The shellfish, as valued in top Parisian restaurants as it is locally, is falling victim to global warming and consequent rises in sea temperatures. Since 1996, when the first signs of a decline in ormer populations were noted, with mortality rates of up to 80 per cent in the Bay of Mont Saint Michel, the C?tes d’Armor and southern Brittany, the situation has worsened every year. Only in north Finistère with its unusually cool sea temperatures, the most extreme in France, has the ormer remained unaffected, says the Brest-based Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, which is recognised internationally as a specialist in climate-related problems.
The Heart of Island Life
