Casa de Tortugas - Stories

Return Home
Search

 English

View some
pictures

Learning to reap the bounty of the sea

Today I headed out with a few locals to learn how to catch my own food. Tina stayed back at the house while I got a crash course in spear fishing and lobster catching. Both were more involved than I had imagined.

I hired two men from the village to teach me, and we set out in our boat. They showed me how a harpoon is crafted and how to use it properly. This is a fairly straight stick with a sharp metal point and an elastic rubber tube on the back end. The tube wraps around your wrist and gets stretched tight. When released it rockets out to stab the fish. Aiming underwater takes some practice. It's a little more difficult than simple point and release.

Next came lobster catching. The locals showed me how to make the snare, a simple yet clever tool. Spotting lobsters, though, turned out to be the real challenge. They blend perfectly with the rocks, tucked deep into crevices. If you don’t know what to look for, you’ll swim right past them. After a while, my eyes started to adjust, and I finally began noticing the telltale antennae and shapes hiding under the coral.

To catch one, you use the blunt end of the snare stick to nudge the lobster out of its hole, then quickly slip the loop over its tail and give a sharp tug to cinch it tight. Into the catch bag it goes. This is very simple in theory, much trickier in practice.

When we got back to the dock, they showed me how to clean the fish and lobsters. After a quick demonstration, it was my turn. I think I did alright. We didn't catch much. Actually I personally didn't catch anything. My attempts were more splash than success, so practice is needed. Still, since I was paying the guys for their time, their modest catch became our dinner.

This worked out to just enough for a dinner for two. Today wasn’t really about the catch, though. It was about learning, and appreciating what it takes to live off what the sea provides.

Next time, it’ll be just me and Tina out there, and we’ll see if I can actually put those new skills to work.

Comments

25-10-20 10:35am: "He was an old man named Glenn who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish". Sorry couldn't help but to quote old man and the sea. Lol. Pretty cool Glenn. That is on my bingo card when we get to visit. ~ Drew

reply: Fishing and catching lobster is quite the process. It is cool to feed from nature, but mostly my "privilege" shows when I would just rater buy from the store or from a local fisherman.

add a comment

Return to the list

Previous

Close

Next