A MAGNIFICENT LANGOUSTIERE BEACHED AND ABANDONED AT CAMARET WITH NOTRE DAM DU ROCAMADOR (The church of the Langoustieres in the background)
Not being a holiday type person its well over a year since I have taken more than a couple of days off. However given the frenetic nature of the past few months even I was glad to take an impromptu break to recharge my visibly flagging batteries.
At very short notice I slipped quietly away on my own to Brittany a place I have never been easy with following a family tragedy many years ago. This time it was different, without any family baggage I was free to appreciate the true beauty of Cornwalls Celtic neighbour.
My first trip over was in 1969 as a crewman on the 17 metre Breton crabber Bacchus, which was built in Camaret, and then owned by John Burt and his brothers from Newquay. The Bacchus was maintained by the Camaret yard that built a high proportion of the magnificent Breton fleet of Langoustiers or crawfish boats which at that time were a common sight in Cornish waters.
From the original sailing vessels of the first half of the twentieth century they evolved into incredibly seaworthy motor vessels well suited to the turbulent waters that their prey inhabited. According to size the fleet fished the Breton Coast, Cornwall, Ireland, Portugal and Mauretania undertaking long trips to fill their vivers (live tanks) with the highly prized, valuable Langouste. As the fishery declined in the 1970’s some enterprising skippers ventured even further afield to Brazil and the Vima Seamount in the south Atlantic 1200 nm west of Capetown.
PAINTED UP READY FOR THE NEXT LONG VOYAGE.
In Cornish waters the decline of the crawfishery was a classic example of how not to manage a fishery which was destroyed by greed and irresponsibility. The Breton method of potting with wooden slatted cylindrical pots was very inneficient only a relatively small number of pots were used and if the method was not eclipsed by more ‘efficient’ means the fishery would probably still exist.
The first problems arose in the mid 1960’s when skin divers pillaged the shallower inshore reefs, crawfish congregated in harems where a male would assemble a number of females making them very vulnerable to the divers. The smarter ones soon cottoned on to leaving the male (cock) fish alone so that more females soon moved in to replace those taken. As the divers ventured deeper into stronger tides their casualty rate increased, while the job paid handsomely it was an incredibly risky occupation.
The real disaster occured with the arrival of tangle netting out of St Ives, Newquay, Padstow and Newlyn, boats were built to exploit the boom attracting grant funding which fuelled the stampede for ever greater profit. It was possible to carry miles of tangle nets on small boats which soon plastered the grounds causing conflict with the potters. Tangle nets originally of heavy nylon twine evolved into cheaper lighter monofilament nets which added to the already heavy pressure on the stock.
As usual the Government of the day and Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee faffed around and did nothing while a precious, hitherto sustainable resource was anhiliated in a few seasons of boom fishing for the netters. As the craws disappered the next disaststrous boom emerged as the netters moved on to anhililate the massive shoals of spurdogs that congregated in Cornish waters at that time.
Today the Langoustiers are no more, potting has evolved into a production line operation using steel or plastic pots for crabs and lobsters in huge numbers which involves massive capital outlay and inordinate amounts of bait. Thanks to Rick Stein Gurnards are now too expensive so the bait frequently comes from Holland in the form of frozen at sea blocks of scad pillaged by indusrial trawlers from, ironically, Cornish waters.
The Breton Langoustire potting ports used to be Audierne, Douarnenez and Camaret while Roscoff concentrated more on crabs, today Roscoff lands half of France’s crab catch from a fleet of large shelterdecked vessels a few of whom were the original Langoustieres.
THE SAINT ROC ALONGSIDE IN CAMARET BETWEEN TRIPS.
While in Camaret, as always I took a little time to appreciate the spiritual serenity of Notre Dam Du Rocamadour the simple church of the Langoustieres of whom I was once proud to count myself a member during what was probably the happiest most carefree phase of my life.
Fortunately a fascinating book has recently been published by St Ives Museum entitled Breton Fishermen in Cornwall and Scilly – A Century of friendship which chronicles this incredible saga of enterprise skill and sheer determination that set thes men apart. Today St Ives is twinned with Camaret which helps keep the heritage alive and continues the friendship originally forged from the hardship and deprivation that shaped the characters of the men involved.
As always when fun is involved the time slipped by, having taken in Quimper, Concrneau, Lorient, Pont Aen, Carnac and Quiberon it was time to head across country back to Roscoff via Guemene Sur Scorf where the wifes family formerly owned a house.
In all the ports there were few vessels evident, partly due to an incredibly fine spell of weather but I suspect that as in Cornwall the cold hand of the Common Fisheries Policy has wreaked its malign mischief as vessels have been decommissioned in large numbers
Finally back aboard Brittany Ferries awesome, brand new, Armorique I looked over the side at the quay where two Newlyn netters the Carol H and CKS were landing their fish having finally given up on the shambles that calls itself Newlyn Fish Market.
Brittany Ferries was originally started by a group of struggling Breton broccolli growers seeking a better outlet for their produce at the time the Brits sniggered confidently prophesying that it would not last, today the £100, 000 000 investment in the Armorique tends to suggest otherwise.
THE SHIPS HAVE COME A LONG WAY SINCE 1972 WHEN EVERYONE RECKONED THAT A PLYMOUTH – ROSCOFF FERRY SERVICE “WOULD NOT LAST”
