The old fisheries

Have you noticed these stone walls on the wild coast at Paracou?

These are old foreshore fisheries, like those found on every coastline. At La Paracou, they are fixed installations built on the wild coast and designed to trap fish by forming reservoirs in the rocks.

They consisted of stone walls built without mortar, still visible at low tide, and included an opening to the open sea known as a "claye" or "emptying opening". This was usually open to the full height of the wall, as can be seen on Paracou beach, or sometimes in the form of small tunnels. This opening was fitted with either a wooden grate or a small net to trap the fish. These fisheries varied in size and shape, making the best use of the contours of the land.

Fish locks" are the result of ancestral know-how. They were originally installed by farmers growing crops on the dunes to supplement their market gardening. In centuries gone by, this supplementary activity was essential to improving the diet of the local population.

Situated on public land, this activity has now completely ceased as a result of gradual abandonment following a ministerial ban in 1990.

These constructions are now subject to natural erosion by the ocean. You can see them at low tide on the Paracou beach side and along the coastal path leading to Graviers beach.

Others can also be seen along the corniche du Puits d'Enfer to the south of Les Sables d'Olonne, notably at the Pointe du Vieux Moulin and Anse aux Moines. They were built in the Middle Ages by the monks of the Saint-Jean d'Orbestier Abbey.