Unrest among anglers: “Hobby will soon be priceless”

The material for this will cost them about 8,000 euros. Dissatisfaction is growing and the sector wants to unite.

Various industries

Sports fisherman Marc Lathouders was always a driver, but now he mainly enjoys fishing at sea, in his small boat. He is an angler and he will not get rich from it. The catch was also not easy on Saturday.

“Saturday… Three dabs. From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. With my dinghy. 15 hp on it. Lost 7 liters of petrol. That’s very expensive fish. You can’t get rich. That’s for eating . That’s the purpose.”

But the recreational sector, sport fishing, is a lot more complex than that. There are anglers, vessels of more than 12 meters with trawl nets and also shrimp fishermen under a Dutch license. The sector is therefore very diverse and they are working in our four coastal ports.

“In the latest study, 633 vessels are mentioned. A whole bunch of European regulations are coming our way, such as the electronic monitoring system and registration of the catch,” says Maarten Du Bois of the Professional Organization of the Fish Sector.

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Priceless

For many recreational fishermen it will soon be unaffordable to comply. Anglers are also not allowed to sell their fish officially. To avoid the decline of the sector, anglers want a better status. They now want to unite and knock on the table for a better settlement.

“That could go very quickly. It is the social fabric and the DNA of the coast. It is also tourism. If they suddenly stand for 7 to 8,000 euros, then we fear that 3 out of 4 will be pulled over and demolished. “

“That is already quite expensive for an ordinary angler, but also for us. What else is coming at us. It is becoming very expensive to do it as a hobby. It is always getting worse,” says Ricky Lycke, owner B18 Moby Dick.

Action

The anglers will certainly take action at the sea dedication at the end of June. They also want contact with the responsible ministers.

Although that also turns out to be complex. There is a minister of mobility, one of Flemish Fisheries, a federal minister of the North Sea and, in fact, anglers also fall under Nature and Environment.