Galloping scallops!
Two days of festivities, food and scallops…it has to be a must! Visit the craft and fishing village, and taste scallop recipes either directly on the port or in one of the many restaurants offering special menus in honour of the scallop that weekend. On Saturday morning you can follow the ‘Knights of the Scallop’ as they parade through the streets, and after that there will be street entertainment, concerts and brass bands for you to enjoy throughout the weekend. You can even take a trip out to sea to follow the trawlers and watch the fishermen as they dredge the depths for the very last scallops of the season. And of course you can’t possibly go home without some fresh scallops in their shells, or just ready-to-eat if you prefer – because these will be the last scallops caught in the Cotes d’Armor before the new season begins…in October!
Jewel of the bay
Considered to be one of the most elegant shellfish in the world, scallops are truly the jewel in the crown of St-Brieuc bay. Harvesting this delicious seafood is a veritable race against time, as not only is the scallop-fishing season only open from October to the end of April, but even during the season, fishing is restricted to 45 minutes twice a week, to protect the species. And so the fishing ports of Erquy, Saint-Quay-Portrieux and Paimpol take it in turns each year to organise the Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques, to mark the closing of this intense fishing season.
