First ormering tide yields surprisingly good catch

With only a 1.8m high low tide, and the furthest reaches of the beach inaccessible, ormerers found themselves a little ‘shell-shocked’ at the good pickings on offer.

‘The catch was very good for the tide,’ said Colin Merrien, 62, who has been ormering for 50 years.

In the hour either side of high tide he had collected about 50 good-sized molluscs from the tidal pools of Perelle.

‘Stocks look pretty good, as long as people don’t overdo it there should be enough for everyone.’

Mr Merrien was careful to check that his all exceeded the 8cm minimum size, returning any under-size specimens to the rocks where he found them, and replacing any turned-over boulders.

Car parks and verges from Perelle to Lihou were full of cars for the hours around the 12.30 low tide, but Mr Merrien said that he thought tomorrow would be busier.

‘It’s actually quite quiet for a first tide of the year. It’s a week day, it’s cold and the tide is not that great. Saturday’s tide is lower and it's a little warmer.’

He added that when it came to cooking ormers the rule was ‘fast and hot, or slow and low’.

‘You either fry in some Guernsey butter or cook in a casserole. I’m torn between which I prefer.’

He added that he intended to keep about 25 of his catch for a casserole and pass the rest on.

‘But I’ll probably have a few fried when I get home. Some people put in a bit of bacon in but I’m a traditionalist. They taste like a cross between calamari and scallops. My wife doesn’t like them and in truth the taste is a bit “Marmite”.’

Another fisherman at Perelle admitted that he would not be eating any his 30 ormer catch.

‘I don’t actually like the taste of them,’ said Jesse Archer, 26, who had taken a day off work to go ormering with his dad and brother.

‘I just love coming down for a mooch about. Sometimes you get the odd lobster as well.’

Mr Archer added he had been ormering since he was a boy, and always made sure he was there for the first tide of the year.

‘You do always get a good catch at the first one,’ he said.

‘But I’ll be back for the lower tides later in the year, the big ones tend to be a little deeper.’

Ormering facts

Ormers can only be collected between sunrise and sunset, on the days of the full moon, new moon and the two days following them between 1 January and 30 April.

The next two days are ormering tides.

There are 24 ormering tides this year with the lowest on 11 and 12 March, when the tide drop to 0.1m.

Full details of the ormering tides, as well as the rules and guidance, is available at gov.gg/fishing