Whatever the case may be, it is recognised that the breeding of mussels on bouchots (long-lines) – wooden poles planted in the silt – using the benefits of the tides, has existed since the Middle Ages. Today, there are more than 300km of long-lines on the coast of Charente.
There are other methods of mussel rearing (flat or on ropes suspended in the water), but the long-line mussel dominates in our département. The Maison de la Mytiliculture (Mussel Farming Centre) in Esnandes provides all you need to know about the savoir-faire of the ‘boucholeurs’ of yesterday and the mussel farmers of today.

The Baie de l’Aiguillon, a basin shared with the neighbouring département of Vendée, is a nature reserve where the salt flats of the Poitevin marsh surround an immense mud flat. With production reaching 10,000 tonnes per year, the site is also the largest mussel growing basin in France.