Grandcamp, a fishing port in Normandy

The trawlers of Grandcamp leave the harbor just about every day for a night of fishing in the coastal waters of the Bay of Seine. They come back on the morning tide, with cases of fish and shellfish, especially flat fish like sole, turbot and flounder, and bottom-feeding round fish.

Fish are caught with a "chalut", a large net in the shape of a pocket, which is let out from the rear of the boat. The mouth of the net is kept opened with two heavy iron-lined wood panels, one on each side, a string of floats at the top, and a metal chain that sinks to the bottom. As the boat pulls the net, the chain stirs the sandy sea-beds, scaring the fish into the net. A few boats are equipped with nets where the chain is replaced by a string of round rubber pieces, so that the bottom part of the net floats above the sea floor. These are used to catch sea bass, a fish prized by gourmets.

From October to April, the fishermen of Grandcamp go out for scallops, which they catch with a "drague", a kind of rake to which is attached a net, pulled from the rear of the boat, on sandy and gravelly sea-beds.