On the Arcachon basin, hip hip hippocampes – liberation

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«  »Oh ! There! What would we not do for hippocamples! ” Exclaims Alain by hopping to warm up in his combination. On board the boat which has just wet off Arcachon, in Gironde, the retiree and recent amateur diver hopes to meet the small marine animal that has become a local star. This almost fantastic creature, which has fascinated since Antiquity, is extremely rare in France. It is met in particular in Lake Hossegor (Landes), the Thau pond (Hérault), the Gulf of Morbihan or even in the English Channel, but the Arcachon basin is the place where we observe the most in France.

“I saw for the first time last summer in this same sector. After forty minutes of diving, I was about to go up when two appeared suddenly! he remembers, tender. It was beautiful, warm, and the surface of the water was smooth. We had great visibility. ” But for this new attempt, on May 10, the conditions are more extreme. Large drops of rain are starting to crash on the restless surface of the basin.

Not enough to discourage the team of a dozen people who are about to throw themselves into water at 16 ° C. That day, they dive for the PL