In Marseillan, oyster farmers from the Etang de Thau achieved good sales for the end-of-year holidays

Philippe Ortin is satisfied with his sales during the holidays. MB – Midi Libre

Sur les marchés, les ventes de Coqui Thau ont été conforme aux attentes.

Affected by the sales bans last year, the oyster farmers of the Etang de Thau experienced a prosperous period during the end-of-year holidays.

Like every year, the holiday period is a very important time for shellfish farmers who make the bulk of their annual sales. Affected by the sales bans at the end of December 2022, oyster farmers in the Thau basin have achieved good sales this year, unlike their colleagues in the West who have in turn suffered these same problems. In Marseillan, the oyster farmers of the Thau pond Christian Vila, from Coqui thau, and Philippe Ortin, from Chez Titin, testify. 

"We sold what we hoped for for Christmas"

"Sales were in line with what we expected in terms of Christmas, says Christian Vila. At New Year's, we still felt people's reluctance regarding the problems there were on the Atlantic coast. But as we do the markets, we have our customers who are used to our products so we have not had any problems. Overall, sales were correct, we sold what we hoped for Christmas." A point of view shared by his colleague Philippe Ortin, ex-president of national shellfish farming committee (CNC), which agrees: “It went well, we had as many orders as the' Last year sales were good. It was a good Christmas and a good New Year's Day. On the Toulouse and Béziers markets, we worked better than last year since we did not work for New Year's Day."

"The sales bans left their mark on people"

On the other hand, they did not feel the same impact regarding the ban on sales of their fellow oyster farmers on the Atlantic coast. For Christian Vila, there was none: "It did not directly impact us, even if it marked  people. We were in the same situation last year. As wine has its terroir, I like to say that oysters have their merroir: those from the Mediterranean are a little more iodized, saltier and often fleshier than those from the ocean . Each oyster has its specificity depending on its breeding territory and the way in which the producer raised it.

For his part, Philippe Ortin felt a slight impact: "In certain markets where they are used to coming, we sold between 20 and 25% more than the other years because, unfortunately for them, they were not there and we were." Before qualifying: "But all the world does not fall back on Mediterranean oysters because they have their specificity."

"We thought very much of them"

Affected by these same bans last year on the eve of 2023, Christian Vila, the oyster farmer from Coqui Thau, remembers that ;he was unable to sell his oysters for the New Year. For him, solidarity is therefore important between colleagues: "We thought very much of them. For us, they are colleagues and not competitors. When we are in the markets, everyone has their own clientele, some like oysters from the oceans, others those from the Mediterranean so, when one is not there, it is not necessarily the other who will take over its customers. This unfortunately comes at a bad time. As we have been through this before, we are united."

For the president of oyster farmers in the Marseillan area on the Thau basin, Philippe Ortin, all these sales bans make it possible to show the effectiveness and weight of the regulations that weigh on the profession: "These events show that we are a well-monitored environment. We take samples every month and the follow-up is draconian compared to that. Consumers trust us because the product is always tracked. Beyond that, we like to say that our oysters are monitored. When there is a problem, we close and otherwise we can eat it all year round, and with great pleasure."