# Ormers



## foxfish (21 Jan 2011)

Bet not many of you know about ormers?
They are a type of sea snail & are absolutely delicious to eat.
We went with an old fisherman friend to some offshore reefs & caught a nice haul.
Ormers can only be collected a few times a year so as to conserve stocks - to day was one of those days


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## ceg4048 (22 Jan 2011)

Nice one! 

I've never had these. Do they taste like oyster? Are they poisonous if eaten raw?

Cheers,


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## foxfish (22 Jan 2011)

No, not like oyster. In fact most like veal in texture & flavour!
I live on the most northerly extreme of the mollusc's habitat & even then, they are quite rare further south.
Ormers are only collectible on the lowest of tides when they can been found clinging to the underside of rocks.
We get some of the largest tidal moment in the World where I live with a 35 - 40' height differential from high to low on the big winter spring tides.
I am sure you wont be surprised to discover that Ormers were once a common species around our way but, overfishing , sea pollution & global warming had decimated the population!
 However, as we now have heavy restriction on their harvesting, they are making a comeback   
Ref the flavour - ormers are a close relative of the Abalone however they have a unique flavour that is not really in most people vocabulary to describe! They are delicious but, not even remotely fishy tasting.


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## dw1305 (22 Jan 2011)

Hi all,
I think they just reach the Channel Islands in the UK. I heard a Radio 4 item about Abalone poaching in S. Africa this week, apparently they sell for huge amounts in SE Asia, so that would be hundreds of dollars worth in Hong Kong.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0402_020402_abalone.html.

cheers Darrel


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## foxfish (22 Jan 2011)

There has been a few recorded in Cornwall but Alderney CI is there most northerly common distribution in the UK.
I live in Guernsey CI.
You can buy them here sometimes however the law states - they cant be frozen or preserved & must be consumed within three days of an official ormering tide.
When for sale they fetch about £5 a lb so in fact for such a delicacy they are not that expensive.
Rick stein & Huge FW have both been over here to try them.


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## Garuf (22 Jan 2011)

Are you a fisherman or something Foxfish?
I love the photo though I'm not so hot on sea food, (I'll eat anything as a general rule but I dunno, something about the seafood smell), it's really characterful.


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## foxfish (22 Jan 2011)

Hey Garuf, I have a real thing about eating fresh fish & fresh fish does not smell hardly of anything!
If you pick up a fish & smell it you will know where I am coming from LOL.
Yes I have been a professional fisherman but many years ago now, however I live on a small island where you can never get more than 3.5 miles from the sea.
I am a free diver & spearfisherman though & catch my own fresh fish from April till December, this time of year I hunt for ormers every full moon & set pots for lobster from my little boat.


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