When they hear the name of Mauritania, many people imagine the burning sands of the Sahara, nomads swathed in wind-blown robes and camel trains moving through the heat haze. Nothing wrong, but they forget that this country is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, having a coastal zone of about 754km in length. Probably that most of the mauritanians haven't ever see the ocean, even if this coast is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The fishing fleet of Mauritania, the country's best-kept secret, consists in hundreds of multi-coloured wooden boats crashing through the unrelenting surf towards the open sea, with 20 to 30 men on board of each one. They are les pecheurs du Mauritanie (the fishermen of Mauritania), thousands, who work in these perilous waters and have done for centuries.
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