the best thing for aging is foraging: kelp harvesting in Davenport
August 16, 2017
Well, that's the best blog post title I've ever made, so I'm done.
For Jon's birthday, we went with our good friends on a magical adventure into the Davenport tide pools to forage for kelp! I had zero idea what to expect because most of the videos and instructions that were available online were either large, sun-burnt men biting into seaweed bulbs like they were carrots or Michelin-rated chefs with years of foraging experience! We had never done anything like this before, but it ended up being everything we hoped.
To prepare, I borrowed all the seaweed books Santa Cruz Public Library had: a Japanese cookbook and a children's book called The Wakame Collectors about a little hapa girl whose grandmother survived the war because of her people's resilient resourcefulness eating from the sea. It is both emotional, practical, and illustrated!
Oh! Speaking of guidebooks, I made sure every couple had a handmade guidebook to help with identifying kelp species. The nice thing about foraging for seaweed is that there are no toxic ones, only ones that are protected from harvesting. That means, we won't die. To help with identification, I made these:
It is wrapped in plastic (so it can get wet) and the cover is an inspirational photo of little Jon Akutagawa getting ready to catch some butterflies. It was barely helpful, but so adorable.
We spent about 2 hours at the tide pools and came home with around 30 lbs. of kelp. I'll post about preparation another time, but seriously the best part was that we were with friends who were willing to meet us for an early low-tide, enthused about aquatic wildlife, and tickled to be collecting free food from nature. There was a moment when I saw Jon squatting out there in the ocean, sifting through the forest of kelp around him, and I thought: This man is Wakame Collector.
A few details:
- The best time to go is at low-tide. You can check here. If we were to do this again, we would probably venture further out on the cliffs first so that we could get back to easier foraging ground as the tides came up.
- This guide gives you the most up to date information about commonly harvested kelp as well as ones that you cannot collect.
- If you are harvesting for personal fun (or a birthday friend's personal fun), you do not need a fishing license. The maximum collection per person for recreation is 10 lbs.
- The best things we found in Davenport were sea lettuce and nori. Jon was sad he didn't find kombu.
- We parked along Davenport Landing Rd. where it was free!
- What to pack: a plastic bag to hold important electronics, a plastic collection bag, a sharp knife/gardening shears, shoes with good traction (rocks are slippery!), a guidebook, and breakfast because it is so early you forget how hungry you will be after two hours of touching silky kelp!
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