OSTREICULTURE

First and foremost, Cancale is famous for its flat oysters. For centuries, oysters were fished offshore for all the markets in France, including Paris. So much so that one of the very first restaurants was named ‘Le Rocher de Cancale’ at the end of the 18th century. Perfected at the end of the 19th century, oyster farming has never stopped reinventing itself. Fished by dredge, the wild flat oysters were unloaded in the harbour, then sorted. The smallest oysters completed their growth in oyster beds located offshore. In the early days of oyster farming, juvenile oysters, known as spat, grew in hollow tables with wire mesh covers, sheltered from predators and bad weather.

 

Sown in beds, the molluscs grew for three years before being marketed. The beds, known as stalls, were made of stakes and interlaced wood and required constant maintenance. The women made sure that everything was in order during the tides, and collected the oysters that had been washed out of their beds by the waves.

 

Nowadays, the flat oyster remains the town's greatest pride and joy.