I have hung out on the Channel Islands (off the Pacific Coast opposite Santa Barbara, not the ones obstructing the English Channel) for the past twenty-five years, working as an archaeologist. The islands are characterized by massive and numerous shell middens (piles of shell and other living debris). Abalone and mussel, among other species, have been on the menu for a long time. The earliest midden on the islands is more than 11,000 years old.

Basically, the table is set from Vancouver Island down to southern California. Early inhabitants who had crossed the Bering Strait merely had to move south from tide pool to tide pool until they reach balmy southern climes. There is growing evidence that this is at least one of the ways that people got into the New World.

The utility of tide pools continues today. In 1964, the Navy forgot about a party of archaeologist they had transported to San Miguel Island. Sending a plane out four days late, they found that the group had exhausted their regular food, but were subsisting nicely on tide pool abalone.

I have long thought that the islands would be an ideal location for finding easy survival food. Just wait for the tide to go out and eat your fill. Red tide is a problem here as well, although it primarily an issue in the summer. I believe it is mostly an issue with filter feeders (mussel), not necessarily all shell fish.

The abundant resources present on the islands are not found normally on the mainland. The tide pools there are pretty well hammered.