The 33rd edition of the French national fair of shellfish farming was held at the Parc Chorus in Vannes, Brittany, from 13 to 14 September. Though at the beginning it was an exhibition exclusively dedicated to oyster farming, the fair has grown over the years, becoming a reference point for measuring the state of the shellfish industry in France, hosting exhibitors that offer services and technologies for aquaculture of even mussels and clams.

We took advantage of the chance to attend the event by presenting in our exhibition space some of the latest technologies for offshore mussel farming on "long-line" systems. The cast iron winch and star roll assembly allows the rope to be lifted easily and in complete safety for the operator. On the other hand, with the double tubular net loading machine one can prepare tubes of different diameters for the re-socking of mussels, loading the pipes simultaneously with plastic tubular net and biodegradable cotton net, without needing the operator to struggle unnecessarily.

During the two days of exhibition, numerous conferences have taken place, attended by many students from French aquaculture high schools. In particular, we have attended an interesting discussion of possible future use in the shellfish farming industry of compostable or even biodegradable plastics, and a presentation of Mexican aquaculture, thanks to a delegation of companies from Baja California, one of the most important region in central america regarding the seafood sector.

This year the fair has been visited by more than 2,000 people, who were able to find 80 French and international exhibiting companies on an exhibition space of about 3,800 square meters. Despite the fairly local setting, the event received visitors from all over the world, including Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Black Sea countries, such as Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, where the European sanctions of the last few years have in fact created an opportunity to develop a Soviet aquaculture market, which a few years ago was practically non-existent.