Southern Tides January 2023

Southern T ides

all about the water

Amy

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Neva Parsons neva@southerntidesmagazine.com

CONSULTING NATURALIST

John "Crawfish" Crawford crawfish@uga.edu

THE BITTER END COLUMNIST

Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

THE RIVERKEEPER REPORT

Meaghan Gerard meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

FISHING WITH CAPTAIN JAY

Captain Jay Cranford gacharterfishing@gmail.com

Contributors

Nick Riccio, Jr.

Wildlife Photographer

William Oliver Photographer

Emily Kenworthy

UGA Marine Extension & Georgia Sea Grant

Image credits

Top: Porcia with calf. Photo by GADNR under NOAA permit 21371-04

Center: Photographic work by Dana Montlack featuring a heron among the landscape of Sapelo Island.

Bottom: Laughing gull. Photo provided by NOAA

Unlike many of you, I didn’t grow up on the water. In fact, I didn’t even see the ocean for the first time until I was 18, and didn’t start spending time on boats until I was in my 30s. But when I did, an entirely new world opened up to me and I dove in headfirst.

One of the things that struck me most about boats, boaters and the water was a sense of community I hadn’t come across before. From the way boaters wave to each other as they pass, to the understanding that you stop to help if you see someone having trouble; from the way everyone shares stories about their adventures, to a shared respect for the water; from the way even competing marine businesses go out of their way to help each other, to the eagerness the marine science community has to share knowledge and information about our coastal ecology.

When I started this magazine, one of my highest priorities was to foster that sense of community throughout our coastal area. Introducing advertisers to readers, sharing the latest research, partnering with organizations that focus on the water, exploring our area, introducing local artists and legends, and more, all with the goal of giving each reader a sense of being part of our unique coast.

Although our hundred-mile coast is lined with individual communities, from St. Marys to Savannah and every point in between, together we’re part of a larger whole, with the same shared interests, the same love for the water, the same attention paid to tides, weather, marine life, fuel prices, supporting local businesses, and protecting our beautiful coast and our way of life. Our community.

Each time one of us explains to a visitor the importance of leaving nesting turtles alone, we’re strengthening our community. Each time one of us carries our trash and used fishing line off the boat and disposes of it properly, we’re strengthening our community. Each time we attend a public hearing or submit a comment during a comment period on rule changes, we’re

A Sense of Community

strengthening our community.

Each time we buy bait at a local bait shop, book a fishing charter or eco tour, buy fish or shrimp from a local seafood market, attend a Riverkeeper event, participate in a fishing tournament, or get our boat serviced, we’re strengthening our community.

When we stand together, work together and support each other, we all grow and benefit.

We have a whole new year stretching out ahead of us, filled with possibilities. Let’s work together this year to share information, to support each other, to strengthen our community.

See you out there!

Amy Thurman

Editor in Chief

amy@southerntidesmagazine.com

Happy New Year!

What can you do in 2023 to help strengthen our coastal community? You guessed it, I’ve got a list for you!

◆ Take your out of town guests to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center, the UGA Aquarium, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, or book an eco tour or fishing trip.

◆ Buy your next vessel from a coastal Georgia boat dealer.

◆ Subscribe to the DNR Coastal Resources Division’s quarterly digital magazine and share articles with friends.

◆ Read Southern Tides and pass it along.

◆ Recycle your fishing line.

◆ Get your seafood from a local market rather than the grocery store.

◆ Join an organization that focuses on the water – Riverkeepers, Gray’s Reef Foundation, CCA, a sea turtle project, or email me for more ideas.

◆ Participate in a charity fishing tournament.

◆ Recycle your oyster shells.

◆ Buy your boat parts locally rather than ordering online.

◆ Learn healthy catch and release guidelines.

◆ Attend public hearings and submit comments on topics of importance to you.

◆ Teach your kids/grandkids VHF etiquette and boating safety.

◆ Scoop up that piece of trash you see floating and prevent your own trash from entering the water.

◆ Lights out on the water during sea turtle season.

◆ Stay off the dunes.

◆ Install a living shoreline rather than a bulkhead.

◆ Leave great reviews for great service.

◆ Eat at restaurants that offer local seafood.

◆ Tell advertisers when you see their ads locally.

◆ Post a lookout while underway to watch for right whales, sea turtles and manatees.

◆ Remind others not to feed dolphins, gators, and other wildlife.

◆ Advertise in Southern Tides!

First of all, I hope everyone had some time to spend with family and friends during the holidays, which is always a special time to celebrate life together and enjoy all of God's creations.

We had a bitter cold spell recently and water temperatures have dropped. If you’re new to the area or are developing your fishing skills, you may wonder if the fish will still bite.

During the cold winter months we humans tend to move a little slower and so do the fish. Depending on the water temperature their bodies will slow down, they’ll become less active and therefore not require as much food on a daily basis.

Fish are still there to be caught, but you will need to change your technique and strategy just a bit. I know that's really hard for some anglers to do, but in doing so your success rate will increase. When your inshore fishing days turn cold, change conventional lure presentations and slow things down.

Fish are "appetite vulnerable" but this doesn’t mean they’re always active and aggressive. This is the time of year when redfish will pick up a motionless lure off the bottom before chasing after a faster moving target. Trout will also want a slower presentation regardless of the bait. So make sure you're using a bait that doesn't have a lot of action. I know that sounds crazy but that will give the fish more opportunity to take an interest in a slower-moving target.

When it’s really cold and fish are turned off, lures that don’t have a lot of wiggle or flash are most productive. Live baits can be productive in getting fish, including reds, to strike. When live bait isn’t available, artificial lures can be used but need to be fished very slowly and deliberately to "activate" the fish in colder water and entice lethargic fish into hitting. Use natural baits for flounder in the winter and be sure to fish them slowly. Quite often smaller lures can be very effective in clear water, when reds and trout will have no trouble seeing a plug or jig. Many anglers have discovered that during cold weather spinnerbaits are deadly on redfish.

When fish are slow, cold and in a lethargic state, use jig and lure colors like black or purple, or a combination of both, and fish it slowly along bottom. Very. Slowly. I think you will find this will produce more strikes than regular setups with lots of action, and flashy presentations.

Live bait can be used for cold weather fish but it must be

Fishing Captain Jay WITH

NEW TECHNOLOGY

By Captain Jay Cranford www.coastalgafishing.com

fished at a slower rate. Even if we have live bait available, we still always take fresh dead bait with us just in case it's needed.

Look for deep creek mouths and work them with live baits. If you're not having very much success, try dead baits fished on the bottom. Be patient, let it stay there awhile and give the fish a chance to actually find your bait. Remember, cold fish are lazy and unaggressive so a fresh dead bait on the bottom is more appealing and makes them bite. If you’re using live bait and it isn’t producing the way you think it should, try dead bait.

So the answer to the question, “Will fish bite in winter?” is yes. As long as you remember this rule of thumb: In cold, winter weather the key to is to fish slowly with patience. And sometimes you may need to fish same area several times over.

Please, be good stewards of our waters; don't litter and only keep what you plan to eat. There will be more opportunities the next time you go. Don't wish ... let's go fish!

gacharterfishing@gmail.com • www.coastalgafishing.com/

Captain Jay has over 20 years experience fishing the Georgia coast. He's passionate about fishing and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with you!

Captain Jay with a nice flounder caught on a recent trip. Photo provided by Jay Cranford

INGREDIENTS

Macaroni noodles, cooked al dente, reserving half a cup of cooking water

Smoked gouda cheese, finely grated (we like Boarshead)

Blue crab meat

1 cup milk

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

Cracked pepper to taste

Bread crumbs, if desired

Taste of the Tides

Smoked Gouda Crab Mac & Cheese

Tortuga's Island Grille, in Thunderbolt, served a variation of this recipe at the Georgia Marine Business Association's Summer Social and it's now a Southern Tides favorite, especially on chilly winter days. Of course we highly recommend locally caught blue crab!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a casserole dish. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

• Add cracked black pepper to taste, then whisk in flour; allow to cook for about two minutes, whisking occasionally. Adjust heat if necessary to prevent scorching.

• Whisk in milk a bit at a time, removing clumps.

• Add shredded Gouda a handful at a time, whisking into mixture as it melts.

• Add a splash of the retained water the pasta was cooked in and whisk; repeat as needed until creamy texture is achieved (but it won't take much).

• Stir in crab meat.

• Put pasta in a large bowl and add the cheese sauce a bit at a time, stirring between additions, until it reaches the consistency you'd like. Don't worry if you have sauce left, it refrigerates well for use the next day.

• Pour mac & cheese into casserole dish; sprinkle top with bread crumbs if desired. Place on center rack of oven and bake about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:

- You can leave out the crab and skip baking for a quick and tasty side dish. (But do bake if using crab.)

- Reheat the leftover cheese sauce in a sauce pan the next day and pour over freshly cooked pasta.

Do you have a seasonal seafood recipe to share?

Send it to amy@southerntidesmagazine.com and include a photo, if available.

Right Whale Update

Abit of good news to kick off 2023 – at just over a month into the right whale calving season, nine new calves have been spotted!

The first calf of the season was spotted on December 7 by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) aerial survey team. The mom, Medusa (Catalog #1208) and calf were spotted 11 miles east of Ossabaw Island. A GADNR Wildlife Resources Division boat team was nearby and was able to get drone footage and a skin sample of the calf for genotyping. Medusa was first spotted in 1981, making her at least 42 years old, and this is her 7th known calf.

On December 8, Archipelago (#3370) was seen swimming with a new calf about four nautical miles from Little St. Simons Island. This mom is at least 20 years old, and this is her third known calf.

Porcia (#3293) was spotted with her third known calf about 10 nautical miles southeast of Ossabaw on December 17. She was sighted alone on December 6, making her calf 11 days old, at most.

Catalog #1711 was also spotted on December 17, about 16nm east of Wassaw Island, with a new calf – her first since Whirligig was born in 2017. (#1711 has not yet been named. Each known right whale is given a catalog number for data tracking purposes, and each year, a group of right whales are given names related to some identifying feature, to aid in quick and easy identification in the field. Medusa, and #1711’s offspring Whirligig were among the 2023 cohort.)

On December 26, Smoke (#2605) was spotted about 15 nautical miles east of St. Catherines Island with her 4th known calf. Smoke is at least 27 years old and is the daughter of Phoenix (#1705), sired by Sliver (#1227). She has a 16-year-old daughter, Check Mark (#3705), who has yet to calve.

On December 29, two mom and calf pairs were spotted off the coast of Florida: 36-year-old Aphrodite (#1701) with her 7th known calf, and 33-year-old Viola (#2029) with her 4th known calf. Viola’s name stems from the shape of the callosities on her head which are shaped like the instrument.

About 10.6 nautical miles from the mouth of the St. Marys River, aerial surveyors spotted War (#1812), swimming with her seventh calf on December 29. War is named in part for her catalog number (The War of 1812) and for the canon-shaped callosities on her head.

The first new mom of the season was also the last new calf sighting of 2022, on December 30. Ten-year-old Pilgrim (#4340), daughter of Wart (#1140), was spotted by beachgoers swimming off Canaveral, Fla. Pilgrim’s story is special – she was first sighted as a new calf in January, but not in the warm waters of our coastal calving grounds. Instead, she was seen near the Pilgrim Power Station in Cape Cod Bay. There was doubt that she’d survive the cold temperatures as a newborn calf, but clearly she’s thrived.

While nine new calves isn’t enough to save the species, each new birth is cause for hope.

Compiled by Amy Thurman

Porcia with her calf (no more than 11 days old), east of Ossabaw on December 17.

Photo by GADNR under NOAA permit 21371-04

Southern Tides readers, YOU can help!

◆ Post look-outs while underway

◆ Slow down

◆ Report sightings to (877) WHALE-HELP (877942-5343) or the US Coast Guard on Ch. 16

◆ Download and use the Whale Alert app from your phone store or whalealert.org

Above: Aphrodite with calf on December 29, east of Nassau Sound, Fla.

Photo by CMARI, taken under NOAA permit 20556

Right: Archipelago and calf, east of St. Simons Island on December 8.

Photo by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit 20556

Background photo: First calf of the 22-23 calving season, with mom, Medusa. Spotted on December 7, 11 miles east of Ossabaw.

Photo by CMARI, taken under NOAA permit 20556

Shipwrecked!

The Plight of 19th century schooner Elizabeth City

By Neva Parsons Assistant Editor

Imagine for a moment that you’re drinking your morning coffee while paging through the Charleston Courier newspaper on the morning of October 14. In the year 1811. You might have skimmed through articles on President Madison’s foreign policy, or the commencement of steampowered ferry service between New York and New Jersey. But your eye is caught by news in your more immediate neighborhood. An article written by a correspondent in Savannah describing the “melancholy particulars” of a schooner shipwrecked off the Georgia coast.

It seems that American schooner Elizabeth City had been in trouble for some days before it met its tragic end. It had departed Nassau, New Providence, bound for Charleston, in stable condition. While the ship was without cargo, it was said to be carrying $12,000 in specie. Specie is money in coin, which makes sense in 1811 because the United States government wouldn’t issue paper money for another 50 years.

It can be assumed that this particular voyage was all smooth sailing for Captain John H. Merian until September 26. That’s when Elizabeth City was struck by a mighty wind and the ship “was thrown upon her beam ends, and while in that situation her fore-mast went by the board.” At this point, with the gale continuing unabated, Captain Merian decided to make a run for safety to the south. By the morning of October 2, he was nearing St. Simons Island and, after six days of battling the elements, likely breathed a sigh of relief. But his relief was short-lived because the schooner fetched up on the north breakers on an attempted run into the harbor.

For three grueling hours – which must have felt like days to the terrified crew and passengers – the schooner took a brutal beating by the gale-force winds. Eventually, the Elizabeth City could withstand no more. She was “knocked off her rudder, she worked over, and immediately filled and sunk in four fathoms water and about eight miles from the nearest shore.” A belated attempt was made to launch the lifeboat, but the whirlpool created by the schooner’s descent took the boat down, thereby extinguishing any hope of escaping the stormy waves. Crew and passengers alike soon found themselves in dire straits, indeed.

Mate Joseph D. Broadbrooks was a good swimmer and

determined to strike out for shore. But almost immediately, a passenger he identified as a Mrs. Flemming latched onto the lapel of his jacket in an attempt to save herself. According to his account, she would “immediately have carried him to the bottom with her, had he not the presence of mind to disengage himself, by tearing off that part of his jacket to which she had fastened herself; he saw her sink beside him, her arm extended above the water, with part of his jacket fast clenched in her hand.”

One can only guess how many times Broadbrooks saw this terrible, final image of Mrs. Flemming in nightmares for the rest of his life.

Broadbrooks made it to shore, but only after swimming and drifting along with tide and wind for 12 miles. He finally beached himself in a marsh, in waist-deep water and mud, but was stuck fast and remained there throughout the night until he was rescued. Two other crewmen also managed to swim to shore and lived. The others on the ill-fated schooner weren’t so lucky.

Captain Merian was among the dead, going down with his ship as had many captains before him and since. Three additional crewmen were also lost, as were the other two passengers aboard, a Mr. Uriah Noah, of Charleston, and a Mr. Smith, born in Ireland and residing then in New Orleans. Nothing is recorded as to whether their bodies were ever recovered.

But the body of Mrs. Flemming, a widow living in Nassau but returning to her native city of Philadelphia, was recovered only four hours after her drowning. She was buried on St. Simons Island, but precisely where the unfortunate woman was laid to rest is unrecorded.

The remainder of the story is quickly told. Joseph Broadbrooks made his way to St. Marys and from there, sailed to Savannah on the sloop Polly. It was this same sloop whose captain had earlier spied a ship in distress off St. Simons, but the violent winds of that relentless gale prevented him from rendering assistance. A U.S. gunboat reportedly approached the wreck after the storm had subsided, but nothing salvageable remained.

And somewhere, about eight miles offshore, the schooner’s treasure lays scattered on the ocean floor, four fathoms deep.

A "hydrographic map" circa the 1810s showing the area of Elizabeth City's path.

THE Riverkeeper Report

The Satilla Riverkeeper is investigating a large fish kill allegedly caused by Sunbelt Forest Products in Brunswick. Community members have counted over 140 dead fish, but the total amount may be over 500. The spill has filled the local waterways with a chemical solution used by Sunbelt Forestry for wood preservation. The Satilla Riverkeeper will continue to work with Altamaha Riverkeeper, Glynn Environmental Coalition, and GA EPD. www. satillariverkeeper.org

Compiled by Meaghan Gerard Communications & Administrative Director Ogeechee Riverkeeper meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

On January 28, paddle the headwaters of the St. Marys River with St. Marys Riverkeeper and learn about the Okefenokee Swamp from guest expert Michael Lusk, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Manager. The route begins at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area within the National Wildlife Refuge. Suggested donation: $45 per person (includes lunch). www.stmarysriverkeeper.org/

S avannah Riverkeeper will host Roast on the River, a night of live music, craft beer, good times, low-country boil, vegetarian fare, and great low country oysters. All tickets have access to all-youcan-eat fresh oysters, wild-caught shrimp in the low country boil, appetizer bar, a bonfire with S'mores, amazing raffle items, games, and local libations.

www.savannahriverkeeper.org.

Altamaha Riverkeeper is investigating an industrial spill off Hwy 99 near Sterling, GA that has polluted a canal and caused a large fish kill. ARK, Satilla Riverkeeper and Glynn Environmental Coalition were alerted by a concerned citizen who lives along the canal and immediately took action. Altamaha Riverkeeper will continue to monitor the situation and will take necessary actions to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken by the responsible party and GA EPD to thoroughly respond to this incident.

www.facebook.com/AltamahaRiverkeeper

Ogeechee Riverkeeper welcomes its 2023 practicum student, Christian-Thomas Scott . Based in Statesboro, Georgia, most weekends he can be found up in the mountains. With a long list of hard rock climbs and technical whitewater paddling descents, he loves the extremes of the outdoors. He is currently a senior at Georgia Southern University studying recreation and tourism management with an outdoor emphasis, and has multiple seasons of tripleading and guiding experience.

www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

Dunbar Named in Top 100 Dealers

Dunbar Yachts has been named one of the Top 100 Awards: Top Dealers in North America by Boating Industry, the leading trade publication for the marine industry.

The recreational boating industry’s elite members celebrated the launch of the reimagined Boating Industry Top 100 Awards during a black-tie gala on the final evening of the Boating Industry Elevate Summit in Orlando, Fla.

Entering the 18th year of the Top 100 in 2022, the program now honors the best of the best across the entire boating industry, celebrating the 40 Under 40, Women Making Waves and the Top Dealers across North America.

As a continuation of the original roots of the Top 100 program, Boating Industry honored the 2022 Top Dealers during the Top 100 Awards celebration.

“This year’s Top Dealers program brought on a stack of new applicants and new competition to the program along with very strong returns from multi-year winners. And we’re very excited to highlight the accomplishments of all, as new dealers join the ranks and others join forces to become one,” Boating Industry editor-in-chief and Top 100 program director Adam Quandt said.

Dunbar Yachts is a full-service regional yacht dealership, with a unique portfolio of new and brokerage power and sailboats, and an ethos to provide a complete product, service, and solution for every prospective boat owner,

supported by exemplary aftercare.

Dunbar Yachts is an exclusive stocking dealer for Jeanneau Power and Sailboats, and Catalina Yachts, and commissions all new power and sailboats in-house using their dedicated engineers. Locally, the dealership also operates the Freedom Boat Club location on St Simons Island.

The Top 100 is the only independent ranking of boat dealers in North America. The list recognizes dealerships that are unsurpassed in business operations, professionalism, marketing tactics, customer service and more. The Boating Industry Top 100 has recognized the top dealers in North America every year since 2005.

Dunbar Yachts is very proud of the award, which was announced within a few days of the dealership being recognized as Georgia Business Journal’s Boat Dealership of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Dunbar crew displaying the award.

Photo provided by Dunbar Yachts

Georgia Coast in Art

By Emily Kenworthy Public Relations Coordinator

Artists from Savannah and Atlanta will explore Georgia’s coastal culture and natural resources through art as part of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Artists, Writers and Scholars program, which launched in 2021.

The program supports projects designed to produce professionalquality art and literature that increases awareness of Georgia’s marine environments, improves understanding of Georgia’s coastal communities, and helps document history, culture, or heritage of Georgia’s coast.

“The Artist, Writers and Scholars program is inspiring new collaborations between marine researchers and the art community, and it’s allowing our organization to educate and inform audiences about the coast in exciting and creative ways,” says Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. This year’s projects will document coastal change through paintings, capture climate impacts at a microscopic level through layered imagery, and explore the use of ceramics in oyster restoration.

The 2022 grant recipients include: J. Kip Bradley, who has 20 years of community-based arts experience working with Savannah’s underserved populations. For the past 10 years, Bradley has worked locally and internationally, organizing sketching and painting groups and teaching workshops that encourage people to explore a sense of presentness through painting and drawing. As part of his project, Bradley has selected six coastal locations that he will paint four times over the span of a year, capturing seasonal and artistic changes in the marsh. He will share the process of painting each site on his blog, documenting the history and ecology at each site as well as

observations of the people utilizing these publicly accessible locations. The final writings and 24 paintings will be made into hand-bound artist books, and the final paintings will be shared at an exhibit at the Kalmanson Gallery at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro in September 2023.

Dana Montlack, who lives in Atlanta, has been interested in photography since the age of 15 when her grandfather taught her how to take and develop X-rays. Her work, which has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the globe, explores different topics through layered imagery of microorganisms, scientific data, charts or maps as a way of showcasing the natural world and the role humans play in it. She will work closely with Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of research in the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech, who studies microbial processes in the salt marsh, to visually explore the impacts of a changing climate on the Georgia coast.

Savannah-based Casey Schachner is an assistant professor of Art in 3D Foundations at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University. She re-configures commodified objects of the tourism industry to create sculptures that exhibit the relationships that exist between materials and place. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, ranging from temporary site-specific installations to permanent public artworks. Schachner will be collaborating with students and faculty at Georgia Southern University to create art using the algal biomass that is produced from algal turf scrubbers. Algal turf scrubbers create algae mats that remove nutrients from the water and improve water quality. Schachner will use the algal biomass to create ceramic objects, including functional ware and sculptures as well as molds that will be used in oyster reef restoration. The pieces will be showcased in several artistic and educational venues to illustrate the value of Georgia’s coastal ecosystems and resources and engage the public on why these resources should be protected.

UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant

Top: Bradley paints a landscape en plein air on Skidaway Island.

Center: Photographic work by Dana Montlack featuring a heron among the landscape of Sapelo Island.

Bottom: These bisque-fired test pieces using a clay/algae medium were made by Schachner’s student assistant, Nina Samuels.

Did You Know?

Laughing gulls only have black feathers on their heads during mating season. The rest of the year their heads are mostly white with a bit of gray.

Quick Facts

◆ Monogamous, forming long-term pair bonds.

◆ Nest in colonies of up to 25,000 pairs.

◆ Diurnal (active in daylight) but will forage at night during breeding season.

◆ Mating pairs build nests together, but single males will build a nest platform to attract potential mates.

◆ Adult birds will remove eggshells from the nest as eggs hatch. If not removed, pieces of shell can become lodged on top of unhatched eggs preventing them from hatching.

Diet

◆ Laughing gulls are scavengers and will eat whatever they can find, but in a healthy habitat, they eat worms, insects, snails, crabs and crab eggs, as well as fish, squid and berries.

◆ They will hover over freshly plowed fields in search of grubs, and under street lights in search of insects.

History

Laughing gull colonies were severely depleted in the late 1800s by plume and egg hunters (their feathers were used to make hats). Preservation efforts allowed populations to recover.

LAUGHING GULLS

Leucophaeus atricilla

Compiled by Neva

Parsons

◆ Laughing gulls are gregarious birds. They use ritualized displays to establish hierarchies within their flocks.

◆ Their average lifespan is 15 years.

◆ Breeding season is April - June.

◆ Laughing bulls are found in coastal areas from Nova Scotia to Venezuela.

DAYS

Incubation period for laughing gull eggs.

Photo by Jeremy Adams, NOAA Corps

The laughing gull's name stems from it's call, which sounds like laughter.

Photo by William B. Folsom, NOAA

Bitter End FISHCAKES

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

Here we are kicking off a new year. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and I wish each of you a healthy and happy 2023.

These last few weeks found me back home in Virginia dealing with sub-zero temperatures. As you can imagine, I didn’t spend any time on the water, nor did I have any desire to. So, I occupied myself with other pursuits which sort of lead into this month’s column.

Living in the lowcountry, or high country or just plain country, many of us enjoy fishing, hunting, and growing gardens. When I was growing up we had to be more self-sufficient than families do today. We raised chickens and livestock, planted huge gardens, as well as hunted and fished for food. Today many of us still enjoy these pursuits, and more people are taking up and embracing selfsufficiency or even subsistence living. Those of you who do may find this information useful.

We had a quantity of venison that needed processing, so we decided to make jerky. Making jerky as a means of preserving meat has been in practice for centuries, and began in the Americas around the 1550s. However, this column isn’t about making jerky, but making jerky was the catalyst that led me to my topic.

I put nearly forty pounds of meat through a meat grinder in a week, and this reminded me of something else that could be ground that I haven’t done in quite a while. Fish.

I can almost hear you thinking, “Yeah, now we’re getting into that lowcountry vibe!”

I grew up freshwater fishing, from small and largemouth bass to trout and many varieties of brim. Of course, the downside of fishing, in my opinion, is cleaning the fish. Especially when it comes to brim. But this technique works well for most any fish.

Smaller fish (that are still within legal size limits) are sometimes more a pain to fillet and not worth the effort for meat you get from them. So, what we often did with bluegill and sun perch and the like was to grind them up and turn them into fishcakes, which can be frozen. Crappie is another great species for this method, or any small bony fish for that matter, so I figured what the heck, lets try it with some black fish. Yep, a local delicacy, the black seabass is an awesome eating fish. But again, sometimes the fillets tend to be very small, especially when we are talking 13- to 14-inch fish.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to get out and catch my own, so a visit to my local seafood market provided me with a couple small fish that would work perfectly for this project. I won’t go into the ingredients or cooking directions as most of you already have favorite fishcake recipes, and if not go to YouTube ‘University’ where you’ll find tons of them, I assure you.

But I will share my grinding tips, given that’s the point of this column.

First clean and gut the fish and remove the head, tail, and other fins. Give everything a good cold water rinse making sure scales and any leftover fin barbs are removed. You can take out any obvious bones, but you don’t have to.

Then use a heavy boning knife or butcher knife, lay the fish out on a cutting board and cut straight through as if you were cutting fish steaks. Make sure they are not overly thick, I made mine just about an inch, or little over, in thickness. No need to debone, or fillet, though you can if you choose. If you have a stand-alone

grinder, perfect. If not, a Kitchen-aid or other food processor capable of coarse to fine grinding or mincing will work.

I like to do a double grind, starting with a course setting on the first grind, then run the meat through a second time on a finer grind.

Once completed I like to feel through the meat to make sure there aren’t any stray bones or bigger bits of spine left and remove anything I find.

Once the meat is ground, you do you. Season to your liking, shape into cakes and cook to your preference. The two little fish I had made six nice fish cakes, perfect for an old Gator. You can also freeze the fishcakes – do so individually, and vacuum seal them if you can.

If this caught your interest, maybe look at pressure canning meats and even fish – another great method of preservation and one that doesn’t rely on an electric freezer.

And that’s brings this month’s episode of ‘Down the rabbit hole with Gator’ to a close. I hope you find it useful.

'Til our wakes cross again, peace and love, and shrimp and grits. I'll see you on the water!

Captain Gator has spent the past several decades truly living the salt life, from living on and racing sailboats, to being a paddle guide, to becoming a 100-ton master and working in the tour boat industry. A strong love of history and the water has shaped him into becoming one part educator, one part entertainer, and one part storyteller. When asked if he is a native, his reply is yes, by osmosis.

TheOriginalCaptainGator@gmail.com

Ground fish makes great fishcakes!

Photo by J. Gary Hill