Coastline Pilot

30 January 2004

 

Chasing the Muse

Catharine Cooper 

 

 

The aliens have landed! 

 

Green eyed, skulking the oceans surface with blinding white spotlights, these odd water-bound creatures obliterate the night sky.  Humanoids on these floating craft toss baited hooks into illuminated waters, teasing our precious crop of squid from their cozy kelp bed homes.  The squid fishermen have arrived!

 

Seventeen boats, by my count, plied the waters two nights ago in search of a marketable crop.  Their sheer numbers seem a good indicator that we must have (or at least HAD) a bumper crop of the strange looking mollusks.  I admit to an appetite for tasty calamari, especially the presentations at Sorrento Grill and 230 Forest, but watching my own waters so mined, causes me a bit of heartbreak.  

 

California squid (Loligo opalescens), the object of the numerous boats hungering off our beaches, hunt in and around kelp, which provide a bit of cover and protect them from other predators.   They prefer a weedy bottom.  Fished for commercial markets around the globe, the local catch is packaged as either food grade or bait for other fishing ventures.

 

Squid are a highly developed member of the class Cephalopoda, which includes the chambered nautilus and the octopus.  While the ancestral shell of the nautilus provides buoyancy, the squid’s thin shell is located within its mantle, and is useful only for muscle attachment.  Its tapered, streamlined body and broad triangular fins make the squid a highly effective swimmer, both backward and forward.  Over short distances, squids are among the most rapid moving of all marine organisms.

 

While I’m not a squid fisherwoman, I have queried several sources, who have provided me with a bounty of information.  The lights on the ‘green-eyed’ craft attract small fish to the surface, the food of choice of the squid.  As they are caught, squids become yet another chink in the natural predatory chain, with we humans at the top. 

 

To tackle squid fishing, the gear is reportedly simple.  A soft action rod, 4 kilo line, and a variety of jigs.  It is reported that pinks out-fish most other colors, but that some days, blues or greens might be the better choice.  (Sounds suspiciously like a woman trying to decide what to wear on a given day.)

 

Squid fishing is usually more successful in the late afternoon and night.  Squid don’t like wind or chop on the water.  A rising tide is said to be an asset.

 

The squid is a remarkable food in that 80 percent of this cephalopod is edible.  Its lean meat contains about 18 percent protein, which makes it highly nutritious.  It is one of the most abundant marine organisms.  Squids are marketed in fresh, frozen, semi preserved (pickled in vinegar after boiling), sun-dried, and canned forms.  The firm flesh, which turns yellow after cooking, is delicately flavored and used most often as an appetizer, in salads or pasta. 

 

From a culinary viewpoint, the Loligo opalescens is one of the best of all cephalopods.  Split and dressed, then dipped in a light batter, it should be cooked until lightly browned.  Squid becomes rubbery if it is overcooked.

 

An easy recipe for FRIED SQUID:

Marinate about 3 pounds of small squid, sliced into rings, in olive oil and lemon juice for about an hour.  Dip them in salted flour, then beaten eggs, then flour again.  Deep-fry them in olive oil heated to 365° until lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels and serve hot with lemon juice and your choice of dipping sauce.

 

At moments over the last few days, the multitude of boats in such proximity to shore has actually felt like an invasion.  I prefer a few pleasure craft that sweep in during the day and are gone in the evening.

 

The news headline I received this morning, “Squid Season Ends Early”, from a commercial fishers site, was cause for both jubilation and regret.  The article stated that the season, which usually extends through March, was coming to a surprising halt.  While squid are still being caught, they are too small to be successfully marketed.  The commercial demand is for 8/10 pieces per pound, and the current catch is around 14/16 per pound, obviously a smaller product. 

 

I felt joyous that only three boats floated offshore this morning, but also sad, that our squid population is not only smaller, but significantly diminished.  The green-eyed aliens have come, fished our waters and left for other shores.  I’ll shop for calamari, whip up an appetizer and be glad for the return of the night sky.

 

Catharine Cooper loves wild places.  She can be reached at ccooper@cooperdesign.net.