Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2013 | Page 10

seasonal flavors

fresh catch

i

Some where benea th the w ater’ s surf ace, ab out 60 mile s off shore
and swimming among old
ship wre ck s, are the fi sh tha t ex cite
Sea Island chef s thi s time of year .

t’s one big deep breath for Mike
Kennedy and then a plunge. He has no
air tank, but he does have a spear gun.
And what he’s found in his last four
years as a free diver is that the very nature of
free diving makes him less threatening to any
fish he’s trying to catch.
“I think that because we are holding our
breath, the fish are more attracted to us,”
Kennedy explains. “They are curious. There is
no noise.”
There is no cascade of rising bubbles.
And so, within 30 or 40 seconds of diving, he
often gets a shot.
As the Yacht Club Manager at Sea Island,
Kennedy oversees guest nature programs
that relate to water, such as boating, kayaking
and fishing. But starting in May, he takes
personal spearfishing trips with his colleague
Jon Kent, the director of outdoor pursuits at
Sea Island, and a small group of other free
divers. They set out at sunup and motor about
60 miles offshore to where they’ve found
some old shipwrecks with the help of the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources,
which publishes a guide detailing the wrecks
and reefs. At the wrecks, countless fish
congregate, and the men keep their eyes
peeled for the flat, silver and pearlescentskinned ones called African pompano that
average between 15 and 30 pounds.
Resort chefs line up at the dock, pick up the
fish, filet it, weigh it and portion it out. “The
guys call us in the morning and let us know
when they are going out,” says Sea Island
Resort Executive Chef Jonathan Jerusalmy.
“When they are an hour away, they call and tell
us what they have. That same night, it is served
as specials in the restaurants. It doesn’t get any
fresher than this.”
And the guests take notice. “I love the African
pompano so much because every time we serve
it, people say it is the best fish they have ever
had,” Jerusalmy comments.
Also known as a pennant fish, threadfish and
Cuban Jack, African pompano is often found
in the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the waters

By t anner la

tham

Executive Chef Jonathan Jerusalmy

10 sea isl and life | spring/summer 2013

SI_InSeasonDept-R2.indd 10

3/15/13 8:29 AM