Derekthered's Corsica blog

Someone once wrote that because Corsicans are a mountain people, they tend to eat a mountain diet and leave fish for the tourists. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a grain or two of truth in this, on the evidence of thousands of snorkellers and divers.

I was a very keen SCUBA diver when I was younger and have continued snorkelling even now I'm getting a bit decrepit. But one of my earliest memories of snorkelling in the Mediterranean in places such as Spain and Sicily was one of disappointment at how few fish there were to be seen through my face mask. If anything, there are even fewer now. However, whenever I get my mask and snorkel out in Corsica, I always seem to find myself surrounded by wonderful fish within seconds of getting in the water. Compared to the underwater barren wastelands of some over-fished Greek islands, snorkelling here is a delight.

For reasons I don't fully understand, Corsica has quite a short tourist season. So if my original premise is true, I guess most of the fresh fish gets consumed in July and August - and most of the ones that escape the nets stick around in their beautiful habitat for the rest of the year to breed - to surprise and delight snorkellers like me.