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The ‘Chattes’ fishing boats:

	These were particular to the Bay of Bourgneuf, built initially at Le Collet and Le Porteau, later at Paimboeuf. They had three masts, but only two were used at a time. They had a crew of three men and could reach a speed of 8 knots. The last ‘chatte’ disappeared in 1868.
	Notice the model of the ‘carrelet’ fishing net, a very common sight along the coast of this region. They are linked to the coast by tiny gangways and in Cormier some can only be reached by an overhead cable.
	There is also, an example of the traditional fishing ‘au haveneau’, a sort of triangular net placed across the current and secured to the boat by two strong grappling hooks.

 

"fouine"	"trouillot"
"treille"	"chevretière"
other "fouine"	"bottereau"
"pibalou"

 

"patins" and "pousse-pied"

 

"verveux"

    Shellfish
    In our temperate waters the zoologist or collector will not find shellfish of any great size, but the number of species in the Pays de Retz is extensive thanks to the four different aquatic environments : sea, river, lake and marsh. The most fertile areas are in three main zones: St. Brévin, La Pointe St. Gildas and La Bernerie - Les Moutiers. The fisherman has a wide variety from which to choose.
    The harvesting of shellfish is a very ancient practice along our coast, since it has been discovered during the mesolithic era at Pointe St. Gildas in 6500 B.C.
    The Romans could have introduced oyster farming to the Bay of Bourgneuf.
    This farming must have been impcrtant during the 15th century, judging from the number of shells discovered near Bourgneuf. A pile of 12th century shells at St. Brévin includes a considerable quantity of mussel shells which were probably, at that time, conserved in brine.
 

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