in the sun for a couple of days...they quite collecting it when a few of them died! Seems the reason the seaweed grew in such profusion was due to the sewege treatment plant that was located out in the lagoon! They had signs that read "No Swimming" didnt say anything about eating seaweed! ....

[micah719]

There are a few folks on the web with first hand info on shoreline produce...they call it foraging. Got too much on at the moment but it's on my list of things-to-research.

My Vietnamese buddies when I was a kid used to take a fine-mesh net and wade about in the local tidal creek. They'd catch loads of tiny fish & shrimp (& whatever else was floating about). This mixture would be spread out on boards in the sun to dry. The flies had a field day and the smell was memorable, but the sauce they made out of it was delicious. It wasn't Nuoc Mam, that stuff is something else. Probably a crime against humanity.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by micah719

There are a few folks on the web with first hand info on shoreline produce...they call it foraging. Got too much on at the moment but it's on my list of things-to-research.

My Vietnamese buddies when I was a kid used to take a fine-mesh net and wade about in the local tidal creek. They'd catch loads of tiny fish & shrimp (& whatever else was floating about). This mixture would be spread out on boards in the sun to dry. The flies had a field day and the smell was memorable, but the sauce they made out of it was delicious. It wasn't Nuoc Mam, that stuff is something else. Probably a crime against humanity.

Nuoc Mam, is that the same thing as mam thom?If so it is a smelly thing but once you get past the smell it gives a lot of flavor to what ever it is added to...(mom thom -pink sauce made from shrimp and salt,yum)

[sushirama]

Im America for some wild reason Sea Gulls are a Federally Protected Species Due to the Some Migratory Bird Act of 1918 and even so being a carrion eater for the most part they probably taste like crow. You could survive off them but it wouldnt be nice. Catch one tether it and train it to catch fish for you. Im am thinking of trying the Captain Nemo approach next year to see if getting every thing from the sea on a small scale can be done. I want to be able to go some where anchor(or even drift) and stay for as long as possible to work out the hows of doing it. I had read somewhere also of using hydroponics to grow some veggies in a 6 inch PVC pipe split down the middle on the foredeck. If sea grass in the Keys was usable Id be set. I need to research that more.