Lucinda Frye
Diverse and indigenous cuisine brought by the many ethnic people to St. Maarten from all over the world piques our interest. To this end, we are on a quest to find where it comes from, if it is used for celebrations, if it is exotic to some but everyday food to others. Anything to do with keeping the body and soul nourished with that which is produced from good old terra firma, is what makes the world go around.
One of those delightful moments on a sunny day, as you take a stroll along a dock or over the rocks, is to happen upon a fisherman catching a fish. The birds swoop, the smell of the bait, the salty freshness of the air and dinner in the bucket – one can enjoy such simplicity in life!
My favourite time to see the fishermen is when we pass under the Simpson Bay bridge (hoping the boat will not hit above, or catch the side due to a fast current) and everyone falls silent as we glide into the shadows and pass the fishermen, who hopefully don’t have their lines out near our propellers. The swish and swirl of the water; the gentle “goo’day” or “goo’nite” uttered by them and us as we pass by; the clarity of the water; the sheer thrill of what we are experiencing is one of those moments that make life fun.
Of course, fishing from a boat is also great fun and a wonderful sport. Experience a fancy-pants fishing boat where one pays to be taken out to “find” the fish. The experience is one where the boat crew take the food and drinks and all you do is pitch up and enjoy.
We like to take our food/drink and get our hands dirty! The best experiences have been off the very southern tip of the Africa continent in small vessels. Up way before dawn, we would be on the water as the sun started sending long rays of light to chase the moon away. We would putter along with a myriad of local fishing boats all heading to the bank where we would drift fish. Most of the local fishermen have a wicked sense of humour and they would make comments in their dialect, as we drifted along and they began motoring up to the top, only to drift down again as we motored back up.
We all used hand-lines and hooks and special kinds of sinkers/spinners. On a good day, we would catch a lot of fish filling the trays, and there would be laughter rolling across the water; on “off” days when few fish were running and the fishermen’s livelihood would hang in the balance, the mood would be somewhat sombre.
The boats had no covered cockpits, so when nature called, tinkling over the side would just take place – no easy task on a cold day as these fishermen were clad in many layers of thick jerseys and trousers, and usually oilskins (a thick and unforgiven plastic-like fabric) were worn over the lot. Only one or two women were ever out there – they had to resort to the “bucket ‘n chuck-it” system. Well, no one ever made mention of when nature calls, it was what it was, and likely, to this day, it is what it is!
The smell of diesel, fish blood, salt water and the slapping of the fish, the call of the fishermen as they were “vas” with a fish on their line, then hand-over-hand pulled in the line, hoping that the line did not get wrapped around a foot or part of the boat and get knotted causing chaos and making the “run” a wonderful and exciting event. Then the “run” would stop and no fish would bite – time to bring out the sandwiches and flasks and idle along, up and down the bank, waiting for the next run to come in.
It was on one such quiet time that an extraordinary event took place. A yell came across the water as one of the boats “hooked” a very large fish. Everyone stopped what they were doing and, with baited (pun intended) breath, the boats jostling closer, each fisherman gave their line a wee tug – hoping they too would hook a big ’un.
The fisherman pulled and pulled and suddenly a diver popped up to the surface! The man was fully clad in wetsuit long-johns, bootees, long-sleeved jacket and hood – the water is very cold out there.
Surely, no man in his right mind would be 9 miles offshore diving below a fleet of about 30 odd fishing boats, all with their engines running and propeller blades turning BUT there was this one lone diver! No boat in sight that could have been his. Had he got lost out there?
The most hilarious part of this incident was the reaction from the fisherman who obviously had visions of a big, tasty fish to sell/take home. He took one look at the diver with the hook caught in his wetsuit butt, cut the line free and told him in no uncertain words to do the “proverbial right outta here” – and the diver did! He slowly sank beneath the waves with a little wave of his hand and was gone! It was quite surreal!
For all these years since that event took place, I still wonder just where he had come from as I know that there are huge sharks out in the bay between the shore and the bank.
Fishing is an ancient practice that has been in use for over 40,000 years.
Spearfishing – the earliest records of spearfishing show the use of harpoons in India and France as far back as 16,000 years ago.
Bow fishing – used by tribes in the present-day Philippines is traditionally used in clear, shallow waters.
Angling needs a hook attached to a fishing line. Stick a bit of bait on the hook and you just might be really lucky landing your catch.
Fishing hooks date back to the Neolithic age; the oldest hooks were made from bone fragments; shells, animal horns, and bird beaks were discovered in a Cave on Okinawa Island, Japan, estimated to be more than 22,000 years old.
Line fishing; Rod angling: Line and hook attached to bamboo rods started to be in vogue over 4,000 years ago.
Ice Fishing – where one catches one’s fish through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. The Inuit came up with ingenious fishing techniques and instruments like the unique pronged-spear called a kakivak. This spear consisted of a firm central prong and two side arms, which were more elastic. Each side arm had an inward-facing blade, which would hook into the fish and stop them from escaping.
Trapping by constructing U-shaped stone weirs in fresh water lakes/rivers, the stones are laid up to a certain height with only one narrow opening for the fish to move through.
Stone weirs were also used in medieval Europe. In England, stone weirs were so widespread that some rivers eventually became impassable. The famous Magna Carta Libertatum (1215) banned the building of these stone weirs in all freshwaters in England.
African tribes constructed wooden dams to bank up the water and leave a shallow place where they could just reach down and pick up the flapping fish.
Fish is a healthy food, but with the long-line fishing practices, our oceans are being depleted. Buy sustainable fish where possible.
RECIPES
Pickled Fish
Ingredients
4½ LB firm white fish fillets
6 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 cup flour seasoned with salt, 1tsp black pepper
2tsp turmeric
1 x 3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
3½ TBL sugar
2 TBL apricot jam
1 TBL black pepper corns
1 TBL coriander seeds
5 bay leaves
2 TBL roasted masala
1 TBL corn flour mixed with 3 TBLwater
Vegetable oil
Method
Season flour with salt and pepper.
Dust the fish pieces both sides, shake off excess.
Heat oil, shallow fry fish about 2 minutes each side, drain on kitchen towel.
Heat vinegar and water gently.
Add onions, sugar, salt, spices, jam, bay leaves, cook 8-10 minutes.
Next add the corn flour mixture, stir well and cook until translucent.
Place the fish back in the sauce mixture.
Heat gently for 2-3 minutes.
Place in a large dish with lid; make sure the sauce covers all.
Allow to cool, cover and set in the fridge for a few days.
Eat cold with potato salad.
Salt Cod Fish Cakes
Ingredients
1½ LBs salt fish pieces
3½ LBs potato, peeled
1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
2 TBL thyme or spring onion, chopped
1tsp freshly black pepper
¾ cup flour
Vegetable
Method
Soak salt fish pieces 12 to 24 hours covered with cold water – change water at least twice.
Boil salt cod fully submerged 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain.
Once cool enough to handle, remove skin and all bones, shred fish, cover, set aside.
Boil potatoes until tender.
Drain, cool, roughly mash.
Add onion, thyme, pepper, salt fish and 1 heaped TBL flour to potatoes.
Stir to combine, don't overmix.
Form mix into cakes (+- 2oz each).
Lightly dredge each in flour.
Fry fish cakes four or five at a time, 4-5 minutes each side.
Transfer fish cakes to a baking sheet and place into preheated 200° F oven to keep warm.
Makes about 36 fish cakes – freezes well.
