La Mouclade Vendéene

Tradition has it that the farming of mussels in the Vendée, south of the Loire, dates back to 1237, when an Irish sea captain was shipwrecked on the coast. He managed to swim ashore and set bird traps in the water. The sticks supporting the nets were soon covered with huge moules (mussels), much larger than those growing on the rocks. Even now, mussels are still cultivated on stakes in much the same way.

On part of the Atlantic coast, moucle is the local name for mussel, and a moucl