Tag Archives: The Netherlands
Dutch Fisherman Hit Tanker After Leaving Bridge for a Head Call
The Netherlands’ disciplinary court for mariners has fined a fishing vessel’s helmsman for leaving the bridge unattended to go to the head. While he was gone, the vessel hit an anchored tanker off IJmuiden, causing damage and a small spill. On September 28, 2022, the 150-foot fishing vessel Joris Senior (registry number ARM 18) had finished up a week of fishing in the North Sea and was returning to IJmuiden. There were six crewmembers aboard, and a substitute skipper was at the helm for the transit. No additional crewmembers were on lookout duty. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:52
150-foot F V Joris Senior
Growing Interest in Fishing for Crab
In The Netherlands there is a cautious but growing interest for crab fishing. Since January 2023 there are five vessels commercially fishing on North Sea crab (Cancer pagurus), all operating from northern ports such as Den Oever and Lauwersoog. In 2010 there was just one vessel fishing on North Sea crab. A year later another, Orion UK-163, made a start but finished within one year. In general, enthusiasm was quite low, but the last couple of years, as vessel owners seek to broaden operating patterns and to avoid restrictive measures, a few small-scale fishermen are showing interest. This is also because a number of Irish and English crabbers have been operating the German Bight above the Dutch Wadden islands for some years. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 13:51
Scrapped trawlers’ memorial
A section of the stern of beam trawler Helena Elizabeth TX-29 now forms part of a memorial to the Dutch fishing vessels scrapped during 2023. The memorial is on the island of Texel, which has long been a centre of the Dutch beam trawl fishery, and Helena Elizabeth’s stern section bearing the trawler’s name has been placed in a location placed in a location with a view over the sea and with benches for visitors. Just one of the many beam trawlers leaving the Dutch fleet that has been plagued with challenges in recent years – ranging from the Landing Obligation to Brexit, and the loss of the pulse fishery to the runaway growth of windfarms and the consequent loss of fishing grounds,,, >click to read< 21:39
Shrimper Design Focuses on Low Fuel Consumption
Designers at Damen Maaskant have done some serious homework and developed new design intended to support operators in tropical shrimp fisheries in staying profitable. The Damen Shrimp Trawler 2607 is a brand-new design, developed as a simple basic standard vessel, to fish (sub)tropical shrimp, and to be a safe and robust vessel with straightforward maintenance and serviceability – and with the focus on low fuel consumption. Photos, >click to read< 19:51
Brexit, offshore wind farms and high fuel costs scupper Dutch fishing industry
The end of the Dutch trawler fishing industry is in sight now a large part of the Dutch fleet has signed up for the government’s buy-out ruling, according to NOS. In total, about 40 of the 120 trawlers which fish for plaice and sole in the North Sea will be left and that will have a knock-on impact on the rest of the industry, the broadcaster said. For example, the fish auction in Den Helder is now closing its doors and trawlers will now have to head for Den Oever and IJmuiden to unload their catches, NOS said. >click to read< 13:37
Dutch fisheries will shrink considerably in the coming years
The Dutch commercial fishing fleet will shrink by 10 to 15 percent over the next five years. Many fishermen are getting into money trouble, partly because of declining turnover and high fuel costs. The financial support announced by the government will be too late for some of the fishermen, ABN Amro predicted based on its own research. About a third of fishermen think they could run into financial problems in the coming years. Brexit and the expansion of wind farms has also caused concerns for fishermen. The new distribution of fishing rights means that many fishermen are no longer allowed to catch as many fish as before Brexit. >click to read< 18:55
Hendrika Jacoba GY-127 – The Latest in Stellendam Yard’s Trawler/ Seiner Series
Klaas van den Berg and his family have taken delivery of the new Hendrika Jacoba GY-127, the latest in an ongoing series of fly-shooter/twin-riggers coming from the Padmos yard. In the fishing company’s forty-year history, this is the first newbuild, and the 24.95 metre overall, 8.50 metre breadth 
Hendrika Jacoba replaces a 40-metre former beamer built in 1982 as GO-38, which was initially converted to work as a twin-rigger before a subsequent refit added fly-shooting capacity. The deck is laid out with split netdrums mounted in the aft gantry and the seine/trawl winches are controlled by a Marelec trawl computer with options for automatic modes. photo’s, information, >click to read< 13:15
Anna UK-24, a strong resemblance to the latest generation of twin riggers fishing in the North Sea, but is a new design
The 27.75 metre by 8 metre breadth Anna has hull lines and a round underwater shape that have been developed from scratch, and there’s going to be plenty of interest in the fuel consumption figures once a decent amount of fishing time has been put in. Albert Romkes went to the Hoekman 
Shipbuilding yard in Urk for the new twin-rigger’s construction, using a hull fabricated in Poland, and reports are that Anna has performed well in its first trips at the end of the summer. The full set of fishing gear, including warps, Thyborøn trawl doors and trawl gear, has been supplied by the VCU net loft in Urk. >video, photos, click to read< 13:39
The North Sea industrial estate
In order to reduce CO2 emissions The Netherlands put a lot of money into an energy transition by building a vast windmill park at sea. Dutch fishermen have serious concerns. Their fear is that the North Sea will become an industrial estate while fishermen will lose fishing grounds and space. So far, many windmill parks have already been placed in locations that had been prime fishing grounds for beam trawlers, flyshooters and whitefish trawlers from fishing ports in the south-west of Holland. photo’s, more, by Willem den Heijer >click to read< 16:40
Close ports to Sea Shepherd or risk sharing guilt for its vigilantism
Sea Shepherd is again heading into dangerous territory. Last week’s announcement that its new $12 million custom-built Ocean Warrior (watch video here) has arrived here for a Southern Ocean incursion this summer is disturbing. Ship captain Adam Meyerson is boasting the group’s new vessel is a game changer because of its increased speed, long-range fuel tanks, helicopter landing pad and 20,000 litres-per-minute water cannon. Sea Shepherd is once more aiming to engage in close combat with the Japanese research fleet. That puts this group in the category of an environmental non-state combatant. It’s in an international area engaged in the use of force, with actions close to vigilantism. It enjoys the reputation of piracy, but for quasi public rather than private ends. The International Court of Justice judgment in the whaling case two years ago was a hollow victory for environmental activists. The court didn’t rule that what the Japanese were doing was commercial whaling. Nor did it say that issuing permits to take whales by lethal means for scientific research was illegal. This left open the option of a new Japanese scientific whaling program. Read the rest here 08:56
