Débarquement de la sardineRosmeur Port has always lived in harmony with the tides and fishing: in days gone by, the old port of Rosmeur was home to a flotilla of sardine fishing boats. Nowadays, yachts and pleasure boats are moored on the old port, while modern fishing boats are on the new port in front of the sailors’ shelter, ‘l’abri du marin’.
Douarnenez has always had strong links with sardines as is clear from the presence of the archaeological site of Les Plomarc’h. The sardine has always been the most-caught fish of Douarnenez, it’s our Queen Fish.
The fishing port has always been very active, especially in summer, when the Queen of the Bay takes over. Fishermen head out between 4pm and 8pm. Once they spot the sardines, they encircle them in a large, bowl-like fishing net called a purse seine. In French, this is a ‘senne’ or a ‘bolinche’, so fishermen using this technique were known as ‘bolincheurs’. They return in the early hours as the sun is rising.
