CAPELIN!

Every June small, silvery fish called Capelin come to Newfoundland to mate and then roll up onto the coast by the thousands. The always roll in under cover of fog and the whales are right behind them! This is an event I've been looking forward to since the first time I Googled St. John's, Newfoundland. The best part is, no one can predict exactly when they will arrive. Once they roll in they continue to roll off and on for a week or so.

Scott heard at work the other day that the Capelin were Rolling! So that evening we bundled up and headed for our favorite beach, Middle Cove.

We didn't see any live ones rolling up, but there were a few fish heads between the rocks.

It was a beautiful evening though, and it was nice to stroll along the beach.

The next morning we rolled out of bed, threw coats and boots over the boys pajamas, and headed back to Middle Cove. The beach was gorgeous at 8am!

 

Plenty of people came with buckets and waders, and even some serious-looking nets. But we didn't see any fish coming onto the beach.

There were dead ones littering the rocks though.

Everyone else was collecting them, so we followed suit. Later we learned that stiff fish have been dead longer, so it's best to pick up the limp ones. 

But we had our eye on these guys. They obviously knew what they were doing and were kind enough to let us come watch.

Apparently at 6am the Capelin were washing ashore, but now the waves were much too rough. The Capelin were all in knee-deep water.

One of the men let me interview him about Capelin. The man said 30 years ago there would be men lining this beach with nets catching Capelin to salt and dry for food. These days, fishing with these nets is rare, and people mostly catch them to fertilize their hobby gardens. 

 

There aren't many craftsmen who makes these nets anymore -- this net is damaged but the man who made it passed away and no one knows how to repair it. 
 

Two of the men filled the groups' buckets. At first they'd collect all the ones that fell on the rocks. Then they were coming in so plentifully that they left the Capelin where they fell. 

Once their buckets were full they began to fill ours.

The boys were captivated by the wriggling contents.

One fisherman showed the boys how to tell the difference between male and female (males are boxier, with ridges along either side of their backs.) Then this man showed Ian how to squeeze a female and make it squirt eggs. I was horrified.

 

It was fascinating watching them at work. They were kind enough to pose for a picture, and asked if I would make sure it got into the paper. Apparently I had asked too many questions.

We were excited to go home and fry them up!

We weren't sure how to clean them, but rinsing them seemed to be a good idea.

Kissing them for good luck...

 Scott breading them in flour and frying them...

Delicious, fresh-caught breakfast! Okay... maybe not delicious, but edible and really fun!

That night we baked some more for dinner.  See the head Ian is about to eat?

The females seemed to be filled entirely with eggs and no meat, like this.

We saved you one!

It was such a memorable experience and we will definately make it an annual tradition. We'll just be sure to bring less of them home... After eating them for two meals and giving a large bag to the missionaries, we still ended up "sharing" several bags with the garbage men.