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Clam
Clam Preparations for an Aurak hunt start before we leave home. Since we regard these vicious little animals as potentially dangerous we carry immunization medication in bottles labeled Canadian Club, Chevas Regal, Schlitz, etc. Our diet on a venture like this is also of great importance. Such necessary items as canned abalone, smoked clams and oysters, wasabi and soy sauce for our sashimi, which is caught on location, are picked up on Kwajalein.
On the medical team's third Sunday on Rongelap I usually declare my rights. I lock up one refrigerator, putting all of the cold cuts and leftovers in the other with a sign "help yourself", then Wat and I take off with two or three Marshallese boys to help us battle the Aurak.
Photo - Libby
Aurak Hunter with living
Strombus taurus. Note
coral shingle bottom
that makes lime-encrusted
S. taurus almost invisible.
There are usually a few last-minute details to take care of, such as carrying out a major overhaul on one of the outboard engines, or making a life preserver for Wat. He doesn't swim. As a safety measure, the Rongelap boys tie several coconuts together by their husks. This gives buoyancy as well as food and water in a crisis.
This year's hunt was not without problems. First, the Marshallese spotted a turtle and started in pursuit. Dr. Sutow, who is not the world's best sailor, suddenly lost his appetite for the Strombus taurus and asked to be put ashore at the first island where he could do some beachcombing. I also had problems which I attributed to an overdose of immunization medication. Nevertheless, our four hours of free diving in ten to twenty feet of water was quite rewarding. We found beautiful specimens of Lambis truncata, L. lambis, L. chiragra, Cypraea tigris, C. mappa, C. testudinaria, Cassis cornuta, a growth series of Conus litteratus and many others.
Clam Jeddah, the largest seaport on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, is our main base of operations. Most of our stations, north and south of Jeddah (or Jidda in some geography books), are virgin collecting grounds, and we are constantly adding new locations to our list. Ken and I keep our favorite spots secret from all but the most conservation-minded sea shell collectors.
Our expeditions, as a rule, start early in the morning. The terrain is so rough and most shore locations are so inaccessible that only a four-wheel-drive vehicle can be used.
The trip I am reporting went southward from Jeddah about 120 kilometers to a point where the outer reef comes within 100 meters of the shore. The ride was far from pleasant. Dust, dirt, perspiration and humidity caused great discomfort. After almost three and a half hours of bouncing we finally reached Station 12, our destination, where we checked into the nearby coast guard station to show our permits and to explain our activities. In Saudi Arabia, where all activities along the coast are controlled, each person is required to have a permit to swim, shell or do anything of that sort along the shore.
Ken and I are experienced SCUBA divers, but prefer to do our collecting with only snorkel, face mask and fins. Most sea shells here can be found in one to 20 feet of water while snorkeling. Our gear includes a crowbar, knife, and large plastic dishpan inside a truck inner tube, to hold jars, sneakers, plastic bags and shells.
If sharks become too aggressive, as they sometimes do, we climb right into the dishpan! Sharks and barracuda are numerous here, and both are unpredictable.
On the present trip, the excitement started early, when Ken turned over a small rock in two feet of water and produced a beautiful Cypraea macandrewi. I am sure the whites of my eyes matched the white of his beaming smile. We must have spent half an hour examining the sea shell – the first live C. macandrewi either of us had ever seen. Heartbreak followed. At the end of the day, the C. macandrewi had disappeared. I still can picture Ken searching every container over and over, even sifting the sand at the bottom, to no avail
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