Ormer hunters out in force for first tide of year
ORMER hunters were out in force scouring the Lihou causeway yesterday, taking advantage of the first tide of 2020.
By law, ormers can be gathered between January and April only on the day of the new moon and the two following days.
This decade’s first search for the molluscs had been frantic, said John Rouillard, who had not found as many as he would have liked.
‘I’ve got two but all these [rocks] have been turned over already.’
In the last few years he had heard of torchlight searches conducted at midnight, the earliest legal opportunity.
‘I’m looking for the ones they’ve missed and have not had a lot of luck.’
Mr Rouillard, 71, has been ormering all his life.
‘I’ve been doing it 60 years, since I was a lad,’ he said.
Brothers Matt Kay and Kyle Carre, who had spent a few hours turning over rocks in the causeway, had a bit more luck.
‘We’ve got half a dozen or so,’ said Mr Carre, decked out in waders and gloves. He intended to fry the molluscs in butter for lunch.
Mark Tabel and Andrew Crocker, who regularly engage in a friendly competition to see who can collect the most during their outings, were ecstatic about the burgeoning population of smaller ormers.
‘It bodes well for the future,’ said Mr Crocker.
La Societe Guernesiaise began tagging ormers to track population growth in 2018.
The process includes attaching a small yellow tag to the shell using an environmentally friendly glue before measuring the length and height.
Photos are taken, as are GPS co-ordinates to track movement.
Tagging and tracking did not take place yesterday because most volunteers are only available on weekend tides but Laura Bampton, the marine biology section secretary, said she was delighted by the positive accounts relayed.
