Mussel Hunters--A dangerous style of hunting

[Ray S S]

Greetings Here is a type of hunting where you could die very quickly. I can't even pronounce
the name of their place. The food is free, but look and see where they have to venture to
just to get to it. Just imagine going down into a place like this.The following info was in an
email I received from a friend.
Enjoy

Ray

The people of Kangiqsujiuaq in Canada go to great lengths to add to their diet of seal meat,
venturing under the sea ice during the extreme low tides of the spring equinox to gather
mussels. For these mussel hunters it is a race against time. They have less than half an hour
to search for mussels before the tide rushes back in. A look-out keeps watch for the returning
tide, but warning shouts can't be too loud, the echoes can bring down the huge blocks of ice.


[video=youtube;Z0qGvC3vqaA]http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z0qGvC3vqaA[/video]

 

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[fossis]

Thanks for sharing Ray, that's a rough way to get your food.

Fossis............

 

[Dano Sverige]

Lol, watched that programme on TV the other night...crazy %&#@!!

 

[Ray S S]

Fossis, You are right, there is no guarantee that you would even be able to come back up to the
top. If you slipped and broke or twisted ankle or got hurt some other way, or even got a little
farther from the opening than you meant to, it would be curtains. That would be precious food
retrieved in that manner and would not to be wasted in any way. Brrrr.

Dano, I missed that one. It would have been have been fascinating to watch, seeing how
dangerous it is to be there. Did it say how they ever discovered they could do that without
committing suicide in the process?

Ray

 

[TheRandyMan]

Holy freaking cow!

That is some amazing footage...the food supply up there must be severely limited to risk dying like that or you have some really bored people up there...

No way I would ever try that...

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

I'll stick to scallops, thank you! They don't "run" too fast, don't pinch to hard, and I ain't gotta try to die, in order to get them.
Though I hate cleaning out that wet/dry vac afterwards!

Amazing the lengths, some have to go to! We are truly fortunant!
And, as Memorial Day approaches, Thank you to all, that have made this freedom possible!

 

[Dano Sverige]

Lol Randyman...you'd try it everyday if it was gold nuggets the size of mushrooms?

No Ray, they didn't say who first thought "ohh a hole. I'll just nip in and see if there's anything in there before the sea comes back in!" Though it had to have been a total nutjob!

Many have died doing it apparently.

 

[Daedalus]

Wow , no second chances with this type of fishing . One slip and you are done if there is no one there to help !
Thanks for the video as I like these types of shows.

 

[Monty]

I know of a spot about half an acre in size where fresh water muscles about the size of a man's hand abide by the hundreds. Are those things worth eating? You can just dig them up out of the lake bottom when the water is low. I don't think I would go to all that trouble for them like in the clip. Monty

 

[Ray S S]

Randyman, From what it shows, I would say that the food supply is limited. It looks like the type
of area where the eskimos live. Not much can survive in all that ice and snow.

Pat LOL. Yup, that vac would be kind of a slimey mess.
Agreed on Memorial Day. We owe so much to those who fight, and have fought, for our freedom.

Dano, thanks for the answer to my question. Wow, it gives me the shivers to think about
going down into such a cold and dangerous place.

Daedalus, Thanks for your reply. I am glad you liked it.

monty, They are called mussels but they looked like clams to me. Maybe just their name for clams. I like clam chowder.

Thank you all for you good replies.

Ray

 

[flip flop]

No way, no how would you catch me under that ice.
I guess I'd have another chunk of seal meat.

 

[Dano Sverige]

Mussels have been a staple diet in Europe for centuries. Clams are flatter, more oyster like than mussels, which are mor elongated with black shells. They're a big ingredient in European seafood dishes, along with the smaller "cockles" and "whelks".

You may have heard "Molly Malone" during St Pat's day?...She sold mussels from a cart (wheelbarrow). They're not so popular in the UK nowadays, but no trip to the seaside up until the mid seventies was complete witout parents eating tubs of the stuff and the smell of vinegar on the sea breeze.




They're a main ingredient of the famous Spanish dish Paella.

http://blognitivedissonance.com/2007/08/31/seafood-paella/

 

[TheRandyMan]

Damn! The dreaded "Cockle and Mussel Fever" got poor Molly!

Another reason to not go under the ice! It will get you there or with a fever later on when you eat the dreaded mussel!

 

[Ray S S]

Thanks Dano for the explanation and video. I have heard the song, 'Molly Malone' before, but
didn't know just what the things were. I like the Irish songs sung by the true Irish with their
accent. I love 'The Celtic Women' group'. Mairead Nesbitt, that plays fiddle for them is really
good. It's amazing how she can jump and bounce around the stage while she is doing such
a good job of playing it. And she always has such a sweet smile while playing.
Thanks again,
Ray

 

[Silver Surfer]

I know of a spot about half an acre in size where fresh water muscles about the size of a man's hand abide by the hundreds. Are those things worth eating? You can just dig them up out of the lake bottom when the water is low. I don't think I would go to all that trouble for them like in the clip. Monty

From what I have been told, freshwater clams (in every Florida lake, by the zillions), mussels, even the big green snails (all over around here too) were eaten by Indians in the past, but lake mud is now SO polluted I wouldnt eat them unless I had to to survive.. All bi-valves are filter feeders, they suck the muck/sand in, remove the food parts, and then spit out the rest. They accumulate heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, etc. Heck, you want a real eye opener, just find (takes some searching) your particular states dept of health site, then look for the section that tells you the "safe" fish lakes/waters and un-safe lakes/waters for fish, etc... I looked up Florida's, and EVERY lake has at least a warning for small children and pregnant women not to eat them.. My own lake (that I live on) is below one lake, and above the next (all chained), and for some reason it says NO ONE should eat fish from my lake, but it is okay to eat the fish in limited quantities from the one above and below mine.. Why? No one seems to know, and the site itself does not give specifics on exactly what they are contaminated with... Yet me, and nearly everyone around my lake, has a well that comes from, well, MY LAKE... Makes me wonder how much of the bad stuff that makes fish unfit to eat is in my drinking water...

 

[outback2000]

Wow that is just crazy ,I went and found out some more info on this story , one the ladies in the film ended up dieing after this aired but not from mussel hunting here is C/P of what I read ,,,,,,,In a sad epilogue, the BBC reveals that Qumaaluk later died in a quad bike accident.

Crazy

 

[Ray S S]

Wow, Outback that would be a heck of a note, wouldn't it? To die like that after surviving
such a dangerous activity as mussel hunting under those big blocks of ice.

Thank you for sharing that interesting but tragic follow-up. I wasn't even aware that one
would be able to find out 'more' about a video like you did. Good job.

All the best and HH.

Ray