Noirmoutier oysters produced in Senegal

On a small coast of Senegal a hundred kilometers south of Dakar hides a lagoon, lost in the middle of the mangrove. The Somone nature reserve is a paradise for birds and shore fishermen. It is here that Norbert Jan, oyster farmer, has been raising oysters since 2002, in water that fluctuates between 22 and 35 degrees. “When I’m told forbidden, it’s not possible, I’m interested”he confides. Against all odds, his crazy bet worked.

Its cupped oysters grow three times faster than in France. The lagoon water, very rich in plankton, feeds the park at each tide. Norbert Jan a form six Senegalese employees to a breeding method adapted to the local climate. He brings in his spats from the island of Noirmoutier, in Vendée. The sieves of the pots are brushed every two days in order to oxygenate the molluscs. “Oyster babies are much more fragile than human babies”laughs Paul Faye, oyster worker. After eight months of growth, the oysters are ready. Customers sit at the water’s edge to taste them. Norbert’s farm produces 30 tonnes of oysters a year, sold in West Africa. Very popular with restaurateurs, they are the delight of the best establishments in Dakar.