Sandworms
Horror Story or Dinner On the Bottom?
As a kid, we would go bottom fishing for porgies, flounder and pretty much anything that would bite. Pretty much all the time, the bait of choice was Sandworms. Sure, you could go to a big job and buy them live, but we were just kids and had no money. There was a near infinite supply of sandworms below the rocks and in the Sandy, gravelly bottom of the reef at the end of my street. So, low tide was a gold mine. All we needed was a pitchfork, a bucket and some seaweed. The rest was up to our willingness to touch them. We were soon to be men so, we had the guts to touch them. And away we went…
The sandworm has a long, nefarious reputation in Hollywood. From the creation of Dune to the popular tv show Charmed and even Zelda has popularized these creatures in science fiction and fantasy. It is no surprise that they gained this reputation because the real life sandworm has sharp pincer jaws that have about 10 teeth on each one. Their bite is painful, not to mention these creatures are not the most attractive of marine life.
They live abundantly on the East Coast, from the Northeast, south and on the West Coast. From Alaska to central California. As you would expect, they live in the sand, specifically in mucus-lined burrows. They literally chew through sand and usually above the low tide mark. They are a favorite meal of the toothfish, or more commonly known as the Chilean Sea Bass.
The toothfish dwells towards the bottom of the ocean, and as the tide rolls in, they pick out the sandworms from their burrows. Given that sandworms have a nasty bite, it is a good thing toothfish also have strong chompers. The delicate marine ecosystem is illustrated through the life of the sandworm, feeding on plankton and other sea plants, which then feeds the toothfish. The Chilean sea bass is a favorite dish around the world, known for it’s meaty texture and buttery flavor due to the blubbery nature of the fish.
By LA DiNardi
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