Poissons des étangs de la Dombes

News Season 12th October 2026

Journées Découverte Poissons de Dombes on 17 and 18 October

Traditional fishing with commentary, a market of 50 producers and tastings in Saint-Nizier-le-Désert (Ain), free admission.

The Poissons des étangs de la Dombes are opening their pond fishing season to the public: APPED is organising the « Journées Découverte Poissons de Dombes » on 17 and 18 October 2026, at the La Nizière leisure centre in Saint-Nizier-le-Désert (Ain), according to the association's website. Traditional fishing is accompanied by commentary on both mornings, a market brings together around fifty producers and artisans, and visitors can taste quenelles de carpe and goujonnettes on site — free admission.

Source : APPED — Association de Promotion du Poisson des Étangs de la Dombes ↗

History & Origins

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Ponds shaped by monks as early as the 13th century

The first indisputable evidence of the presence of ponds in the Dombes dates back to 1230: the founding charter of the Chartreuse de Poleteins mentions a pond donated by Marguerite de Beaujeu, who had had it built. Numerous deeds from the second half of the 13th century then attest to the construction of other ponds by Carthusian, Benedictine and Cistercian monks, as well as by local lords. Fish was then a precious food: it was one of the few permitted on 'lean' days — the forty days of Lent, then Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — when meat consumption was forbidden by the Church. Imprinted upon a clay plateau formed by glacial deposits, this landscape of 'a thousand ponds' was thus shaped and developed by human hands, dyke after dyke, in the low-lying points of the relief.

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Evolage and assec, an agro-piscicultural rhythm unique in France

Freshwater fishing in the Dombes relies on an alternation found nowhere else in France: évolage, a period of two to three years during which the water-filled pond hosts fish farming, and assec, a year in which the pond is completely drained and sown with cereal crops (oats, maize). This custom was codified as early as 1524 by the 'coutume de Villars', which set out the rights and duties between landowners. The fishing itself takes place from October to the end of March, upon drainage: the water empties through the 'thou', a drainage sluice, and the fish gradually take refuge in the central channel and then in the 'pêcherie', where a team of fishermen harvest them with nets. Even today, the some 1,100 ponds of the Dombes cover 11,200 hectares across 80 communes, between Bourg-en-Bresse and Lyon, and produce around 1,200 tonnes of fish per year.

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A sector reorganising around quality

The French Revolution marked the beginning of a long decline for Dombes fish farming: the ponds, treated as noble property, were partly turned into unsanitary marshes, then partially reflooded at the start of the 20th century. The Syndicat des Étangs de la Dombes, founded in Villars-les-Dombes in 1918, has since defended the interests of owners and operators against fish predators (cormorants) and invasive species. More recently, the Association de Promotion du Poisson des Étangs de la Dombes (APPED) has federated fish farmers, collectors and processors around the 'Poissons de Dombes®' trademark, backed by specifications focused on quality and respect for the ecosystem. Each year, on the last Saturday of October, the Fête du Poisson invites visitors to discover the ponds and processing workshops alongside meals featuring Dombes fish.

Product characteristics

Sensory profile

Appearance

Carp, the emblematic fish, is only marketed at 2–3 years of age, once it reaches 1.5 kg; processors now seek a maximum grading of 3 kg, beyond which the fish becomes fatty and takes on a muddy taste.

Aroma

Carp has a faint, almost neutral taste and smell, setting it clearly apart from pike, with its more pronounced scent and flavour.

Taste

Carp, the most widespread fish in the ponds (around 65 to 70% of production), is renowned for its neutral flavour; pike-perch, with its thick flesh, is the most sought-after, whilst pike, more assertive, was traditionally reserved for feast days.

Texture

Carp flesh, low in fat (2.5% lipids), lends itself well to being cut into fillets, steaks or strips, trimmed of its scales and bones.

Varieties

The Dombes ponds are home to several freshwater fish species introduced by man: carp (omnivorous, dominant), pike and perch (carnivorous), tench, pike-perch and roach. The fish is sold whole, as fillets, steaks or strips, but also processed into rillettes, mousses, soups or smoked products — preparations suited to institutional catering and school canteens. Fried carp goujonnettes, which appeared in the 1980s, have become a staple at local popular festivals, alongside older recipes such as stuffed carp or carpe à la juive, inherited from the Jewish communities of Alsace and Germany where the market for Dombes carp remains significant.

How it is made

Stocking

at the start of the évolage, the fish farmer introduces fry of several species (carp, tench, roach) into the pond, accor… Read more

at the start of the évolage, the fish farmer introduces fry of several species (carp, tench, roach) into the pond, according to controlled male-female ratios and stocking densities.

Évolage

one to two years of growth in the pond: the carp feed on maize, crustaceans and plankton, enriching the soil with organi… Read more

one to two years of growth in the pond: the carp feed on maize, crustaceans and plankton, enriching the soil with organic matter for the next cycle.

Draining and fishing

opening the thou drains the pond in seven to eight days; the fish gather in the pêcherie, where a team of around fifteen… Read more

opening the thou drains the pond in seven to eight days; the fish gather in the pêcherie, where a team of around fifteen fishermen harvest them with nets, sort them on the so-called 'gruyère' table and weigh them.

Collection and fasting

the live fish are transported in oxygenated vivier lorries to finishing tanks, where they are fasted prior to processing… Read more

the live fish are transported in oxygenated vivier lorries to finishing tanks, where they are fasted prior to processing.

Processing

depending on the intended product, the fish is crated whole, cut into fillets, steaks or strips, trimmed, or prepared as… Read more

depending on the intended product, the fish is crated whole, cut into fillets, steaks or strips, trimmed, or prepared as rillettes, mousses, soups or smoked products by one of the local processors.

Assec

one year in three to five, the drained pond is sown with cereal crops (oats, maize), which regenerates the soil before t… Read more

one year in three to five, the drained pond is sown with cereal crops (oats, maize), which regenerates the soil before the return to évolage.

Tasting & pairings

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Traditionally, carp was cooked whole — stuffed, baked in the oven or 'à la juive' — whilst pike and pike-perch, more sought-after delicacies, were reserved for feast days. Today, processors offer more fillets and prepared products: rillettes, soups, smoked carp, quenelles or soufflés. Fried carp goujonnettes, served during the Fête du Poisson on the last Saturday of October, pair wonderfully with the convivial meals offered by the plateau's restaurants and fermes-auberges during the fishing season, from October to March.

Labels & certifications

Good to know

Fish from the Dombes ponds are not protected by any of the six official quality signs. Since 2020, the sector has been organised around the Association de Promotion du Poisson des Étangs de la Dombes (APPED), which holds the registered collective trademark 'Poissons de Dombes®', backed by internal specifications governing fish quality and respect for the pond ecosystem. This trademark is not an official European or national sign.

The people of the terroir

Address	2 Grande Rue, 01320 Chalamont, France
	04 74 36 62 81
	contactapped@gmail.com
	poissonsdedombes.fr

Poissons des étangs de la Dombes

Journées Découverte Poissons de Dombes on 17 and 18 October

At a glance

History & Origins

Ponds shaped by monks as early as the 13th century

Evolage and assec, an agro-piscicultural rhythm unique in France

A sector reorganising around quality

Product characteristics

Sensory profile

Varieties

How it is made

Stocking

Évolage

Draining and fishing

Collection and fasting

Processing

Assec

Tasting & pairings

Labels & certifications

Good to know

The people of the terroir

Association de Promotion du Poisson des Étangs de la Dombes (APPED)

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Sources & references