The Pink Lake at Gruissan

Salt in the Mediterranean has been exploited since Roman Antiquity. Here, in Gruissan, the saline island of St Martin was created in 1911. After a withdrawal in 2004 for lack of profitability, the saline was taken over by the current operator in 2009. Months of work were necessary to restore the 14 basins and 40 km of canals spread over the 400 hectares of the company's site. The site was opened to the public in 2010 . You can of course access the edge of the first ponds, close to the restaurant and shop, but I highly recommend the guided tour . It lasts 1h15 and allows to learn much more about salt, its exploitation in general and its exploitation in Gruissan. You will also have the opportunity to browse part of the site, following the guide along the ponds and channels.

The annual harvest of Salins de Gruissan averages around 15,000 tonnes. The years 2016 and 2017 were exceptional:18,000 tons were harvested in 2016 and 38,000 tons in 2017! 1500 tons are collected by hand by the salt workers in 6 small basins, this harvest is intended for table salt . The fleur de sel is also harvested by hand in these six small basins. The rest of the production is harvested by machines and mainly serves as salt for roads for the winter. The salt harvested by the machines at Gruissan is quite usable in cooking but it is a choice of the company not to market it for the table.

In the Mediterranean, we do not find salt marshes but saline. And yes, there are no tides to fill the basins as the ocean, the water is pumped into the sea and then distributed in the basins using the channels. The person working in a salt is a salt maker.

Unlike salt harvested on the Atlantic seaboard, in the Mediterranean, there is only one harvest per year .It lasts one month and takes place each year in September, in dry basins. The salt layer usually reaches ten centimeters, however, only eight centimeters are scraped so as not to destroy the pond and allow the salt layer to reform more easily. This year, the beginning of the harvest started early, the summer having been very hot, the harvest was able to start as early as August 17th. I had the chance to make my visit on August 31, the site was in full swing! Our guide - never short of information - has informed us that the Atlantic harvest takes place daily from June to September, in basins that are not dry, but at low tide and that the salt is grayer.