Calif. aquafarmers cash in on demand for abalone
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jul12/0,4670,Abal [2008-7-14]
Tag : japanese sweet potato
The rapid growth came as abalone consumers expanded from a coregroup of older Californians nostalgic for the days when thedelicacy could be gathered by the sack-full along the beach orordered as steaks or burgers at fish shacks, said H. Roy Gordon,president of the abalone consulting firm Fishtech Inc.
Today's abalone lovers include adventurous, well-heeled diners whoare hungry for something different and quintessentiallyCalifornian, he said.
"From a flavor standpoint, it's hard not to like it," said CoreyLee, chef de cuisine at the French Laundry in Napa Valley. "We'retalking about a sweet, clammy shellfish."
Decades ago, abalone could be found littering beaches at low tideor clinging to rocks in underwater coves. These days, however, mostof the nation's abalone grows in sea water-filled tanks amid thehum of pumps and generators.
At Carlsbad Aquafarm, thousands of abalone cling to verticalplastic panels stacked in waist-deep tanks the size of large kiddiepools.
The complex also houses gurgling tubs where workers clean andprocess oysters, clams and mussels raised in the nearby lagoon. Theshellfish sales bankrolled the company's abalone operation as themollusks reached marketable size, Steinke said.
Farther north along the coast, Monterey Abalone Co. grows themollusks in cages suspended from a municipal wharf into MontereyBay. The company hopes to add as many as 70 new cages next year tothe roughly 200 it currently uses, co-owner Trevor Fay said.
Fay said the biggest challenge has been securing a year-roundsupply of the wild kelp that it feeds the creatures. Experimentsare under way to preserve kelp harvested in summer for use duringwinter, he said.
"If there's a lot of demand and you've got a good outlook, which wecurrently do for growing abalone, then you've got to takeadvantage," said Art Seavey, Fay's partner.
Abalone was helped into the California culinary culture by late19th century Japanese immigrants who dove for the mollusks andexported them to their home country, where they had long been adelicacy, said Tim Thomas, a historian at the Maritime Museum ofMonterey.
In the early 1900s, a German restaurateur in Monterey known as"Pop" Ernest Doelter began experimenting with the exotic catch. Hedevised a recipe that involved prying the meat from the shell andpounding it into steaks that were breaded and pan-fried, Thomassaid.
The mollusk's popularity grew and eventually led to itsnear-depletion.
In 1997, state Fish and Game officials imposed a complete ban onabalone harvesting south of the San Francisco Bay and severelyrestricted diving for the mollusks north of the bay.
The first abalone farms appeared in the early 1970s, as the naturalsupply diminished. Since then, farmers have been experimenting tofind the best ways to breed them in captivity.
In recent years, abalone has slithered onto the menus of a numberof pricey restaurants.
"I am so surprised that so many people are ordering it, and thefeedback is so beautiful," said Mo Tabib, chef at the Fish Hopperin Monterey, which sells potato chip-sized disks of seared abaloneas an appetizer for $22. "It's a luxury."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.
The rapid growth came as abalone consumers expanded from a coregroup of older Californians nostalgic for the days when thedelicacy could be gathered by the sack-full along the beach orordered as steaks or burgers at fish shacks, said H. Roy Gordon,president of the abalone consulting firm Fishtech Inc.
Today's abalone lovers include adventurous, well-heeled diners whoare hungry for something different and quintessentiallyCalifornian, he said.
"From a flavor standpoint, it's hard not to like it," said CoreyLee, chef de cuisine at the French Laundry in Napa Valley. "We'retalking about a sweet, clammy shellfish."
Decades ago, abalone could be found littering beaches at low tideor clinging to rocks in underwater coves. These days, however, mostof the nation's abalone grows in sea water-filled tanks amid thehum of pumps and generators.
At Carlsbad Aquafarm, thousands of abalone cling to verticalplastic panels stacked in waist-deep tanks the size of large kiddiepools.
The complex also houses gurgling tubs where workers clean andprocess oysters, clams and mussels raised in the nearby lagoon. Theshellfish sales bankrolled the company's abalone operation as themollusks reached marketable size, Steinke said.
Farther north along the coast, Monterey Abalone Co. grows themollusks in cages suspended from a municipal wharf into MontereyBay. The company hopes to add as many as 70 new cages next year tothe roughly 200 it currently uses, co-owner Trevor Fay said.
Fay said the biggest challenge has been securing a year-roundsupply of the wild kelp that it feeds the creatures. Experimentsare under way to preserve kelp harvested in summer for use duringwinter, he said.
"If there's a lot of demand and you've got a good outlook, which wecurrently do for growing abalone, then you've got to takeadvantage," said Art Seavey, Fay's partner.
Abalone was helped into the California culinary culture by late19th century Japanese immigrants who dove for the mollusks andexported them to their home country, where they had long been adelicacy, said Tim Thomas, a historian at the Maritime Museum ofMonterey.
In the early 1900s, a German restaurateur in Monterey known as"Pop" Ernest Doelter began experimenting with the exotic catch. Hedevised a recipe that involved prying the meat from the shell andpounding it into steaks that were breaded and pan-fried, Thomassaid.
The mollusk's popularity grew and eventually led to itsnear-depletion.
In 1997, state Fish and Game officials imposed a complete ban onabalone harvesting south of the San Francisco Bay and severelyrestricted diving for the mollusks north of the bay.
The first abalone farms appeared in the early 1970s, as the naturalsupply diminished. Since then, farmers have been experimenting tofind the best ways to breed them in captivity.
In recent years, abalone has slithered onto the menus of a numberof pricey restaurants.
"I am so surprised that so many people are ordering it, and thefeedback is so beautiful," said Mo Tabib, chef at the Fish Hopperin Monterey, which sells potato chip-sized disks of seared abaloneas an appetizer for $22. "It's a luxury."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.
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