NATURAL RICHES OF CAPBRETON

The only harbour in the Landes

(900 mooring rings19 fishing boats)

6 Kms of sandy beaches

lined with sand dunes

The marine lake of Hossegor, of great

ecological interest, which opens onto the harbour

1,200 acres of forest with maritime pines, cork

oaks and brooms

6 Kms of sandy beaches lined with sand dunes

But CAPBRETON is first and foremost...

the famous « gouf » : an underwater canyon located in front of the port.

Here is the way into

the harbour ofCapbreton, where

theGouf begins.

1 km off the coast, it

reaches the depth of 100

meters.About 30 kms away, it goes down to more

than 1,000 meters.

Offshore, it has an estimated

depth of 3,400 meters.

For centuries, sailors have known the

« gouf ». They come take refuge

in it when they suffer from the Ocean's wrath :

even through bad weather the

raging waters subside there.

the hammerhead

the blue skin shark

the sperm whale

The Gouf is well-known for its biological richness :

it shelters the fauna and flora of « deep waters » only a few kilometers off the coast. 

Here are a few of the animals that frequently swim accross the gouf :

the black pilot whale

and even dolphins

and giant squids

Besides, lots of species of fish, shellfish, cephalopod mollusks or lamellibranches can be found there...

ECOLOGICAL ISSUES IN CAPBRETON

The North-South LITTORAL DRIFT on the coast of the Landes (e.g . the southward motion of sandbanks, resulting from swell and currents). To cope with it, the local authorities had to build embankments and rocky spurs.

The boardwalk that dates back to Napoleon III is the perfect place for strolling and fishing, but it makes the silting-up even worse.

The Northern embankment was built in 1970 to make the way into the harbour safer. It holds back the sand in the Northern part of the city.The sand piles up into the harbour and the lake, while there is no sand supply on the Southern beaches, thus leading to their intense erosion.

ECOLOGICAL ISSUES IN CAPBRETON

150 trucks used to drive to and fro across the city for 3 weeks to carry

the sand from the Northern embankment to the Southern

beaches : it caused nothing but noise and ecological disturbances.

Today, a hydraulic pumping system called « by-pass » pumps out the sand from the North straight onto the Southern beaches.

Regular dredging is also used to clean up the harbour.

The silting-up menaces the eelgrass in the lake as well as the sea horses that live in it.

A rip current can be compared to a natural swimming-pool that has formed itself between the coast and a sandbank.It happens very often on the Landes coast and it is very dangerous.

THE RIP CURRENT PROBLEM

In a rip current, there is a high swell and the currents sweep away the sand, thus digging a hole into the beach. Those basins can be seen at low tide and they can reach a 100-meter width and a 4-to-5- meter depth at high tide.

At low tide, the basin is almost empty : children love to play there !

At high tide, with higher waves, the basin is full in no time. Its level gets higher than the ocean's level and the basin empties itself, generating the rip current. Those currents, just outside the basin, cause casualties every year.The same happens whether the tide is getting high or low.The rip current is dangerous because it pulls the swimmer offshore.It is then impossible to swim back to the shore.And that's precisely what most people try to do !To get safely back to the shore, all you have to do is to let yourself get pulled away by the current and then draw the lifeguards' attention..

RIP CURRENTS

More and more species from tropical or subtropical waters, sometimes pervasive, such as :

The triggerfish, equipped with a large beak, bites into urchins, seashells and shellfish.

CHANGES IN THE MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA : CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING ?

The swimmer crab called « gnagnon » is verminous and it passes its parasites on to its predators.

A triggerfish

Its teeth

The swimmer crab

And, last Summer, thousands of physalies, the jellyfish next of kin, with their stinging filaments that reached up to 30 meters.

The physalie

Fewer and fewer cold water species, such as :

The storm petrel (protected species)

The razorbill and the Atlantic puffin

The killer whale

CHANGES IN THE MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA : CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING ?

MORE AND MOREBEACHED MARINE ANIMALS

THE UNRELENTING ARRIVAL OF MARINE LITTER ON OUR BEACHES

13,000 m3 of litter of all kinds on the Landes coast only,

due to navigation or tourism.

1,200 beached animals over the last 10 years in the Landes.

FREQUENT POLLUTION COMING FROM THE BOURRET AND THE BOUDIGAU , the two rivers that serve 9 villages and end up in the harbour.

Cleanup takes places regularly, either mechanically or by hand.

THE BACKWARD MOTION OF SAND DUNES INTO THE LAND

This poses a threat to a number of houses that are close to the beach.

The sand is blown or swept away, the dunes move as well :

they are subjected to marine erosion,to the wind, but also to the fact that people walk on

them, which is now forbidden.

Those bunkers were built up on the sand dunes during World War II. Today, on the beach by the water, they show how much the dunes have moved inland.

We have to carry on towards our goal to protect the sand dunes, by planting oyats,

setting up hoardings and marked footpaths, as well as warning signs.

We are eager to keep the Landes landscape as beautiful as it has always been !