On a warm summer’s day in the waters around St Francis Bay, you may have the privilege to come across one of the sea’s most fascinating creatures. Once thought of as being nothing better than bait, she is now so sought after abroad that this special delicacy from our coastline seldom graces local tables.
Her slim body and eight legs pirouette through the ocean. Her diamond fins flap elegantly as she sways with the underwater foliage. Suddenly she shoots forward on a stream of water leaving an explosion of bubbles in her wake. In a flash, two tentacles whip forward to grab an unsuspecting small fish – little suckers securing the prey.
A temptress in her many guises and forms with the ability to squeeze through a space as big as her beak, the females are picky when it comes to a mate. Courtship begins far above the egg bed. Once the romance blooms, the male uses one of his long arms to place his sperm near where the egg will appear and stays with his lady until the egg has been fertilised. He gallantly escorts her to the egg bed as she cradles her eggs in her arms. Jealous bachelors try their luck at breaking the union and devious tactics are needed to ward off other suitors. Males use their incredible ability to communicate and distract with an ever-changing display of patterns and colours on their mantle. Small pockets of dye create a dazzling spectacle as they flex and contract their inky muscles.
Once they reach the egg bed, the male must still be on his guard as it is now when other large males might try to assert their masculinity and fertilise the eggs. With sperm coming at her from all directions, her mate pulls out all stops in the colour department to defend his damsel in distress. But in the end, this smart lady of the sea chooses the healthiest sperm and lays between 100 and 150 eggs in strands of a jellylike substance attached to the ocean bed or a reef. It will be around twenty days before the squidlings hatch, if the water is warm, the incubation period might be slightly shorter.
The baby chokka will have 8-12 months to frolic in the ocean, squirting around in their undersea playground. Once they have reached maturity, they must head back to the spawning ground. After the deed has been done and eggs laid, the beautiful Loligo renaudii (aka calamari) reach the end of their lifespan and either die a natural death or end up being served in a pool of butter.
At noon, on the 23rd of November, the chokka season opened. Port St Francis, one of the only private ports in South Africa and the heartbeat of the chokka industry, was busier than ever. Inspectors whizzed back and forth between anchored fishing vessels, ready to hit the waters while fishermen were ferried to waiting boats ready to cast their lines and lures.
We were lucky enough to have a bird’s eye view of all the action from Clive’s Chokka Block in the port. We also got to spend time with Clive and learn all about the calamari from our waters. The knowledge and passion this restaurateur and chef has for the Loligo reynaudii or the squid better known as chokka will not only inspire you to never want to eat any other calamari again, but also give you a whole new understanding of the sea creature that drives one of the major industries in our area.
We booked a calamari tasting with Clive to give a visitor from the States a taste of the port. Not only do you learn about the biological makeup of chokka but he also describes the way it is fished and compares it to other calamari both through taste and fishing practices.
Clive comes from a family of chefs of French and Mauritian descent and grew up in Durban. He has worked extensively in the fishing industry and has consulted globally on sustainable fishing practices. Following the family tradition, he moved to St Francis Bay seven years ago and opened “Clive’s Chokka Block.” His restaurant is one of the few places in South Africa that serves local calamari prepared in previously unimagined cuts. He has made it his mission to dispel the notion that chokka is only good as bait and educate patrons about this treasure of our coastline that has breeding grounds between Port Elizabeth and St Francis Bay.
The calamari catchers
The practice of fishing for calamari requires a skilled fisherman who can operate in challenging conditions, often working twenty hours in a row and rotating bunks with crew members for 21 days.
‘Everything you have heard about fishermen is true.’ Clive told us with a glint in his eye.
Generally, fishermen are prohibited from going ashore during their time on the boat (even if the weather is bad or the chokka are not biting) as it seems these guys enjoy ‘liquid refreshment’ a little too much. They are also superstitious about certain things, one being that if you shower while out fishing you wash your luck away. Chokka fishermen are paid per kilogram, so each man makes his own fortune.
How it works
We’ve all seen the armada of chokka boats on the horizon at night with their lights glistening. I’m sure many of us assume that the lights are there to attract the chokka. I was surprised to learn that the lights attract the fish that chokka like to prey on and the squid hang out in the shadows waiting to pounce. Because the chokka are found in the shadows, the lights on the boat are positioned so that the shadow falls just where the fisherman throws in his jigger.
Our calamari is only caught manually using a line in a process called jigging. A fishing line with a special lure called a dolly and a bit of wood to wrap the line around are used. As squid can also be caught during daylight hours nearer the ocean bed, two types of dollies are used – a light, luminescent one for the night and a weighted, larger one for during the day.
Experienced fishermen can handle up to three lines at a time. As the bulk of our calamari is exported to Europe, strict EU fishing standards must be upheld aboard. No other line fish besides calamari is allowed to be caught and strict protocols for freezing the fish must be implemented. Calamari is blast frozen on the boat and then glossed with seawater and transferred to a bigger freezer.
Unfortunately, this practice of ethical fishing does not happen globally. To drive the point home, Clive showed us a few videos of how calamari are caught commercially in other places using mechanical jigs. How the squid are caught and stored appears to be relatively unregulated and often standard of hygiene seem to be questionable (https://youtu.be/Blo0lZigay0?si=VffUVYPcC2yubys-). For an animal that only breeds once in its lifetime, there is concern over depleting resources.
Squid dissection
Another highlight was watching Clive dissect a squid, explaining the body parts and function as he went. Each squid is prepared by hand in his kitchen (during the busy seasons he hires people specifically for this job). The shiny membranes, the mantle that looks like fairy wings, the birdlike beak, the perfect little suckers on the tentacles and the ink pod with its black gold – nature’s attention to detail and magnificent beauty at every point is mind-blowing and humbling.
Local vs imported calamari
To demonstrate the superior quality of local calamari, Clive prepared some calamari from China and Argentina. He prepared each sample identically and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc was used as a palette cleanser between tastes. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that it was obvious how far superior local calamari is. We can eat it with the knowledge that it has been caught sustainably and not injected with water to bulk it up.
Many thanks to Clive and his staff at Clive’s Chokka Block restaurant for the wonderful information.
Book your tasting! Call +27 (42) 294-1615 or +27 (60) 305-0972 | Website: https://chokkablock.co.za
Pat Holme’s amazing chokka light creations
With our piqued interest in all things chokka, we have to mention one of our very talented Dune Daisies readers. Pat Holmes makes the most amazing lamps using the giant bulbs from decommissioned chokka boats. Having had a house in St Francis since 1980, Pat has watched the industry flourish and came up with the idea to recycle these lights in 2014. Over the years he has perfected his lamp-making skills and fits each light with a customised fitting and top. Every lamp is unique. In addition to hanging lights, Pat is also now making standing lamps using galvanised tubing – very chic. If you would like to see these lights, pop into Nevermind where some are up in the restaurant. Alternatively, give Pat a call at +27 (73) 1640-622 and he will undoubtedly have a creative solution for you.
