Fishing
Fishing is the activity by which fish, crustacean (shrimps, prawns, crabs), shellfish (mussels, cockles, oysters etc.), molluscs (e.g. cephalopod), mammals (whales), algae and weeds are extracted from the water, generally with the intention to eat them. Some people fish to eat or sell the fish, while others fish for just fun. The fishing industry provides 10 million physical fishing jobs worldwide. Besides the fishers, millions of others have a job in the industry, since the fish which has been caught has to be processed, transported and sold. And – not to forget – the fishing boats also have to be constructed.
Sea fishing
Fishing can be divided into sea fishing and freshwater fishing. Firstly, sea fishing in the Netherlands will be discussed. On one hand, large sea fishing focuses on herring and mackerel. To catch these fish, which do not live at the bottom of the sea, pelagic fishing methods are used. A large, four-sided floating net, which can be opened both vertically and horizontally, can be put at a depth where the fish commonly exist. Pelagic fishing is employed throughout the year by Dutch trawlers, on which the fish is processed and frozen. Small sea fishing on the other hand sees cutters used instead of trawlers, and flatfish caught instead of herring and mackerel. Furthermore, coastal fishing concentrates not only on fish, but also on shrimps. Mussel fishery, at least, focuses on the areas where mussels are cultivated, for instance in the Oosterschelde.
Freshwater fishing
Most freshwater fishing occurs on the Ijsselmeer, a large lake in the north of the Netherlands. The Ijsselmeer accounts for more than two-thirds of the total area which is available for freshwater fishing (220,000 hectares). The most important freshwater fish are: pike, perch, bream, white bream, roach, rudd, ide and chub. Due to human intervention, rainbow trout live on a large scale in the Lake of Veere, the Grevelingen Lake and the Lake of Briele. Salmon, sea trout and other migratory river fish have disappeared almost completely in the rivers Rhine and Maas due to water pollution. Eels live on a large scale in the Dutch inland waters, especially in the Ijsselmeer after the Zuyder Sea was dammed and turned fresh.
