Ómós Digest #72: Ambrosial abalone
By Cúán Greene.
Good Morning All,
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Discovering Ireland’s caviar.
In most circumstances, the site of polythene sheeting does little to excite the imagination. However, when draped over a polytunnel, there is something entrancing about the arching structure, anchoring our eyes as the transformed material glistens in the sun. And although the sight of said structure is indeed captivating, I believe it is what activity is sheltered from within that entices our allure. Compounded by the ability to produce heat and providing a fabric for living matter to thrive, polytunnels capture our imagination by way of producing life in climates that would otherwise fail to prosper. Inside these miracle structures, one might expect to find a row of heritage peppers, squash, herbs galore or one of nature's greatest culinary triumphs - the tomato. But beneath the twinspan tunnels of Mungo Murphy’s farm, on the very west coast of Ireland in Connemara, exists activity you might not expect… Pumped by gallons of fresh Irish Atlantic seawater and filled to the brim with kelp and codium seaweed (for both feed and filtration), rows of blue tanks provide the perfect habitat for one of our ocean’s rarest and most endangered sea creatures: the abalone.