Ormering

Tradional Ormering Basket and hook

Stu working the shores edge

Me checking the legal limit

Oreille de mer

The ormer is, perhaps, the longest standing symbol of Guernsey ( to the locals at least ) a native to our island's long before the tomato and the navy blue sweater named after our island.It is part of our folklore, something that has to be explained to people who haven't visited Guernsey and who haven't had the pleasure of sampling somebodies mum's ormer stew.

Oreille de mer translated means -The ear of the sea- not because of any special powers of hearing, but it is because it is shaped like one.

The ormer is a highly prized delicacy in these waters, so highly prized in fact that their population declined rapidly in the 19 century when 12 dozen could be gathered in a day.Gathering ormers is now strictly controlled by law, and can only occur on an ormering tide between 1st January and 30th April.

The search for the ormer involves turning over rocks up to your waist in freezing cold water on a very low spring tide in the autumn, winter and spring, despite the cold water, cold wind, scratched and bruised hands and sometimes poor catches, many locals go ormering for pleasure and tradition handed down by their grand parents.

Ormering----A compulsive tradition for the Guernsey man.

"Ormering tide" Creates an impulse in the Guernsey man's brain to the compulsion in a lemming, the need to head for that favourite piece of shore and hunt the ormer.

Small tide this week meant small catches as we worked our favourite piece of shore on our sister island of Herm. Stu T and myself went ashore while Geoffers stayed and looked after the boat.We had a poor catch of seven each and came home complaining of broken backs from turning to many rocks looking for the elusive little suckers.