Book Review: Exploring Tide Pools of the Pacific Coast

[Nyerges is the author of “Foraging California,” “How to Survive Anywhere,” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com for information about his books and classes.]


You’re walking along the California coast, somewhere where it’s still possible to see seaweeds and shells and sponges and anemones.  You’re in the tide pools!  These are exciting places to discover what lives where the ocean meets the land, and even to observe the effects of pollution, human intervention, and climate change.


The first step in your expansion of knowledge and insight into the flora and fauna of the diverse tidepools is to learn a bit about the plants and animals that reside there. There are many books available, and one of the better books I’ve recently reviewed is “Fylling’s Illustrated Guide to Pacific Coast Tide Pools,” by Marni Fylling.


It’s a slim book, 76 pages, measuring 5 by 7 inches, so this book fits easily into your pack or pocket.  It’s a simple guide to everything you’ll find in the tide pools, with color drawings. 


After a simple introduction to how the tide pools work, the book shares with us how to recognize the common anemones, sponges, mollusks, worms, arthopods, sea stars and urchins, tunicates (yes, I never heard of those either!), fish, birds, and the seaweeds.  It’s a delightful book, which makes the understanding of what lives in the tide pools easy and accessible.   The color drawings are clear and well-presented.


If you’ve ever watched some of the many “survival” shows on television, you’ll see that those who understand the sea and shore are those who eat.  Where there is water, there are fish, and shellfish, and seaweeds, and basically no excuse to go hungry. 


Kelp is common in the tidepools and along all the coasts, and of course, when properly prepared can provide you with some very flavorful soup or broth.  Various forms of kelp are described in this book, including the bull kelp (the one with the long stem and the hollow ball at the end of the stipe), and the giant kelp.  According to the author, the giant kelp put the bull kelp to shame in its speed of growth.  

Giant kelp can grow 20 inches in a day, faster than almost any other organism on earth.  (The author says “almost.”  I wondered, what could possibly grow faster than that?)

Purple laver is another seaweed found in the tide pools, growing on rocks.  One type of purple laver that many people are familiar with is nori, which has been eaten since at least 500 A.D. (that we know about). 


I learned about tunicates in this book, also known as “sea squirts.” These are the jelly-like masses that you often see on rocks in the tide pools.  These are quite unique creatures in the animal kingdom.

In the crab section, the author describes the diverse crabs to be found in the Pacific tide pools, and also mentions the gooseneck barnacles. Back in my teens, we used to collect the gooseneck barnacles and use them for bait.  I also would take some home to boil and eat, and everyone laughed at me because they said I was “eating bait.”  Still, I learned that you could survive on very little.

“Pacific Coast Tidepools” retails at $15 from Heyday books (www.heydaybooks.com).



OTHER REFERENCES

When I was first studying the life of the beaches, I used Jepson’s Manual of the Higher Plants of California, which is what you use in college to study botany.  That’s a good source, obviously, but not as enjoyable to read as Fylling’s guide to the tide pools.


I also used Euell Gibbon’s “Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop,” which covers the edible and useful flora and fauna of the Pacific, Atlantic, and other coasts.  It’s actually quite good, and though illustrated with simple line drawings, is perhaps one of Gibbons’ best works.  Though many of Gibbons’ books were lively conversations, and sometimes lacking in science.  “Blue-Eyed Scallop” demonstrates the true naturalist in Euell Gibbons, and it showed that his love for the sea was his first love.


ENOUGH FOR ALL

In a related vein, Heyday also publishes a book from a Pomo perspective called “Enough For All:  Foods of My Dry Creek Pomo and Bodega Miwuk People” by Kathleen Rose Smith.

Kathleen Rose Smith reveals the practices handed down through generations of her Bodega Miwuk and Pomo ancestors, and shares how these traditions have evolved into the contemporary ways her family still enjoys wild foods. Her knowledge and personal reflections are expressed through recipes, stories, and artwork, recording not only the technical aspects of food gathering, but also the social and spiritual—inextricable elements of traditional California Indian food preparation.

It's a wonderful book, complete with family stories and photos, and also full of useful information of how the wild foods were once collected, and shared with others in a time of need.

“Enough for All” is not only the title, but the theme that more people should adopt in this time when there is so much plenty, but also so many in poverty.