Cape Town - It turns out the post office is still good for something. You can go there to buy an annual recreational fishing and bait licence for R170 and use it to harvest a meal from the sea.
My son is into this kind of thing and he says it was a painless experience. “Just take along your ID. If you don’t have South African ID, you can get a licence only for a month though.”
And so, armed with the official permit and a long list of what you’re allowed to find, catch, or harvest, we headed out to Blouberg to hunt for black mussels. Since they’re attached to rocks, this is quite easy. Jesse was keen to get some white mussels as well, but these hide in the sand and are more elusive. He did get a crab though. Not quite the Deadliest Catch, but better than nothing.
The rocks along this beautiful stretch of beach – almost deserted on a cloudy weekday morning apart from a few dog walkers – are thick with black mussels. You do need to go at low tide though and these times can easily be googled. This is because the big mussels are farther out and you’re going to have to do quite a bit of careful clambering; the rocks are sharp and slippery with seaweed.
The rule for rock, black, brown, ribbed mussels is 30 by hand or with an implement with a blade or flat edge not exceeding 12mm in length. I found one and then became absorbed with the simple childlike pleasure of gathering shells and gently tickling the anemones in the rock pools. It turns out they fight back, emitting squirts of water.
Jesse came back with his quota and to him fell the not-so-fun task of preparing them for the pot. They need to be rinsed and their beards pulled off. I’ve done this before so was glad I didn’t have to be a part of it; it’s hell on the manicure. The mussels were then steamed in white wine until they opened; any that stay firmly shut must be discarded. With a sauce of garlic, onion, cream and more white wine they were served with crusty ciabatta and yes, even more wine, in a glass.
It was a superbly satisfying meal, made even more so by the fact they had been gathered personally.
Trivia: female mussels are pink/orange and the males are pale. Now you know.
Recreational fishing includes the catching of fish and the collection of other marine species for personal consumption (not for commercial purposes) on the coast and in the oceans of South Africa. A list of prohibited species, activities, fees, fishing seasons, bag limits, species weight and length, conditions and the closed areas are noted in a fishing brochure available from the SA Post Office, the website below, or at the Fisheries Management Customer Service Centre, Foretrust Building, Martin Hammerschlag Street, Foreshore.
For more information visit the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries website: www.daff.gov.za
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