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WORK / Workers of the sea, the Prawn Catchers
WORK / Workers of the sea, the Prawn Catchers
April to September is the prawn fishing season. Thierry Evain, fishing boat captain, has made it his specialty. All aboard the trawler, the Quentin-Grégoire.
Text : Djamel Bentaleb / Photos : Patrick Forget
Text : Djamel Bentaleb / Photos : Patrick Forget
At the port of Les Sables-d’Olonne, the Quentin-Grégoire, a 18.50 meter-long trawler, unloads its catch: hake, monkfish, sole and, above all, 900 kilos of shrimp, the star of the moment! When the refrigerated truck leaves in the direction of the wholesale fish market of Croisic, it's our turn to board. Heading back out to sea, Thierry Evain uses his navigational instruments to steer the boat to the fishing zone. Through experience and depending on the hour, the weather and the season, he knows if the shrimp will be coming out en masse.
At the ship's stern, José, Olivier and Nizer monitor the trawling net. After three hours spent passing through the sandy ocean bottoms, the gigantic net liberates its catch. Shrimp, monkfish, hake, crabs fall one after the other into the sorting containers. They throw back into the water the undesired or small fish, such as this still living, blue shark. In the damp, the rust and the noise, the positions are uncomfortable; the work is laborious and exhausting. The prawns are washed in seawater before being placed in tanks kept at a temperature of approximately 7°C to avoid stress. The fish are emptied, put into crates and lowered into the hold to be frozen.
Today, it's Olivier's turn to prepare the meal for the crew. On the menu: pasta and freshly-caught monkfish! One sailor keeps watch while the others eat. They have their meals in a practically monastic silence but the portions are substantial. They need to get their energy back for such physical work. Between hauls of the trawling net, the sailors try to get some rest in their berths above the engine room. Heat, noise and smells from the diesel engine are quite present but the sailors don't pay any attention, they sleep on command, 2 hours max.
During the trip back to port, after 48 uninterrupted hours of trawling, the sailors do maintenance work on the equipment. Not a minute is wasted. Olivier undertakes the work of a veritable couturier to repair the net mesh by mesh; Nizer shortens a link in a steel chain used for pulling the nets. A good catch also depends on those small details.
At the ship's stern, José, Olivier and Nizer monitor the trawling net. After three hours spent passing through the sandy ocean bottoms, the gigantic net liberates its catch. Shrimp, monkfish, hake, crabs fall one after the other into the sorting containers. They throw back into the water the undesired or small fish, such as this still living, blue shark. In the damp, the rust and the noise, the positions are uncomfortable; the work is laborious and exhausting. The prawns are washed in seawater before being placed in tanks kept at a temperature of approximately 7°C to avoid stress. The fish are emptied, put into crates and lowered into the hold to be frozen.
Today, it's Olivier's turn to prepare the meal for the crew. On the menu: pasta and freshly-caught monkfish! One sailor keeps watch while the others eat. They have their meals in a practically monastic silence but the portions are substantial. They need to get their energy back for such physical work. Between hauls of the trawling net, the sailors try to get some rest in their berths above the engine room. Heat, noise and smells from the diesel engine are quite present but the sailors don't pay any attention, they sleep on command, 2 hours max.
During the trip back to port, after 48 uninterrupted hours of trawling, the sailors do maintenance work on the equipment. Not a minute is wasted. Olivier undertakes the work of a veritable couturier to repair the net mesh by mesh; Nizer shortens a link in a steel chain used for pulling the nets. A good catch also depends on those small details.