A movement that emerged online between Dutch fishermen will today hold a protest in the port city of Rotterdam, with fishing vessels arriving in the city to protest against what they see as highly restrictive rules that are adversely affecting fishing.
Around a dozen Dutch fishing vessels are expected to steam up-river and tie up at Rotterdam’s cruise terminal today where they will hand out fish to the public and distribute flyers detailing the difficulties the fishing industry faces.
The Dutch industry is seeing its fishing grounds being systematically reduced as protected areas and zones for offshore wind power increasingly take up more marine space.
The key protest point is the Landing Obligation that has become a significant problem for Dutch fishermen who disagree entirely with the demand that discards should be landed. They have repeatedly argued that the survival rates of fish discarded from their catches in relatively shallow waters are high, and they object to strongly to the demand that these fish that have a high chance of survival should be under a requirement that they should be landed.
