6.1 Use of drying areas
6.2 Maintenance of the shore
Before a product reaches sale, the ultimate step of resource development, it must be processed. In this case, the seaweed must be dried. Custom has provided a body of regulation concerning use of the dunes for drying purposes.
The dune is not only the accumulation of sand described by geomorphologists, but also all the land bordering the littoral. It may be either public or private property. The importance of this drying area to seaweed fishermen may be seen in the litigation involving the communes of Plougerneau and Guissény in a dispute over a stretch known as "la Sécherie" or "the drying place". Begun in 1788, this conflict was not resolved until 1886.
Privately owned drying land is reserved by the owner for his personal use, as in Saint-Pabu and Kerlouan, where private land is bordered by low stone walls. Use of public lands must be organized by local authorities.
In some cases, plots are rented through the mayor. At Porspoder, for example, the "tever-braz", or "great dune", is divided into parcels of a few ares *. Each is marked off by standing rocks, called "men-harz", and by cart paths. Other parts of the same commune which are privately owned must be rented to their owner.
* An "are" is equal to 100 sq. metres, or 119.6 sq. yards.
At Lampaul-Plouarzel in 1919, rents were set at 0.90 F per are per year, for a period of nine years. In the islands of the Molène Archipelago, seaweed fishermen must also rent a dune, and many are reluctant to use a horse to transport their seaweed because they would then have to rent additional space for grazing land. On Batz Island, the town hall allocates land in proportion to a family's size. At Landéda, where harvesters must compete for drying space with residents of Lannilis, outsiders may not rent but must own their own drying land.
"During no season of the year may the inhabitants of neighbouring communes spread their seaweed to dry on the coasts of this commune unless it is upon property of their own."
This municipal ordinance of 24 March 1845 also specifies that "All persons are expressly forbidden to allow their livestock to graze in the common fields of the commune until all dried seaweed has been collected."
The dune may be coveted by others and must be protected. At Porspoder in 1920, an ordinance reminds local inhabitants that "Removing piles of sand for sale in places where seaweed is dried is prohibited." Clumps of Armeria maritima, the grass covering the dune and known locally as "Taouarc'h" (lawn) was, in fact, cut and sold as fuel.
Common land at Plouescat is not rented, and cannot be reserved by "any person rich or poor. It will be attributed as needed to those who have seaweed to cover it" (Municipal Decree of 25 May, 1850). The same system existed at Cléder, where in 1807 a clause provided that a space at least eight steps wide be maintained between each drying area.
Efficient use of seaweed zones requires efficient management. After winter storms during the high tide period before Easter, seaweed harvesters devoted several work days to shore maintenance. Cart paths were cleared of debris, channels were dredged, pilings were replaced, moorings were rebuilt and rocks were cleared from driftweed areas. Paths along the cliffs were overhauled and the low walls where seaweed winches are positioned were checked and repaired, as were the storage areas where seaweed was disembarked. The boulders themselves were carved out to make better footholds for men carrying seaweed on their backs. The entire commune often participated in this work.
