A group of young fishermen was sent away by the police last weekend at the Nijstad swimming lake in Hoogeveen. Employees at the adjacent beach pavilion asked the young people to leave, but they refused.
According to the young people, they were allowed to fish there, but the rules have changed.
Since March it has been prohibited to fish at the lake, says Bart Zuidema, owner of the site. “Previously there were five fishing spots that were rented out by an operator. That contract expired in March and was not renewed. There will be a holiday park near the lake and therefore there is no longer room for fishermen.”
Zuidema regrets the incident last weekend: “The young people had a big mouth towards the pavilion staff and did not want to listen. The police were then called.”
The board of fishing club Het Vette Baarsje in Hoogeveen is not sad about the loss of the lake as a fishing spot: “I understand the decision, there are luxury houses there. Villas and a fishing tent do not seem like a good marriage to me,” says board member Alfred Gruppen.
Gruppen disapproves of the fact that there are still fishermen from time to time, although he also has an explanation for it: “Fishermen are crooks and crooks do what is not allowed.”