Palolo worms are an annelid sea worm that lives in tropical and temperate oceans. There is a specific species found in the South Pacific that rises from the coral to spawn two or three times per year. The timing of the spawning depends on the lunar cycle and happens for a 3-day periods in October, November, and/or December. The worms usually come out around 2 am and last for only a couple of hours. Locals in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and other Polynesian islands love to eat them and they are a delicacy, kind of like caviar.
During a spawn, the head of the worm stays attached to the coral, while the rest of it detaches and rises to the surface of the water, releasing eggs. Adults are about 12 inches long and look like lots of spaghetti floating around in the ocean. It really sounds and looks delicious!
It seems as though there is no definite science to figure out when the palolo will come. When it’s about time according to the lunar cycle for them to spawn, locals swarm to the oceans in the middle of the night to wait for the worms to come out. Last Tuesday we started hearing that it was time for the palolo to come. People had looked for them Monday night, but they hadn’t come. “I think tonight they will come for sure,” we heard the locals say. So, lured by the anticipation of tasting delicious sperm-releasing ocean worms, we called a taxi to take us to the beach at 11pm Tuesday night. We heard that you have to go early, so I guess it’s true that the early bird gets the worm.
We had a nice chat with the taxi driver on the way to the beach. He was a fun, enthusiastic guy who seemed impressed that 4 palagis were headed out to the beach to catch some palolo. He said that some people eat them raw but the best way is to eat them with lots of butter. He told us, “Cook them with lots of buddah. Mmmmmm hahahaha. Make a sandwich with lots of buddah. Mmmm real thick. Numbah one!!!” Good advice.
We got to the beach and had to walk for about 30 min to get to the good spot. It was pretty windy and was raining on and off. I think this is probably the 3rd time I’ve ever felt cold here in American Samoa. We got to the beach, which looked completely different in the dark and with tons of Samoans sitting quietly. I’m sure our white skin made us stand out. We got invited under a tarp to escape from the wind and the rain. We still had about 2 more hours until the worms came. So we waited and watched the Samoans walking by with nets and giant coolers to collect the palolo. When the time came we waded out into the water with our flashlights but didn’t see anything. Even by 2:30am we still didn’t see anything. A few of people said that they had found a couple, but it obviously wasn’t the right time. This seemed understood and everyone grabbed up their stuff and started walking back to where all the cars were parked. “For sure they will come tomorrow night,” they said.
One night was enough for us, since we got about 3 hours of sleep before we had to go to school and teach the rowdy kids all day long. Maybe we will try again in November and hope for a better harvest.
During a spawn, the head of the worm stays attached to the coral, while the rest of it detaches and rises to the surface of the water, releasing eggs. Adults are about 12 inches long and look like lots of spaghetti floating around in the ocean. It really sounds and looks delicious!
It seems as though there is no definite science to figure out when the palolo will come. When it’s about time according to the lunar cycle for them to spawn, locals swarm to the oceans in the middle of the night to wait for the worms to come out. Last Tuesday we started hearing that it was time for the palolo to come. People had looked for them Monday night, but they hadn’t come. “I think tonight they will come for sure,” we heard the locals say. So, lured by the anticipation of tasting delicious sperm-releasing ocean worms, we called a taxi to take us to the beach at 11pm Tuesday night. We heard that you have to go early, so I guess it’s true that the early bird gets the worm.
We had a nice chat with the taxi driver on the way to the beach. He was a fun, enthusiastic guy who seemed impressed that 4 palagis were headed out to the beach to catch some palolo. He said that some people eat them raw but the best way is to eat them with lots of butter. He told us, “Cook them with lots of buddah. Mmmmmm hahahaha. Make a sandwich with lots of buddah. Mmmm real thick. Numbah one!!!” Good advice.
We got to the beach and had to walk for about 30 min to get to the good spot. It was pretty windy and was raining on and off. I think this is probably the 3rd time I’ve ever felt cold here in American Samoa. We got to the beach, which looked completely different in the dark and with tons of Samoans sitting quietly. I’m sure our white skin made us stand out. We got invited under a tarp to escape from the wind and the rain. We still had about 2 more hours until the worms came. So we waited and watched the Samoans walking by with nets and giant coolers to collect the palolo. When the time came we waded out into the water with our flashlights but didn’t see anything. Even by 2:30am we still didn’t see anything. A few of people said that they had found a couple, but it obviously wasn’t the right time. This seemed understood and everyone grabbed up their stuff and started walking back to where all the cars were parked. “For sure they will come tomorrow night,” they said.
One night was enough for us, since we got about 3 hours of sleep before we had to go to school and teach the rowdy kids all day long. Maybe we will try again in November and hope for a better harvest.
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