Coast of Cornouaille

The coast of Cornouaille lies on the southern side of Brittany, facing the northern Bay of Biscay. Bays and ports provided shelter along a sea known for heavy weather, while fishing boats and merchants connected the shore with other Atlantic coasts.

Sardine fishing was important in ports such as Concarneau and Douarnenez before the nineteenth century. In the eighteenth century Concarneau merchants shipped salted sardines to Basque ports and dealt in northern cod roe used as bait by southern Breton fishers. The fishery tied local crews and shore workers to markets and supplies far beyond Cornouaille.