Mud octopus hoes. Mud octopus hoes are similar in its use with
‘ssuge (mud hook)’ in that they are used to turn the mud and
sand over, rather than dig it. They are the heaviest and largest
of the hand hoes used in tidal flats. This is a logical choice, for
small octopuses are strong and they usually live in deep tidal
flats. The hand hoe used in catching small octopuses naturally
need to be the ones that could add the weight, making them the
strongest and the heaviest of all hoes. These hoes were usually
used by women, but some of them weighted about 2 kg, which
seems little too heavy or women’s use. They are much larger
than the manila clam hoes and the blade is especially large
and long (Table 1). However, double blade hoes have long
and curved neck with short grip, just like the manila clam hoes
(Fig. 6-1–3).
Razor clam hand hoe. We have not been able to find a razor
clam hoe in this research. According to Siheung City History
record, (The Compilation Committee for Siheung City
History, 2007), razor clam lives in a deep hole, so the blade
of razor clam hand hoes is very long. One can scoop a razor
clam up from a hole by shoving the long and thin hoe made
out of cast iron onto the tidal flat. The mid-section is curved
in a circular shape, so that the blade can easily get under the
ground. People usually buy the hoes in markets, and people
in Jungwang village of Siheung City used ‘ssuge’ instead to
catch razor clams.’
Ssuge
In Daebu Island, there is the tool with two strong hooks used
to turn ground to catch razor clams and lugworms (Fig. 7). In
Ganghwa Island, they are used to collect lugworms living in
mud tidal flats with high mud contents (Fig. 8). Ssuges have
long blade and short grip because they go deep into the mud
and turn the sediments over as they are pulled out. In Ganhwa–
Donggum Island, ssuges that are like the one on top left
side of the Fig. 8 were mainly used when lugworms were the
main catch of the island. However, as the venus clam became
the new main catch, the hoes that look like the one in Fig. 8
became much more popular.
Ssuge has been used to catch octopuses only in Daebu
Island. In the other areas on the west coast of Korea, fishermen
generally use small shovel (Ko, 2009). In Donggum