Description
The sardine, much more than just a fish
Behind the sardine lies a human, economic and social adventure that has left its mark on the entire Breton coastline. It's a fascinating journey into the heart of our maritime heritage.
The silver fish.
A short history of the sardine...
Over the centuries, this small blue fish with a silver sheen has shaped our coastline, driven our economic activities and created our port towns... A seasonal and capricious migratory fish, it has fed coastal populations or plunged them into poverty.
As sardines move in tight schools, fishermen invented straight and then encircling nets, used bait to catch them and upgraded their boats.
Large numbers of factories were built opposite the ports, because this fragile and delicate industrial fish had to be canned quickly. After being a luxury sardine in oil, it became popular and took its rightful place on French tables.
Anne Lebel-Auffret is a retired heritage curator and former director of the Archives nationales du monde du travail. A native of Penmarc'h, she wrote her master's thesis in history in 1981 on the social struggles in the canning and maritime industries in the 1920s on the Bigouden coast.
Places are limited - booking essential.
