Arie de Visser comes from a real fishing family and has been sailing on his father’s cutter from an early age. It soon becomes clear to him that he wants to be the fourth generation fisherman in the family. The WR18 will be his cutter with which he will enjoy twenty-five years of good, but also less good years. Still, the negative aspects of fishing make him decide to stop.
“The pressure has become so high these days that you have to sail every week and get a crew to keep things going,” says Arie. And, despite his love for fishing, he didn’t want to do that after 35 years. “I no longer enjoyed my work,” he says. And that is why De Visser stops as a fisherman and starts looking for a successor for the WR18.
He will find that successor in Rene de Jong, who also has years of experience in fishing. “I’ve always wanted it, so if it finally works, it’s very nice,” says Rene. But the joy soon disappears at De Jong: “We have received a lot of rules and corona has not done any good either. We also have problems finding crew,” explains De Jong. The fishery also has to rely on new nitrogen regulations and sky-high fuel prices.
Text continues below the video.
Arie de Visser stopped as a fisherman – NH Nieuws
“If there were fewer rules, it would be even more beautiful”
Despite all the problems, De Visser often thinks back to his time at sea. He has since found a new job at the GVB. Here he sails as skipper on the ferry from Amsterdam. De Visser can therefore still be found on the water every day, but: “Fishing is the best profession there is”, he still thinks.
Future
Rene is busy this week with the maintenance of the cutter and will return to sea next week. The past few months have not been a fat one for him. “You’re working on expenses and a little vacation and that’s it,” says Rene.
But the fun while fishing is still there. “Fishing remains a beautiful profession, but if there were fewer rules, it would be even more beautiful.”
NH 360° in the harbor of Den Oever
NH Nieuws was in the port of Den Oever for three days this week. Fishermen in North Holland fear for their future due to the tightened nitrogen regulations. From the building of the Skuut WR60 foundation in Den Oever, we reported and discussed the possible disappearance of fishing. From all sides: 360 degrees.
Don’t want to miss anything from the Noordkop?
Seen a typo? Let us know at [email protected]