Kaalslag in de Nederlandse vissersvloot - Andrew Bridgen ontmoet vissers op Urk
Dit gesprek is Engels gesproken en in het Nederlands/Engels ondertiteld. Je kunt de ondertiteling aanzetten via de controls van youtube en rumble.
This conversation is mostly spoken in English and subtitled in Dutch/English. You can turn on the subtitles via the YouTube/Rumble controls.
Net als bij onze boeren, heeft de Nederlandse overheid een van 's werelds meest productieve en innovatieve vissersvloten gedecimeerd. Sinds 1963 is de vissersvloot met 95% gekrompen. Vissers van Urk, informeerden voormalig Brits parlementslid Andrew Bridgen over de snelle afname van visrechten in Nederland.
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The fight for preservation: Dutch fishermen on the brink of extinction
_So, what we are now experiencing on Urk, is that American businesses are taking over Urker fish factories."_
On the 10th of January 2026, four fishermen and one fisherwoman from the village of Urk, a former island in the 'IJsselmeer', informed former British MP Andrew Bridgen about the rapid reduction of fishing boats in the Netherlands.
Similar to what is happening with Dutch farmers, the Dutch government have been decimating what was once one of the world’s most productive and innovative fishing fleets. Since 1963 there has been a 95% fleet reduction.
The percentages is, however even higher. The weeding of the Dutch fleet started decades before, with the enclosure of the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea), in 1932. The former tidal waters transformed into a fresh water lake, the IJsselmeer, and motorised fishing vessels – still a novelty, back then – were prohibited from fishing on the Netherlands' inner seas.
Initially, ever tighter restrictions on quota were imposed on the fishing fleet. Especially since the publication of the Brundtland and Rio reports and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by EU member states, focus turned to the number of nets and licences, which have been steadily diminished.
Costly equipment, required by the government, are crippling small fishing companies. In addition, random waters are designated as Natura 2000 terrains, reducing the Dutch fishing grounds by thousands of acres, at a time.
Fishermen are obliged to account for everything they do in these nature reserves. The burden of proof has been moved to them. In addition, they cannot officially object, nor start law suits. Few would dare, if they could, out of fear of losing their permit, for which – until recently – they had to apply annually.
Tired of decades of thumbscrew regulations, many fishermen have thrown in the towel and have opted for the government and the EU buyout schemes. New fishing permits are no longer granted, the number of existing permits is plummeting. Well-equipped and full-functioning boats are literally destroyed, as part of the buyout scheme. Dutch fishermen are not allowed to reinvest money from the buyout in fishery.
This year, 2026, will see the last small shrimp fishing boats. Cheap fish, caught by large (Chinese) trailers using Uyghur slave labour, or antibiotics-rich salmon farms, is replacing catch from the North Sea.
Educating themselves on current and historical policies, numbers and models, the fishing community of Urk aims to play the government at its own game. Strengthened by their deep-rooted Christian faith and a strong historical bond with the sea, Jan-Rein de Wit, Louw de Boer, Paulus de Boer, en Wilma Koster work hard to prevent a complete extinction of the family-run fishing companies of Urk and the Netherlands, as a whole.
The fishermen's fight is not only a fight for their survival, but for the high-quality Dutch food industry and food supply. For a way of life, centuries of expertise and Dutch traditions. Their plight should concern every Dutch citizen.
This interview was made in cooperation with potkaars.nl