Dutch North Sea fishers have had "a worrying year"

Dutch sea fishers have had “a worrying year.” The cutter ship fishing crews suffered losses, and shrimp fishing firms have had a particularly hard time, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) reported. The fleet became smaller, which led to less fishing, and the incomes were generally disappointing. The prices were not able to compensate for that, and the costs continued, researcher Kees Taal explained.

The fishing sector of cutter ships suffered a loss of 3.1 million euros. Fishers using these kinds of ships made a profit of 3.7 million euros a year ago. Shrimp fishers lost eight million euros.

The total revenue earned from cutter ships fishing crews fell by a quarter to 176 million euros. The volume of shrimp caught was down by more than half, and revenue fell by 47 percent to 39 million euros. Sole and plaice also yielded considerably less.

The WUR pointed out that modernization and replacement of ships and engines are also not in the cards, “because the prospects for cutter fishing and confidence in the future have decreased in recent years.” The average age of the cutter fleet is now 39 years. Making ships more sustainable and renewing them is expensive and obtaining financing proves difficult, according to the university.

Salmon from Norway, cod from Iceland and shrimp from Asia are also brought to the Netherlands in large quantities, and processed and traded there, the university noted. The recent restructuring of cutter fishing and shrimping in the Netherlands is putting further pressure on the supply of fresh North Sea fish, according to the WUR. That is why the import of fish is becoming increasingly important for Dutch fish processors and traders.

The Dutch fishing industry was previously hopeful about the new Cabinet’s plans for the sector. They said they hope that the wind will blow differently and that fishing will regain breathing space.

The new government wants to make pulse fishing possible again in the Netherlands. The process involves driving fish into a mesh that delivers electric shocks. The number of Dutch cutter fishers has fallen sharply in the past year due to the ban on this fishing method.