Pillar Point Harbor
After our rather disappointing breakfast at Ketch Joanne, we took a walk along the pier. It is always interesting to look at the fishing boats.
The first thing we noticed as we reached the pier were small, dead fish floating on the surface. At first we assumed somebody had lost all their fishing bait but then we noticed more and more.
(Click on the image for a larger version)
It is a working pier with lots of small fishing boats moored. It is possible to buy fresh fish straight from some of the boats. To us, there is nothing more tasty than fresh fish so we checked to see what was available today - Dungeness Crab, Ling Cod, Rockfish and Halibut. We sauntered down the gangplank and started to walk between the boats. We came to the Alan, selling live crabs. The fisherman was more than willing to chat, so we asked him about the dead fish and he happily explained what happened.
On Tuesday a shoal of anchovies entered the harbor but a lot of them were unable to get out when the tide changed. They were trapped until the tide changed again. But it was a minus low tide and there was not enough oxygen in the water so many of them died. When they expired they dropped to the bottom but then after a few days they rise to float on the surface. He went on to say that the birds had a field day on Tuesday and were gorging themselves so much on the struggling fish that most of them weren’t able to fly for a while.
We were tempted to buy one of his crabs but I honestly didn’t want to share the car with a live crab. After all, I might become attached to it and then how could I plunge it into a pan of boiling water?
Our walk and visit to the pier was a short expedition. The wind was cold and the thought of a warm car was really inviting. So we retraced our steps and headed for home.
June 15 2008 | Special Places | No Comments »
