The Sardine Industry in France up to the Early 20th

Century

Prepared by Anna Soo-HooFall 2015

Major fisheries and canning factories were located in Brittany in communes such as Douarnenez, Concarneau, Audierne, Quimper, Port Louis, Etel, Quiberon, La Turballe, and Le Croisic. Beyond Brittany, these industries were developed in Sables-d'Olonne, St. Gilles-sur-Vie, and Arcachon. Early sardine canning factories date from the 1830s-1840s.

At the port, when the sardine fishing boats arrive, “[w]omen usually represent the factories as purchasing agents. They are given considerable discretion by their employers and are very sharp in making bargains” (Smith 551). At the canneries, most of the work would be done by women. The men would seal the cans, and children would help put the finished products into crates.

Once the fishermen deliver the sardines to the factory, we…• quickly remove the heads and intestines of the sardines• sort the sardines by size • soak the sardines in strong brine for around an hour• place the sardines in small baskets and wash them in fresh or salt water for a few seconds• arrange the sardines one by one in wire baskets or trays so that they can dry outdoors for

about an hour • fry the sardines for about two minutes, depending on the size of the fish• set aside the sardines in order to drain any surplus oil• pack the sardines into tin cans • add olive oil or peanut oil• seal the cans• immerse the sealed cans in boiling water for several hours• wait for the cans to cool• use sawdust to clean the cans• put the finished products into crates

The French preferred to pack the sardines in olive oil, but in order to sell to a larger market , which included those Americans who wanted a less expensive product, peanut oil was also used (imported from India, Senegal, and other parts of Africa).

Concarneau, on enlève les têtes des sardines : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]Date d'édition : 1913Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallicahttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69230559/f1.item

“Concarneau, la salaison des sardines” [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Date d'édition : 1913

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6923067h/f1.item

Concarneau, lavage des sardines : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol] Agence photographiqueDate d'édition : 1913Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallicahttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6923049k/f1.item

Concarneau, séchage des sardines : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]Date d'édition : 1913Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallicahttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69230485/f1.item

Femmes mettant leurs sardines à sécher dans une conserverie de Quiberon, Morbihan, FranceDate?Public Domain in the United StatesWikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACP_Quiberon_s%C3%A9chage_sardines.jpg

Yard of a Large Cannery Showing Sardines Drying on Grills 1902Public Domain in the United StatesWikimedia CommonsUniversity of Washingtonhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FMIB_40640_Yard_of_a_Large_Cannery_Showing_Sardines_Drying_on_Grills.jpeg

Frying sardines in oil; Sardine industry; Fishery processing; Women fish trade workers1902Public Domain in the United StatesWikimedia CommonsUniversity of Washingtonhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FMIB_40638_Frying_Sardines_in_Oil.jpeg

Concarneau, soudage des boîtes de sardines : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol] Agence photographiqueDate d'édition : 1913Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallicahttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6923063v/f1.item

Concarneau, les enfants mettent en caisse les boîtes de sardines : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]Date d'édition : 1913Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallicahttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6923051n/f1.item

The famous strike by sardine factory workers in Douarnenez started in November 1924 and ended in January 1925 when an agreement was signed. Not only had the factory owners ignored the 8-hour workday law of 1919, they also did not pay the workers for time spent in the factory waiting for the sardines to arrive. After the strike, factory workers saw an increase in their hourly wage, and appropriate pay for overtime and night shifts was also heeded by the factory owners. The song “Penn Sardin” (2007) by Claude Michel provides a sense of the hard working conditions that the factory workers faced.

Grève des sardinières de Douarnenez (Finistère), 1924 : « un groupe de grévistes femmes »Year of publication: 1924Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica CEDIAS-Musée social, Parishttp://cediasbibli.org/opac/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=75902

Sardine Boat Fishing 1902Public DomainWikimedia CommonsUniversity of Washingtonhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FMIB_40629_Sardine_Boat_Fishing.jpeg

Carte postale, les bateaux sardiniers à l'entrée du port, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, département de la Vendée, en France. Collection Boutain, no 158, Croix-de-Vie. Date (?)Public Domain in the United StatesWikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACPA_Boutain_sardiniers_entree_port.jpg

Carl Moser (1873-1939)Original Title: Strickende Bretonin Also known as: Strickende Frau mit Booten1926Wood EngravingPublic Domain in the United StatesWikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACarl_Moser_Strickende_Frau_mit_Booten.jpg

Le retour de la pêche des bateaux sardiniers aux quais du Vieux Port. La Rochelle, Charente Maritime, France. Photographie prise avant 1908.Public DomainWikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Rochelle_-_Les_quais_du_Vieux_Port_au_retour_de_la_p%C3%AAche_des_sardiniers.jpg

Amédée Joyau (1872-1913)

Le Soir : Dundees et sardiniers, les Sables d'Olonne (4ème état ?) [Evening: Small Sailing Boats and Sardine Fishing Boats]

1905

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica

Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Paris

http://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/collection/14545-le-soir-dundees-et-sardiniers-les-sables-d-olo/

Permalink: http://www.purl.org/yoolib/inha/14598

Paul Signac (1863–1935)

Le Sardinier, Locmalo (Les Tourelles)

1922

Public Domain in the United States

Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APaul_Signac_-_Le_Sardinier%2C_Locmalo_(1922).jpg

Maxime Maufra (1861-1918)Sardiniers (sardine fishing boats)1909Public Domain in the United StatesWikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fishing-sardine-boat-1909.jpg

Canned sardines from France were a luxury item in the United States during the 19th century. When the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) prevented shipments from being delivered to New York City, American merchants considered canning herring, which led to the opening of a factory by 1875 in Maine, though the quality soon turned lamentable, and the poor became the main consumers.

Sources

Cazeils, Nelson and Fanny Fennec. Il y a un siècle—Les Femmes et la mer. Rennes: Ouest-France, 2003.

Femmes égalité de 1789 à nos jours. Paris : Messidor, 1989.

Le Boulanger, Jean-Michel. Douarnenez : histoire d'une ville. Quimper: Palantines, 2000.

McMichael, Philip, ed. Food and Agrarian Orders in the World-Economy. Connecticut: Greenwood

Publishing Group, 1995.

Michel, Claude. (2007). Penn Sardin. On Belle Angèle de Pont-Aven. (CD). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50VKs3g6DqQ

Smith, Hugh M. (US Commission of Fish and Fisheries). “The French Sardine Industry.” Popular

Science Monthly Oct. 1901: 542-556.

Further Reading:Bertin, François. Penn Sardin, deux siècles de pêche à la sardine. Rennes: Ouest-France, 2001.