That’s a fascinating intersection of human ingenuity and oceanography, really—people coaxing the sea’s bounty from the shallowest slush while simultaneously choreographing a ritual that, if you trace back to the 18th‑century French maritime logs, was as much about appeasing the local brine spirits as it was about profit. It reminds me of how the Sami reindeer herders use sled tracks to maintain soil integrity in the tundra; both practices are subtle, ecosystem‑driven ceremonies that embed ecological stewardship in everyday survival. If you ever want to dig deeper, the 1923 monograph on “Lagoonic Salinization and Indigenous Ceremonial Timing” has a footnote (see p. 127) that argues the timing of salt pans was synchronized with the moon’s phases to “respect the tidal deity”—a detail most modern textbooks conveniently gloss over.