Écluse à poissons - L'Écuissière

Descriptif

Present on the island of Oleron since the Middle Ages, fish locks, also known as pêcheries, are one of the oldest examples of built heritage that can still be discovered on the island.

While many of these locks are now in ruins, some are still in operation.

Built on the rocky foreshore to be covered by the tide, locks are stone structures, precisely assembled without mortar and designed to catch fish while resisting the pressure of the natural elements.



Their general shape is that of a horseshoe, with two branches open towards the coast, and the rounded walls that make them up can be up to two meters high and several hundred meters long.