Port-Couvreux was located at the bottom of Hillsborough Bay, in the most remote part of the Gulf of Whales, on the main land of the Kerguelen Islands, which are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF). The village has been abandoned since 1931 and had a population of 0 inhabitants in 2025. Founded in 1900 by the Havre shipowners Bossière for sheep farming, the site was once a hub of activity. In 1913, René Bossière embarked 1,600 sheep from the Falkland Islands on the sailing ship Jacques, which left the archipelago on July 10 and reached Port-Couvreux on August 16 after a turbulent crossing. Approximately 600 of the sheep survived the journey and disembarked alive. The project was inspired by the British model on the Falkland Islands, aiming to establish a permanent population around the sheep. In 1912, Baron Pierre Decouz chose the site, brought sheep from Durban, and carried out a first wintering. The name Port-Couvreux dates from 1915, given by the Hydrographic Service of the Navy in honor of Abel Couvreux, the main supporter of their first expedition. The Gulf of Whales extends over 37 km in length and up to 54 km in width, and the village is located at 49° south latitude, approximately that of Paris in the northern hemisphere. However, the climate and isolation are vastly different from Paris, with harsh winds, rain, and isolation. In 1914, the shepherds were evacuated due to the outbreak of war, leaving the sheep alone on site. In 1920, it was discovered that the flock had not survived, and René Bossière returned to find all the sheep dead and the buildings damaged. He left a shepherd, fifty sheep, and some pigs. From 1920 to 1927, the Bossière family sent other animals to compensate for a high mortality rate. At the end of 1927, three Havre families settled in Port-Couvreux: the Ménager family with their daughter Léone, 12 years old; the Le Galloudec family with their daughter Georgette, 9 years old; and the Petit couple. The new arrivals renovated the buildings and set up a small seal oil factory. However, farming declined due to insufficient pastures. Some residents died on site, but the exact number is unknown. At the height of the occupation, the village had a dozen people. The end came from Saint-Paul Island, thousands of kilometers away. An epidemic of beriberi struck the Bossière lobster canning factory, and the last shepherds of Port-Couvreux were urgently evacuated. Wikipedia dates the evacuation to 1931, while a winterer who documented the site places the epidemic in 1930. The concession was revoked by decree in 1937. The site is now uninhabited but not erased. One can see the remains of the factory, enclosures, the farm, and a small cemetery maintained by the TAAF. The shepherds' cabin still stands, enclosed in a steel frame since 2004. Fencing posts still litter the ground, and on the beach, one finds a boiler used to melt seal fat. A tomb tells another story: that of the German sailor Bernhard Herrmann, who died during the stopover of the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis in 1940. The ship had anchored at the Kerguelen Islands to take shelter, and its crew buried their companion in the cemetery of the abandoned village.