Fish Drying, French Style

February 03, 2020  •  Leave a Comment

Change Islands, NewfoundlandChange Islands, NewfoundlandMinty_20160719_165428_copy Settlers to Newfoundland/Labrador from Ireland, England and Scotland generally built wooden structures called flakes and stages for processing and drying codfish into salt cod that fed the appetites of Europe, the US, and the Caribbean. The flake is similar to a wharf but mainly provides a platform for drying fish. The stage is a shed, usually at the seaward end of the flake, where the fish is off-loaded cleaned and split. Other buildings in the network of fishery structures include a building for storing gear (usually called the twine loft) and another for salting the fish before its carried onto the flake to sun-dry.

The French settlers dried the fish on large "squares" of bare rocks. These were usually right next to the homestead as shown here on Ile aux Marins, St. Pierre and Miquelon. This was how it was done in Newfoundland too all along what was called the French Shore.

St. Pierre, FranceSt. Pierre, FranceSt. Pierre, France

Although I've not seen much evidence of this around Newfoundland island, likely because they are grown over with grasses and bushes, the rocky plots are very evident on Old Ferrolle Island near Plum Point.

Stone Pathways, Old Ferolle IslandStone Pathways, Old Ferolle IslandStone Pathways, Old Ferolle Island

 

 


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