LES PÊCHERIES

But what are fisheries? They’re these funny little huts perched on stilts, with their feet in the water, that decorate our shores and coasts! They’re the stars of social networking sites, the focus of many of your photos, and part of the heritage of the Atlantic coastline. The 60,000 photos shared on Instagram with the hashtags “pêcherie” or “carrelet” bear witness to this! What’s the point of a pêcherie? A pêcherie is a hut used for fishing, also known as a carrelet in other regions (from the name given to the square net that is stretched at the end of a pole and lowered horizontally by a pulley). You can slip some bait into the hollow of the net, leave it in the water for a few minutes and try to pull it up. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a nice booty stuck in the hollow of the net, which you can retrieve with a landing net. What’s the catch? If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to catch bass, shad, sole, eel (watch your size), mullet, flounder, plaice, smelt and conger eel at our fisheries on the banks of the Loire. What is their history? Fishing with plaice developed at the beginning of the century. Before the appearance of these “cabins”, people fished with plaice suspended from long wooden poles. Since 12 February 2021, tile fishing has been recognised as “national intangible cultural heritage” by the Ministry of Culture. Emblematic of our shores, the fisheries are a fragile heritage that must be preserved. They are subject to the elements, and some regularly fall over during very heavy storms. To find out more, a book about the fisheries is available from our tourist offices. Is it possible to hire one? Most of the fisheries are privately owned, but some municipal or community fisheries can be hired out at the tide. It’s a great opportunity for the whole family to enjoy a fishing activity that is typical of the Loire Estuary and the Côte de Jade. There are two fishing boats for hire in our area, on the banks of the Loire only: The municipal fishery in Corsept La Ligérienne, a community fishery in Saint-Brevin