WEIR FISHERMEN
Most likely, fishing with a weir or similar technique is as old as mankind itself. Fishing with a weir is a hunting technique based on the tidal action of the water. By using fencing, sometimes up to one kilometer long, fish are driven into the trap when the water level drops. This sustainable method of fishing also ensures that the catch is not damaged, and the bottom remains intact.
Due in part to overfishing of anchovies by factory ships, fishing with a weir has all but disappeared worldwide. In the province of Zeeland we find the last traditional fishing-weir family in the world.
The Van Dort family is a centuries-old fishing family and a well-known name in the region. They are the only ones in the Netherlands where you can still get fresh unsalted anchovies. When anchovies are transported to other regions, the fish are salted for preservation, which gives the fish a very different taste.
The Van Dort family still sails out twice a day to empty their weirs, but the past 4 years this has been in vain. Since 2019, the fish catch has suddenly collapsed. Until then, they regularly caught 2,500 kilograms pet year. This year, they haven’t caught a single kilo of anchovies.
“Since the installation of the windmills in 2019 in the North Sea off the Oosterschelde, the fish catch has suddenly completely collapsed. That can’t be a coincidence,” says Rian van Dort.
The family receives little support from the government. “If we don’t get help, in a few years we won’t exist anymore,” says Rian. In that case, the last weir-fishing family will also be forced to quit and the craft lost forever.
