Fish lock

On the Île de Ré: The fish lock catching basin in front of the lighthouses at Saint-Clement-des-Baleines. (In the background on the right the wall)

A fish lock is a system for catching fish that does not require a fishing net , boat or fishing rod .

nature

Such fish locks were built in suitable places on the seashore as early as the Middle Ages . On a relatively flat stretch of beach - which, however , must have a significant tide - a square wall made of field stones with an edge length of 50 to 100 meters is built, which is open to the beach and closed to the water. The wall must be low enough so that the water, and with it the fish , is washed over the edge at high tide into the inner area of ​​the fish catching system. At the same time, it must be high enough to prevent the fish from finding their way back into the sea while the water drains through the small passages between the stones at low tide . When the beach has run dry, the loot is only collected.

Occurrence

Fish locks were mainly found on the western European Atlantic coast, especially in France, on the Atlantic islands Île d'Oléron , Île de Ré and Île de Noirmoutier .

Île d'Oléron

In 1987 there were 90 fishing licensees there, operating a total of 14 fish locks.

Ile de Noirmoutier

There were 142 fish locks on the island of Noirmoutier at the beginning of the 20th century. They were gradually abandoned, the last lock of them in 1986. A law of 1990 finally even prohibited maintenance and repair. In the context of the preservation order, however, it was finally allowed to restore the lock No. 7 of the fishery register located in the bay of La Guerinière .

Similar plants

Similar facilities are (or were) fish gardens in the Wadden Sea on the German North Sea coast, for example on the island of Föhr , or herring fences on the Baltic Sea coast. However, there is only one of them in Europe, namely the Kappelner herring fence in the Schlei .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.