On the 16th March 1978, the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany. 220 000 tons of crude oil spilled along the coast of Porstsall (Finistère department). The shores from Brest to the Saint-Brieuc Bay (overall a 360 km coastline) and 200 000 hectares of sea surface were polluted. Many species were directly affected by the disaster (birds, oysters, crustaceans, fish).