Considered as one of the best spots in Brittany, Saint-Pierre-Quiberon is now also the first wave reserve in France. And it is precisely a surfer who is at the initiative.
Erwan Simon is an adventurer surfer who travels the world in search of the most remote and unknown waves. Based in Brittany, he also knows the Breton spots like the back of his hand, especially the one in Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It is this spot that he chose to create a few months ago the first wave reserve in France. Objective: Protect the place and preserve the hydrodiversity which results from it, that is to say all the biodiversity present on the place.
His initiative was supported from the start by the mayor of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, Stéphanie Doyen, and adopted during a municipal council meeting last February. If the action is symbolic for the moment (the project is for the moment recognized as being of public utility), it could eventually lead the public authorities to take targeted decisions to better protect this marine environment.
The area extends over a kilometer long and up to 300 meters from the shore. With his association " France Hydrodiversity" Erwan Simon explained his approach to France 3 Bretagne I write a lot of articles about the surfing world, I am also in charge of finding new spots for the specialized press, I have been in 65 countries and seen an incredible diversity of waves. During my work, I was told about hydrodiversity. From there, the idea of a wave reserve in France was born. A concept that already exists in other countries of the world.
"Each wave has a way of breaking that is unique and some spots are remarkable for that, like the Pointe de la Torche in Finistère, famous among surfers or Quiberon in Brittany. I learned what hydrodiversity was, a bit like biodiversity. This means that depending on the seabed, the sand, the corals, the rocks or the orientation of the coast, the winds and the propagation of the swell, the waves all have their own particularities.
"About 15 years ago, a project to pump sand to make cement in the area of Quiberon was almost born, but was stopped by associations. Today, the floating wind farm project in Groix-Belle-Île could also have an impact on the waves in the area. We must remain vigilant.
Especially since some surf spots have already disappeared, such as La Barre in Anglet, which has suffered the consequences of the construction of a dam, or the spot of Mundaka in Spain, where sand extraction projects have long threatened this spot, which is renowned for its surfers. From now on, Erwan Simon hopes to multiply initiatives of this kind in the Basque Country, the West Indies or Polynesia. Ideally, this new system should be enshrined in law, in the same way as Natura 2000 or the Coastal Act.