Tag Archives: Belgium
New Beamer Delivered to Belgian Owners
A new beamer is a rarity these days and seeing a new such vessel being put into service is something of an event. The latest beam trawler to be delivered to owners in Belgium is Van Eyck Z-53, handed over to its owners following satisfactory sea trials carried out at the end of last year. The Savels family hads initially looked for a second-hand vessel to replace the 1981-built beamer that Steven Savels bought from Freddy Depaepe more than 25 years ago. But when the search proved inconclusive, with no suitable replacement to be found, they looked at the options for a new trawler and approached Van Eyck Z-53, which has delivered a number of new beamers in recent years to Belgian operators. The order for the new vessel was placed in 2022 and the hull arrived in Stellandam for outfitting a year later. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:39
Belgian fishing industry flounders
Between May and June this year, the Belgian fishing industry saw a drop in seasonal catches. In June, just 675 tonnes of fish was landed by Belgian vessels and sold in Belgian ports, according to data published by Statbel, the Belgian statistics agency. This fall has been partially blamed on the rising cost of fuel and expenses. According to forecasts from the National Bank of Belgium, the fishing industry is set to be one of the biggest losers of the year. With fuel prices accounting for around 38% of inputs for the industry, the sector could finish with big losses. >click to read< 10:11
Fly-shooter to focus on squid, mullet, and gurnard
A new Belgian fly-shooter built by Padmos Stellendam has been delivered to Zeebrugge-based trawler company Nele. This is the first new seine netter to join the Belgian fishing fleet. Fishing company Nele placed the order for the new F/V Aravis Z-99 in August 2020, and the previous vessel of the same name, which was something of a pioneer as one of the first of a long series of fly-shooters converted from former trawlers, had been sold to Marissa Fisheries in Suriname more than a year previously. Photos, Video, >click to read< 19:08
Latest New-Generation Beamer
The seventh new beam trawler for Belgian owners to be delivered in the space of two years, F/V Avanti Z-26 is largely identical to Franson Z-91, which was has been fishing since last year. Avanti has been built for Steve Depaepe of Rederij Devan, whose family has a long connection with fishing. His father Freddy Depaepe was a well-known trawler owner and also a director of Belgian vessel operator’s federation Rederscentrale. In 1979 he ordered Van Eyck Z-53, which joined the fleet in 1981, and which is now alongside in Stellendam as it waits for a buyer. Photos, >click to read< 20:50
Jasmine. The First New Beamer for Belgium in 20 Years
The new beamer’s skipper is Diego Vandierendock who, like the owner and other crew members, comes from Knokke-Heist. After the christening, he took Jasmine to the Bristol Channel to go fish for sole, and after a twelve day-day trip the first catch was trucked back to the Oostende auction on 11th June. Built for owner Dany Vlietinck, whose son Jens sails as engineer, Jasmine Z-483 has been built at the Padmos yard in Stellendam to a new design with relatively high bulwarks to maintain the ship’s line and to maintain crew safety. >photos, click to read< 15:23
Fighting Cancer, Belgium’s newest fishing boat donates first catch to charity
Belgium’s newest addition to the fishing fleet, the Z483 Jasmine, has made its maiden voyage, bringing in a catch of 40kg of sole, which fetched a price of €10,516.30 ($12,740.50). The takings from the first voyage of a new fishing boat for 20 years was donated by owner by owner Dany Vlietinck to the anti-cancer charity Kom op tegen Kanker. Vlietinck’s announcement that the first catch would go to the charity provoked the interest of a lot of buyers, said Emiel Bouckaert, president of the fishers’ federation. >click to read< 07:34
Is Fly Shooting the new Electric Pulse Fishing?
NUTFA has been receiving reports of the increasing number of fly shooters operating initially in the eastern Channel but now fishing as far as western waters for a couple of years now. From initial reports of relatively small numbers of these vessels taking significant quantities of Bass, suddenly we seem to have a vast fleet [75] of high powered fly shooters working our waters, everywhere from the eastern Channel through to western waters, all licenced by the MMO, despite the fact that they admit to not having complete catch records for this method in these waters, reliant instead on member state data, including that from France who have been penalized in the past for failures to provide accurate information in this respect. >click to read< 23:06
Europe’s 500 year old seafood tradition
It was low tide, so Axel trudged through wet sand for about 1km to reach the water’s edge. When the sea and sand finally met, Bekaert slid on thigh-high waterproof boots, bright yellow waterproof overalls, a slicker and a fishing hat. She unlatched the cart and tied a large funnel-shaped drag net to Axel’s back. She then suspended two wicker baskets from his sides and mounted her 23-year-old steed, wedging her way in between the baskets. Bekaert then carefully led the massive animal thigh-deep into the cold waters of the North Sea to trawl for shrimp – just as Flemish fishermen in this small community have been doing for more than 500 years. photos,>click to read< 09:36
U.K. to End Half Century of Fishing Rights in Brexit Slap to EU
Prime Minister Theresa May will pull Britain out of the 1964 London convention that allows European fishing vessels to access waters as close as six to twelve nautical miles from the U.K. coastline. Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was already going to stop fishing by European boats within 12 to 200 nautical miles (22 to 370 kilometers) of British shores, but this move goes even further in terminating historic rights enjoyed by France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands that predate the U.K.’s own entry into the EU. “For the first time in more than fifty years we will be able to decide who can access our waters,”,,, click here to read the story 19:34
