ANNONCER
With new fishing vessels being built for French owners in Boulogne and Lorient, the Padmos shipyard at Stellendam in Holland has a healthy orderbook, which includes a couple of new twin-rigger/fly-shooters for Dutch owners.
One of the world’s biggest container ships lost 270 containers during heavy weather in the North Sea last week and the consequences are to be seen on Dutch beaches where a cleanup operation is in progress. In addition to the pollution problem, floating containers also present a significant hazard to navigation. Fishermen from the north of Holland have been playing a role in the aftermath of the container loss.
Clothing drying systems from Dutch company Pronomar are in increasingly widespread use on commercial vessels, and the company is also seeing increased interest from shipyards in installing drying facilities.
Jacob van Urk joined the air force after leaving school, but found himself drawn back to the sea, spending time enjoying the freedom of the family’s sailing boat before returning to his fishing roots. Now in his mid-50s, he skippers Eurocutter Willem Jacob UK-158, landing catches to the auction in Urk.
Going out on deck in the middle of the night, and your gloves are still cold and wet from the last haul? Worse still, wet boots? It doesn’t have to be that way…
For Dutch fishermen it is uncertain what Brussels will decide regarding accepting and continuing pulse trawling. Technical reports show positive aspects such as a lower CO2 emission and less damage to the seabed. For the Dutch fishermen it is clear that the innovative fishing method is a step towards a future of sustainable fishing. They still believe in pulse trawling, reports Willem den Heijer.
A new twin-rig trawler has been ordered from the Hoekman yard by Urk owners, and is to be built to a design by Scheepsbouw Bureau Herman Jansen, with a delivery date in mid-2020.
Vlissingen skipper Henry Caljouw reports that the summer fishery for shrimps has been very good, in spite of the the dire warnings that pulse fishing for flatfish would result in bare fishing grounds.
In response to requests from its members for clarification on the situation, Dutch fishermen’s organisation de Nederlandse Vissersbond is telling members to prepare for a No Deal Brexit, which it warns could have disastrous consequences.
A very familiar figure to the Dutch and UK fishing industries in particular, Frits van Dongen has retired after a forty-year career at the Maaskant Shipyard in Stellendam, and at a 70th birthday party for the yard held at the yard last weekend, friends, staff and many customers gathered to wish him well, and to welcome new director Eric Moerkerk.