The North Atlantic Fisheries, 1100-1976 - University of Hull

were active in the herring fishery. During a couple of decades cod and
haddock were almost as important as herring. The decline in the fishing
industry would continue deep into the nineteenth century. However, the
recovery was then rapid indeed. In 1892 the industry already required
more than 6,000 hands, in 1914 even more than 12,000! Most of the
fishermen operating in the Zuyder Zee (3,000 to 4,000) are not included
in this figure. 186 In 1916 the overall peak of vessels and manpower was
reached. The proportion of foreign labour always remained small and
differed vastly from the situation in the navy and the mercantile marine.
In 1995 about 500 beam trawlers and 12 huge deepfreeze trawlers
comprise the sea-going fleet, providing work for about 2,700 men,
almost all Dutchmen. 150 vessels are active in the catch of mussels,
cockles and oysters and another 125 operate in the former Zuyder Zee. It
should be taken into account that nowadays one man at sea means
employment for five others ashore. There are, for instance, no less then
eleven fish auctions. 187 The total population of the Netherlands is about
15 million.
The short-lived revival of whaling (in the Antarctic) in 1946-1963
needed a labour-force fluctuating between 350 and 700. A small majority
was Dutch. During the heyday of old whaling, the fleet was manned by
5,000 to 10,000 seamen, nearly half of them originating from abroad. 188
Of National Importance
Fishing has always ranked second, third or fourth on the ladder of
national importance of the Dutch maritime industries. Overseas trade had
by tradition priority in the state’s interest. However, the herring fishery
figured high in the seventeenth-century conflicts with England. Much
herring was traditionally caught in or near English territorial waters. The
English envied the Dutch success in this branch of fishery, for it was
thought to be at the cost of their own fishermen. Various diplomatic
missions negotiated this issue in London but it was never solved. The
overall economic rivalry between the Republic and England was such
that two wars on this issue turned out to be unavoidable (1652-1654 and
186 Gouda, De Nederlandse zeevisserij, 15-18; Ypma, Geschiedenis, 205.
187 Oral communication by H. van der Bent, editor of the journal Visserijnieuws (July
1995).
188 Bruijn, ‘De Nederlandse Maatschappij’, 249.
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