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11/27/03
"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist
is that the taxidermist leaves the skin." The quarantine on sport-harvested mussels ended November 21st, according to my sources. Cioppino, anyone? (This recipe can only be served during the last week in November, when abalone, crab, mussels and rockfish are available to recreational sea-harvesters.) Collect: Pound one fresh, cleaned and trimmed abalone (whole) on all sides until relaxed, but not torn. Slice into 1/4 cubes and refrigerate. Sautee 2 large sliced onions, 4 crushed garlic cloves, and 4 diced celery stalks in olive oil, over medium heat, in a deep frying pan or dutch oven. Add the onions first, the celery next, and the garlic last. When everything's translucent, add: 3 fresh, cored and diced tomatoes; a cup of red wine; and one finely minced, dried red pepper. Add a small can of tomato paste, and use the can to add a little water and all the bits of tomato paste you couldn't scrape out at first. Cover and simmer over a low, while stirring it occasionally. Cook the crab, if you haven't already, in the normal way: boiled in salted water for 18 minutes. When cool enough, pull off all the legs and claws and add to the cioppino pot with the shells on. Save the back meat for another dish, or go whole hog and pick out the meat and add it to the confidentiappino. I won't tell. Strain off most of the crab boil water into a bowl, and once it settles, add some of it off the top to the stew pot. Steam the mussels in a little leftover crab boil broth and after they open, pick out the meat, adding it to the simmering confidentiappino. Next, cut the rockfish fillets into 2-inch squares and throw it in the stew pot. Then grab the diced abalone and toss that in, too. Keep stirring and simmering, uncovered, for another 15 minutes. Serve piping hot in bowls. ONE FISH, TWO FISH; RED FISH, BLUE FISH: Dr. Suess had it right: counting fish is basic, but it's a lesson California Department of Fish and Game still needs to learn. Because the Department relies on random phone surveys designed to monitor long-term trends in recreational fishing, and because fishery management now requires in-season adjustments and tighter overall limits, the lack of basic fish-counting forced the federal government to shut down all rockfishing in California waters. The closure was officially set to happen last Friday, November 21st, according to DFG. However, in this case, public notice on the emergency closure was not filed properly, and a judge in San Luis Obispo granted a temporary restraining order against DFG's new regulation to attorney Melvin De LaMotte. It turns out that the Department of Fish and Game could not count all the way to ten - the required number of days for public notice before any regulation can take effect. One fish, two fish. Ten's a big number unless you're allowed to take your shoes off. The upshot is that rockfishing remains open until further notice, according to the latest press release from DFG. The next step is for the feds to ignore their own Federal Register, or send in the blue hats and black helicopters. I tell you what: I'm going rockfishing this weekend, black helicopters or not. Dungeness crabbing for sportfishermen opens up Saturday, November 28th. Abalone remains open through Sunday, and rockfishing will remain open until at least December 8th, or until the paperwork gets straightened out. THE NEW GOVERNOR made a smart move when he appointed Michael Chrisman as Director of the California Resources Agency, of which DFG is a part. If you look closely at the warden's shoulder patch, the DFG emblem ephasizes the California Resources Agency as much as it does Fish and Game. Chrisman runs a tight meeting and deals fairly with various interest groups. Up to his appointment, he chaired the Fish and Game Commission. He was attentive, alert and often showed active interest in the issues at hand - and that's an accomplishment, given the wide array of boring issues before the Commission. He's a Republican, a Wilson appointee, and a rancher. He's a member of Ducks Unlimited. Bob Hattoy, former Sierra Club staffer and the newest Fish and Game Commissioner, was quoted in an Associated Press story, commenting on Chrisman's appointment: "I had heard there were Republicans who shared Teddy Roosevelt's commitment to the environment, but I never met one until I met Mike Chrisman." I had heard the same thing about Democrats. Still looking. Hattoy, a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration, is easily the least knowledgeable member of the current California Fish & Game Commission, when it comes to wildlife issues. So it says something when he publicly gives a nod to Chrisman, a Republican, who takes his responsibilities seriously. Look for Ryan Broddrick to be appointed Director of Fish and Game. He started as a warden in the field, and worked his way up to Chief Deputy Director, until Gray Davis took over. Since then, he has worked for Ducks Unlimited. It's a new day at DFG, any way you look at it. Ever wonder why the major environmental foundations never mention ducks, waterfowl habitat, and crisis with duck populations? It's because duck hunters, and their organizations like Ducks Unlimited and the California Waterfowl Association, are super-enviros, and they have the administrative and legislative apparatus wired. They work both sides of the aisle in the legislature, get their people into key administrative posts, and raise a pot full of money to get the job done. They don't get sidetracked by fringe issues. You never hear them endorsing this or that political candidate. They don't play the partisan political game. Old Elmer Fudd isn't as dumb as he looks. Saltwater angling and diving groups could learn a lot by following that example. The last time a northern California politician crossed the Fudds, Joe Nation down in Sonoma County introduced a bill to outlaw quail hunting in California. Within weeks, he withdrew the Daffy bill. Witnesses say he was visibly shaken by the response. I'll be happy to see the Recreational Fishing Alliance have that kind of political torque in California. LAST CHANCE to make an advance order for my book, How to Fish the Mendocino Coast: January 1st. Get free shipping on all advance orders, and each copy will be signed. $20 to: Flatland Books, POB 2420, Ft. Bragg, CA 95437 or order online at http://www.noyoharborconfidential.com. The book covers salmon, rockfish, abalone, albacore, and more. Where to fish, how to fish, and what to do with it once it's in the bag. I've written this book so that any halfway intelligent kid can pick it up, without any knowledge of fishing or harvesting from the seashore, and have a better than average chance at landing a fish on our coast, plus area-specific information for the seasoned angler and diver. You'll get a heaping portion of recipes, so even if you buy your fish you will enjoy it more. *How to Fish the Mendocino Coast* will be delivered free on all orders received by January 1st, but time's running out. After that, I'll have to slap on a few more bucks for postage. One more carrot: if you advance order my book before January 1st, you'll get a free e-mail subscription to this column FREE. Every Thursday, just like the fishing reports used to be, you'll have the weekly report on your desktop. Got a fishing report, story, recipe, or a comment? Email me at jim@noyoharborconfidential.com or call 707-964-8326. |