The sea products.
Shellfish breeding clusters shell and mollusk farming activities. Mussel breeding concerns only mussel farming. In Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône is shellfish breeding a quintessential traditional activity.
The fleshy and flavorful Carteau mussel is produced in the cove of Carteau, in the southwest side of the town. Concerning European market, this mussel is renowned for its quality and freshness. The Carteau mussel is larger than Breton mussels.
To get to the cove of Carteau, you simply have to go… on the lift bridge and to follow the canal Saint-Louis until you reach the fishing houses. Also will you be on the beach of Carteau, in the heart of the cove of Carteau: an extremely significant Mediterranean region for shell, Carteau mussel and Camargue's oyster production since 2015.
Around fifty mussel farmers use around 100 between 4 and 7 metres deep mussel tables, on a surface area greater than 1700 hectares.
With its yearly mussel production (between 2500 and 3000 tons), Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône is at the top of the production in the department.
Les huîtres sont collées au ciment sur des cordes qui sont ensuite accrochées sur les tables et sont immergées de la même façon que les moules. Certaines tables n'accueillent donc plus de moules mais uniquement des huîtres. Homologuées fin 2015, un de nos producteurs a présenté ses huîtres au concours général agricole du Salon de l'Agriculture de Paris en Février 2016 où elles ont déjà obtenu la Médaille de Bronze, mais aussi au mois de Février 2018 où là elles ont reçu la médaille d'Or : un véritable gage de qualité - www.viviersdecarteau.fr
Un second producteur est quant à lui labellisé Bio - www.facebook.com/CamargueCoquillages
The specificity of the Carteau mussel
The farming methods vary from region to region. In Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône, the cove of Carteau is an inlet facing south, in which fresh water of the Rhône meets salt water of the Mediterranean Sea.
In this type of farming, the small mussels or spats hang on longlines, “the socks”, about 5 metres under the sea, on a structure (table, frame, and trestle). The absence of tide has enabled the development of this hanging and permanent immersion technique.
Do you know it? Mussels need to be farmed in oxygen- rich water and meet the well known quality standards in order to grow for their marketing. The Carteau mussel (from the cove) benefits from the trace elements carried by the river.
And since 2015, in the cove of Carteau, we have Camargue's oyster production.