Photographs Of Marine (And Other Forms Of) Life
October 3, 2003 8:59 PM   Subscribe

Seafood For Thought: Ocean Pin-ups. A searchable immensity of fascinating photographs of aquatic creatures, among others. It's a commercial site but unusually generous to the casual browser. (I confess I found them while doing a strictly gastronomic search, goose-necked barnacles being an overwhelming, sea-soaked passion in Portugal and Spain - and, btw, currently trying to take Manhattan, in restaurants such as Ilo. Still, it's funny - not funny ha-ha, but actually peculiar and quite sad - how seeing your favourite delicacies alive and thriving sort of ruins your appetite...)
posted by MiguelCardoso (13 comments total)
 
FishFilter.

Seriously, though, great site. So many photos to browse through...
posted by wanderingmind at 9:10 PM on October 3, 2003


seeing your favourite delicacies alive and thriving sort of ruins your appetite.

Au contraire. A swimming specimen is an indication of freshness without compare.

Have you tried Abalone?
posted by hama7 at 9:15 PM on October 3, 2003


Ah, only the frozen variety. It's forbidden to fish abalone in Portugal - they're called "orelhas do mar" here ("sea-ears") and the fisherman scoff them all - and we're not rich enough to have it flown in. But my itamae keeps telling me how delicious they are.

Mind you, hama7, he once prepared a live lobster for me. He cut off half its head, so it was still alive, scooped out the tail and diced it and served it to me with the shell upside, while the poor creature was still writhing and clawing away.

I couldn't do it. I still have nightmares about it.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:20 PM on October 3, 2003


I couldn't do it. I still have nightmares about it.

Live lobsters are kind of hard to listen to (in the steam) too. I remember when I was a boy, I couldn't have cared less about the fish I caught, nor about the bait.

I do feel it more acutely now, but I'm so glad blue crabs and spot exist that those pangs can be thankfully overlooked.
posted by hama7 at 9:39 PM on October 3, 2003


Cuttlefish are some of my favourites. It's a pity that these colourful creatures end up as chalky wafers in a budgerigar cage.
posted by Jimbob at 10:37 PM on October 3, 2003


Enjoy your seafood while you can, because the ocean's are heading straight to oblivion. Every commercial fish is on the brink of collapse. It's an underwater armageddon.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:05 PM on October 3, 2003


Lovely, magical creatures. Thanks, Miguel.

As someone who still craves seafood but grudgingly gave it up, may I gently suggest we try to minimize what we can of suffering in this world.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 12:48 AM on October 4, 2003


To foldy and Miguel, with love.
posted by clavdivs at 9:23 AM on October 4, 2003


I couldn't do it. I still have nightmares about it.

Eating live fish is an experience that is probably as difficult to describe as it is to do.

There is guilt. Since fish have senses and the ability to move we can argue that they feel pain and have a 'common sense' or soul as described in Aristotle's De Anima.

This guilt is amplified by the fact that live fish taste delicious. One cannot compare the taste of dead Uni (sea urchin) one finds in Tokyo restaurants to the taste of live Uni one can enjoy when visiting the Oga Peninsula in northern Japan. Even if a person dislike's Tokyo restaurant Uni, I am sure that they would enjoy the taste of live Uni in Oga - sweet with no 'fishy' taste/smell.

Miguel, I respect you for the kindness you showed that lobster but, if you ever change your mind and decide to partake in eating live fish, I enjoyed live uni (as mentioned above), odorikko (long, slender octopus legs served squiggling and squirming) and live lobster. The odorikko is especially interesting since the tiny suction cups still 'work' - some legs will stick to teeth and other things. The type of octopus is different from the stuff you typically find in stores - much smaller with long, thin legs. I tried the odorikko at a restaurant in Himeji but I am sure you can find it elsewhere.

That being said, my 'gateway' live fish was a difficult and terrible experience but after trying live Uni it was a slippery slope. The guilt, however, never goes away.

Lovely, magical creatures... As someone who still craves seafood but grudgingly gave it up, may I gently suggest we try to minimize what we can of suffering in this world.

fold_and_mutilate: I respect you for your compassion as well as your actions to minimize suffering in this world. You have the will power to grudgingly give up something you crave for something you believe in and I wish I had your power of will. Your post may end up undoing my live fish eating practices and I thank you for posting. Peace.
posted by cup at 11:48 AM on October 4, 2003


The type of octopus is different from the stuff you typically find in stores - much smaller with long, thin legs. I tried the odorikko at a restaurant in Himeji but I am sure you can find it elsewhere.

Hi cup. In Korea the small octopi are called "Nak-chi", and are a delicacy eaten live with sesame oil and a little salt.

I went once to an island near Seoul and I was with a group who ordered several live mini-octopi to take back home in the car. I wondered aloud why they were buying live Nak-chi only to drive a couple of hours back to Seoul and cook them belatedly. Somebody shot me an indulgent look reserved for the ignorant, and as soon as we had piled back into the car, the octopus were pulled out, and I was soon surrounded by families gnawing the little critters live while the tentacles writhed around the children's wrists and stuck to their teeth and faces. One word of advice: chew.

We deposited everybody back to their homes, and the next day heard that one of the wives had to be taken to the hospital because an unchewed tentacle had painfully suckered itself into her stomach. Nasty business. Cameras down the esophagus and what not.

Dangerous, tasty, quick little eight-legged goblins.
posted by hama7 at 4:41 PM on October 4, 2003


I guess the lesson is to chew thoroughly...
posted by five fresh fish at 5:47 PM on October 4, 2003


how seeing your favourite delicacies alive and thriving sort of ruins your appetite..

No it doesn't. Unless your a total denial jerk who goes through life avoiding all unpleasantries and has never dealt with reality before. Oh, nevermind (notices poster).
posted by HTuttle at 11:07 PM on October 4, 2003


Hi hama7. Wow! Never realized how dangerous these little goblins could be. Thanks for the advice!
posted by cup at 11:54 PM on October 4, 2003


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