A deep dive into the beauty of our blue planet on a weekend trip to Jersey
Rudely roused from an afternoon nap, the stocky shore crab I’m inspecting is contorting every part of his one-and-a-half-inch body in irritation. Front limbs hunched and pincers clenched, he resembles the sort of squat middle-aged man whose Napoleon complex triggers late-night pub fights.
A grudging stagehand plucked from behind a rocky curtain and shoved into the spotlight, he retaliates by menacingly blowing bubbles.
Our reluctant rockpool star may be displeased to see us, but marine life is top billing on our three-day trip to Jersey, one of the best places in the British Islands to appreciate the power, beauty and fragility of our oceans.
Attracting tourists and boosting the economy through a sustainable fishing industry, a healthy marine environment is the island’s greatest resource.
Voted through in October, Jersey’s first Marine Spatial Plan will develop a network of marine protected areas raised from six to 23%, where dredging and trawling will be banned. The devastating impact of these damaging fishing practices on the environment and small scale operators is a hot topic, recently highlighted by new David Attenborough documentary, Ocean.
Now a Crown Dependency, the 116-square kilometre island has experienced several rulers and was occupied by the Germans during World War II. During that dark period, Kazz’s grandparents were forced to feed their nine children with whatever they could find after the Nazis claimed their farm.
Kazz, with his tumbling dreadlocks that look dyed by squid ink and the sun, inherited those survival skills. He is a proselytiser for preservation, someone who describes the properties of seaweed as “epic”, and argues nature’s gifts prove “magic is real”.
Kazz runs foraging tours through his company, Wild Adventures. At one point during our walk, he uncovers a lobster then returns it, carefully replacing the rock exactly as it was found.
The mid-16th century manor fell into disrepair during the German occupation, when it was used as officers’ quarters, but was revitalised in 1949 by Sidney and Edith Lewis. Their grandson, third-generation hotelier Malcolm Lewis, now manages Longueville with his wife, Patricia.
The dog and family-friendly hotel boasts 29 rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, small spa, hot tub, tennis courts, workout facilities and an impressive wine cellar.
Longueville’s heart is its dining room, boasting ornately-carved wooden panelling rumoured to have originated from crates washed up in the Spanish Armada.
At dinner, Andrew serves us a sustainable tasting menu comprised of spider crab with poached lobster, cucumber, Bloody Mary, garden salad, yuzu and lime, then a course of wild turbot with grilled local octopus, plum tomato, Kazz’s foraged herbs, aioli and – of course – the renowned Jersey Royal potatoes we unearthed from the hotel’s own tranquil chef’s garden that morning.
Our scallops were procured by Bob Titterington, a Jersey legend in his early 60s who celebrated 40 years of hand-diving last year.
Bob can be underwater for two hours at a time, and his three-man crew yield a good haul of 500-600 scallops each day. All are sustainably sourced and checked to ensure they meet minimum size requirements enforced by Marine Resources, Jersey’s multi-faceted government authority responsible for regulating fishing and implementing policies that support responsible fisheries and environmental conservation.
Andrew has worked with Bob, Kazz and the same fisherman for decades, and is now planning to restart Jersey’s chef’s circle, bringing together stakeholders to forge crucial connections and establish best practices.
There are about 30 to 40 full-time Jersey fishermen – including one woman, the entrepreneurial Gabby Mason.
The following day, we tour the little-known Ecrehous islands with RIB outfit Jersey Seafaris, spotting seals, gannets and terns, who squawk sternly as we approach their roped-off nesting site.
Everyone we’ve met – from hoteliers to the hand-divers, marine biologists and Madeiran crab-pickers – rely on each other, and understand sustaining that symbiosis is key to Jersey’s success.
Because as soon as I stepped foot on this unique island, I, too, became part of its ecosystem.
How to plan your trip:
Rooms at Longueville Manor (longuevillemanor.com) start from £200 with breakfast. Foraging and tours through Wild Adventures (wildadventuresjersey.com; various prices). Ecrehous Islands wildlife tour with Jersey Seafaris (jerseyseafaris.com), starts from £45.99.