The island of Groix or Enez Groe in Breton is located off the south coast of Brittany opposite the port of Lorient about 4 miles from the mainland.

On arrival, it is the discovery of Port Tudy, one of the five ports of the island (the others being Port Lay – Port St Nicolas - Port of Locmaria and Port Melin distributed between the North and South coast), Port Tudy is the anchor point of the island that punctuates the arrivals and departures of the boat.

Second island of Brittany by its area, the island of Groix is 8 km long and 3 km wide and has immense peculiarities.

On the one hand, one is quickly captivated by its natural and wild landscapes that remind you of the immensity of the sky and the sea, the island of Groix is an endearing territory where the authenticity of the small villages of yesteryear mingles with an infinite beauty of the coast brewed by the spray. Groix holds a geological wealth of such interest that a nature reserve was created, its culinary heritage is vast and intimately linked to the history of the island which knew a rich past during the era of the canneries of Albacore tuna.

From 1863 to 1979, five canneries made on the island of Groix the best canned Albacore tuna on the Atlantic coast: Romieux, Jégo, Kersaho, Orvoën, or Tristan-Calloch.

They participated for more than a century in the tuna saga of the island and made the pride of the groisillons; the traditional rooster of the bell tower of the village church was even replaced by a… tuna!
It was truly a golden age since the island counted up to 300 tuna boats moored in Port-Tudy but also in Port-Lay, the first port built on the island. As the Germon White Tuna sold very little in fee, the groisillons crews first supplied the existing canneries on the Atlantic coast. Then the arrival of the train in Lorient in 1862 and the opening of markets triggered, in 1863, a movement of construction of canneries in Groix. The factories, which first worked sardines, will provide work for several generations of young girls and sailors' wives but also for many families from the continent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Port-Tudy was the first French tuna port and the whole island was punctuated by fishing for White Tuna Germon. With more than three hundred dundees - sailing boats - a fishing school, Groix Island was a particularly well-known island for tuna fishing, with a sizeable fleet that was known for being among the ones to fetch tuna farther from shore.

Le Biche is a tuna dundee on the island of Groix, built in 1934 in Les Sables d'Olonne for the groisillon patron Ange Stéphan. This one was nicknamed Ange Biche, hence the name of the boat «Le Biche». Many tuna boats on the island of Groix were built in Les Sables-d'Olonne, where the shipyards built solid boats, suitable for summer tuna fishing and winter dredging.

The Biche is the last tuna boat of Groix still preserved today. Long restored, it can now sail for day trips or several days according to desires.
It marks a prosperous period of tuna fishing and a strong history in the heart of the groisillons sailors.

Since its first years on the sea until today, the Biche embodies the tradition, courage and resilience of the sailors of Groix. Thus, we are proud to contribute to preserve its heritage through our commitment to social and solidarity participation in Biche activities.