We present a theoretical and experimental study of a resonator of the Helmholtz type for the control of the swell. An experimental demonstration of the shielding effect by a belt made of evenly distributed resonators is given. We then provide in-depth analysis of the Fano resonance resulting from the interference between the dock scattering (the background) and the resonant cavity scattering. This is done thanks to space–time resolved experiments which provides the complex-valued scattering coefficients and amplitude within the resonator. We provide a one-dimensional model derived in the shallow water regime owing to asymptotic analysis. The model contains the two ingredients of the Fano resonance and allows us to exhibit the damping due to leakage. When adding heuristically the damping due to losses, it reproduces the main features of the resonance observed experimentally.