Noirmoutier oysters in the warm waters of Senegal

On a small coast of Senegal about a hundred kilometers south of Dakar hides a lagoon, lost in the middle of the mangrove swamp. The Somone nature reserve is a paradise for birds and fishermen on foot. It is here that Norbert Jan, oyster farmer, has been raising oysters since 2002, in water that oscillates between 22 and 35 degrees. “When I am told prohibited, it is not possible, it interests me “, he confides. Against all odds, his crazy bet worked.

Its hollow oysters are growing three times faster than in France. The water of the lagoon, very rich in plankton, feeds the park at each tide. Norbert Jan has trained six Senegalese employees in a farming method adapted to the local climate. He brings his spat from the island of Noirmoutier, in Vendée. The sieves of the trays are brushed every two days in order to oxygenate the mollusks. “Baby oysters are much more fragile than human babies“, laughs Paul Faye, oyster worker. After eight months of growth, the oysters are ready. Customers settle down at the water’s edge to taste them. Norbert’s farm produces 30 tonnes of oysters per an, sold in West Africa, highly prized by restaurateurs, they delight the best establishments in Dakar.