the season begins and looks promising

The sun has barely risen when the fleet of Sébastien Liscoët, a fisherman in Saint-Quay-Portrieux (Côtes-d’Armor), sets out to sea. He has been involved in the start of the scallop season for 20 years. With his brother and his business partner, they 1h30 to fish. Already they are harvesting 200kg at each lift. “It’s going to be a great season”rejoices Sébastien. Since some time, shell volumes increase by 20% per year. Anglers use wider rings to catch only the larger ones.

When it’s time to go home, there’s the weigh-in: the account is there. The minimum price paid to the fisherman is 2.40 euros per kilo. Sébastien could fish some more but “they have to be sold, the market has to follow behind and the resource has to be managed properly too”he justifies. After a night in an iodized basin, the shells are stripped of their sand. For Matthew Aumont, starred chef, they are a real local food. “We are going to take the scallops to the woods with the porcini mushrooms, a little bit of meat juice”he explains. He cooks them for 15 seconds on each side to preserve the taste of the water.