Étang de Canet-Saint-Nazaire

Separated from the sea by a sand bar, the Étang de Canet-Saint-Nazaire is a coastal lagoon some 4 kilometres long, barely more than a metre deep. It is fed by four watercourses, including the Réart, and communicates with the Mediterranean through the grau des Basses. Mentioned as early as the 13th century, it has lost a good part of its water surface since the 18th century, as the sediment carried down by the rivers has gradually silted it up.

Around the water extend habitats typical of Mediterranean lagoons: sansouïres and glasswort meadows, mudflats, tamarisk hedges and reedbeds, known here as “sanils”. The lagoon lies on a major migration route between Europe and Africa: many birds stop here, feed here or spend the winter here, from flamingos to herons, egrets and coots.

Fishing has been practised here since the Middle Ages, above all for eel. On the water’s edge, a village of “barraques”, the reed-thatched fishermen’s huts, was restored in 1993 to its traditional form; an exhibition hut presents life on the lagoon.

Largely owned by the Conservatoire du littoral, the lagoon is part of the Natura 2000 network as the “Complexe lagunaire de Canet-Saint-Nazaire”. Its management is entrusted to Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole, and a discovery trail with observation hides makes it possible to walk or cycle all the way round.