Difference between revisions of "Fisheries in Heist"
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Heist (Geographical coordinates: 51°20'N 3°14'E) is situated at the eastern part of the Belgian coast and has a population of about 12.900 people. From the 13th century onwards, the village became known as a relatively important fishing place, despite the absence of an actual port. Traditionally, the fishing vessels moored on the beach. Similar to those of Blankenberge, the boats of Heist had a flat bottom, which made it easier to land on and depart from the beach <ref name="Lar">[http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=120722 Larbouillat, J. (1974). De zeevisserij te Heist. Heemkundig Museum Sincfala: Knokke-Heist. 1-80 pp.]</ref>.During a first period of fishery activity, which lasted till the end of the 16th century, the fleet of Heist took part in the important and prosperous Flemish herring fisheries. Circa 1525, Heist had around 10 herring busses (‘haringbuizen’) and 150 fishermen, on a total number of 450 inhabitants <ref name="Sincfala"> [http://www.sincfala.be/sf/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117&Itemid=107 ‘Evolutie van strand- en kustvisserij’] Sincfala – Museum van de Zwinstreek, consulted on february 19th, 2014. </ref>. However, due to the religious wars in the second half of the 16th century, this industry vanished in Heist and during the 17th and the first part of the 18th century no active fishermen were reported in this village. With the help of the Austrian government however, the fishing sector in Heist slowly recovered from the second part of the 18th century on <ref name="Devent"> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=196194 Devent, G. (1989). De Vlaamse zeevisserij. Marc Van de Wiele: Brugge. ISBN 90-6966-061-X. 208 pp.]</ref>.This time around, the village focused on fresh fishery with small boats, close to the shore <ref name="Sincfala"/>.In 1800, 4 of these vessels were counted in Heist. The fleet subsequently grew steadily over the course of the 19th century and in 1905, 60 boats and 234 fishermen were reported <ref> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=9601 Desnerck, G.; Desnerck, R. (1974). Vlaamse visserij en vissersvaartuigen: 1. De havens. Gaston Desnerck: Oostduinkerke. 256 pp.]</ref> (see also graph 1 and 2).In 1901, Heist even got its own fish auction. The construction and inauguration of the port of Zeebrugge in 1906 eventually halted this flourishing period: more and more ships left Heist for Zeebrugge and after only five years, the Heist fish auction lost its purpose <ref name="Devent"/> <ref> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=110673 Hovart, P. (1994). 150 jaar zeevisserijbeheer 1830-1980: een analyse van normatieve bronnen. Mededelingen van het Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij (CLO Gent), 235. Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij: Oostende. 317 pp.]</ref>. Eventually, all ships from this town relocated to Zeebrugge. As a result, the typical flat bottomed vessels disappeared in favor of faster ships with keels <ref name="Lar"/>. | Heist (Geographical coordinates: 51°20'N 3°14'E) is situated at the eastern part of the Belgian coast and has a population of about 12.900 people. From the 13th century onwards, the village became known as a relatively important fishing place, despite the absence of an actual port. Traditionally, the fishing vessels moored on the beach. Similar to those of Blankenberge, the boats of Heist had a flat bottom, which made it easier to land on and depart from the beach <ref name="Lar">[http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=120722 Larbouillat, J. (1974). De zeevisserij te Heist. Heemkundig Museum Sincfala: Knokke-Heist. 1-80 pp.]</ref>.During a first period of fishery activity, which lasted till the end of the 16th century, the fleet of Heist took part in the important and prosperous Flemish herring fisheries. Circa 1525, Heist had around 10 herring busses (‘haringbuizen’) and 150 fishermen, on a total number of 450 inhabitants <ref name="Sincfala"> [http://www.sincfala.be/sf/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117&Itemid=107 ‘Evolutie van strand- en kustvisserij’] Sincfala – Museum van de Zwinstreek, consulted on february 19th, 2014. </ref>. However, due to the religious wars in the second half of the 16th century, this industry vanished in Heist and during the 17th and the first part of the 18th century no active fishermen were reported in this village. With the help of the Austrian government however, the fishing sector in Heist slowly recovered from the second part of the 18th century on <ref name="Devent"> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=196194 Devent, G. (1989). De Vlaamse zeevisserij. Marc Van de Wiele: Brugge. ISBN 90-6966-061-X. 208 pp.]</ref>.This time around, the village focused on fresh fishery with small boats, close to the shore <ref name="Sincfala"/>.In 1800, 4 of these vessels were counted in Heist. The fleet subsequently grew steadily over the course of the 19th century and in 1905, 60 boats and 234 fishermen were reported <ref> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=9601 Desnerck, G.; Desnerck, R. (1974). Vlaamse visserij en vissersvaartuigen: 1. De havens. Gaston Desnerck: Oostduinkerke. 256 pp.]</ref> (see also graph 1 and 2).In 1901, Heist even got its own fish auction. The construction and inauguration of the port of Zeebrugge in 1906 eventually halted this flourishing period: more and more ships left Heist for Zeebrugge and after only five years, the Heist fish auction lost its purpose <ref name="Devent"/> <ref> [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=110673 Hovart, P. (1994). 150 jaar zeevisserijbeheer 1830-1980: een analyse van normatieve bronnen. Mededelingen van het Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij (CLO Gent), 235. Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij: Oostende. 317 pp.]</ref>. Eventually, all ships from this town relocated to Zeebrugge. As a result, the typical flat bottomed vessels disappeared in favor of faster ships with keels <ref name="Lar"/>. | ||
| − | + | [[Image:01. Heist fleet 1.jpg|center|600px|]] | |
| + | [[Image:02. Heist fleet 2.jpg|center|600px|]] | ||
| + | :::Fig.1. and 2. Part of the Heist fishing fleet, moored on the beach (Source: [http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?module=ref&refid=197231 Dekeyzer, 1969]). | ||
Revision as of 17:28, 18 March 2014
Overview and Background
The Belgian coast is 67 km long and is entirely bordering the province of West-Flanders (region of Flanders, Belgium). The Belgian part of the North Sea is 3,457 km2 (0.5% of the North Sea area), of which more than 1/3 or 1,430 km² are territorial sea within 12 nautical miles distance of the coastline. Belgium currently has 10 coastal municipalities and 4 coastal ports (Nieuwpoort, Oostende, Zeebrugge and Blankenberge), and besides the fish auctions located in Oostende, Zeebrugge and Nieuwpoort where fish is sold according to legal procedures, there are no other dispersed landing points. Although historically the port and auction of Oostende was by far the most important, today the auctions of Zeebrugge (53%) and Oostende (45%) receive the largest share of the landings of Belgian fisheries in Belgian ports.
Belgium has a minor role in the European fisheries context with 0.35% of the total EU production of fish. In 2012, the Belgian commercial sea fishing fleet counted 86 ships, with a total engine capacity of 49,135 kW and gross tonnage of 15,326 GT [1]. 45 vessels are part of the Small Fleet Segment (max 221 kW engine power) of which 2 use passive gear. The remaining 41 vessels belong to the Large Fleet Segment and have an engine power between 221 kW and a maximum of 1,200 kW. This fleet segment represents approximately 80% of the engine power capacity and 77% of the GT of the fleet. While a smaller number use trammel nets (passive gear) and otter trawl, the largest share of the Large Fleet Segment are beam trawl vessels (≥662 kW). The Belgian fleet is highly specialized: more than 68% of the effort(days at sea) and 77% of total landings are achieved by beam trawlers(2010)focusing primarily on flatfish species such as plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and sole (Solea solea). The results of the reconstruction of the Belgian fleet dynamics since 1830 are presented in Lescrauwaet et al. 2013[2].
The number of days at sea per vessel is fixed at a maximum of 265 per year and in 2011 the entire fleet realized a fishing effort of 15,855 days at sea. In 2011, the Belgian fleet landed a total of 20,138t, of which 16,905t were landed in Belgian ports. Plaice is the most important species in terms of landed weight. The landings of 2011 represented a value of €76.3 million, 14% of which was marketed in foreign ports. Sole generates 47% of the current total value of fisheries in Belgium. The Belgian sea fisheries represent 0.04% of the national Gross Domestic Product [3]. The main fishing grounds in terms of volume of landings in 2010 were in descending order: North Sea South (IVc), Eastern English Channel (VIId), North Sea Central (IVb), Southeast Ireland/Celtic Sea (VIIg) Bristol Channel (VIIf) and Irish Sea (VIIa).
In terms of direct employment, 439 fishers are registered of which approximately 350 are of Belgian nationality. Direct employment in fisheries represent approximately 0.5% of the total employment in the Belgian coastal zone. Another 1040 persons work in the fish processing industry and another 5000 persons in associated trade and services [1]. A historical overview of Belgian sea fisheries is available from [4] and [2].
The Belgian sea fishery sector is rather small compared to that of neighbouring countries in the North Sea and has been gradually losing importance since the Second World War. It is also gradually losing importance relative to the booming tourism industry in the Belgian coastal zone. However fisheries can be an added value to the tourism experience at the coast by developing fisheries-related tourism activities [5]. The present case study of Nieuwpoort (Belgium) analyzes how fisheries is embedded in tourism policy of the municipality.
Port description
Heist (Geographical coordinates: 51°20'N 3°14'E) is situated at the eastern part of the Belgian coast and has a population of about 12.900 people. From the 13th century onwards, the village became known as a relatively important fishing place, despite the absence of an actual port. Traditionally, the fishing vessels moored on the beach. Similar to those of Blankenberge, the boats of Heist had a flat bottom, which made it easier to land on and depart from the beach [6].During a first period of fishery activity, which lasted till the end of the 16th century, the fleet of Heist took part in the important and prosperous Flemish herring fisheries. Circa 1525, Heist had around 10 herring busses (‘haringbuizen’) and 150 fishermen, on a total number of 450 inhabitants [7]. However, due to the religious wars in the second half of the 16th century, this industry vanished in Heist and during the 17th and the first part of the 18th century no active fishermen were reported in this village. With the help of the Austrian government however, the fishing sector in Heist slowly recovered from the second part of the 18th century on [8].This time around, the village focused on fresh fishery with small boats, close to the shore [7].In 1800, 4 of these vessels were counted in Heist. The fleet subsequently grew steadily over the course of the 19th century and in 1905, 60 boats and 234 fishermen were reported [9] (see also graph 1 and 2).In 1901, Heist even got its own fish auction. The construction and inauguration of the port of Zeebrugge in 1906 eventually halted this flourishing period: more and more ships left Heist for Zeebrugge and after only five years, the Heist fish auction lost its purpose [8] [10]. Eventually, all ships from this town relocated to Zeebrugge. As a result, the typical flat bottomed vessels disappeared in favor of faster ships with keels [6].
- Fig.1. and 2. Part of the Heist fishing fleet, moored on the beach (Source: Dekeyzer, 1969).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roegiers, B.; Platteau, J.; Van Bogaert, T.; Van Gijseghem, D.; Bekaert, K.; De Bruyne, S.; Delbare, D.; Depestele, J.; Lescrauwaet, A.-K.; Moreau, K.; Polet, H.; Robbens, J.; Vandamme, S.; Van Hoey, G.; Verschueren, B. (2013). VIRA Visserijrapport 2012 Departement Landbouw en Visserij: Brussel. 98 pp.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lescrauwaet, A.-K. (2013). Belgian fisheries: ten decades, seven seas, forty species: Historical time-series to reconstruct landings, catches, fleet and fishing areas from 1900. PhD Thesis. Ghent University (UGent): Gent. xiii, 242 pp.
- ↑ Anon. (2008). Strategische Milieubeoordeling van het Nationaal Operationeel Plan voor de Belgische visserijsector, 2007 - 2013. ILVO Visserij: Oostende. 103 pp.
- ↑ Lescrauwaet, A.-K.; Debergh, H.; Vincx, M.; Mees, J. (2010). Fishing in the past: Historical data on sea fisheries landings in Belgium. Mar. Policy 34(6): 1279-1289. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2010.05.006
- ↑ Anon. (2011). Europees Visserijfonds (EVF). AS 4: ontwikkelingsstrategie voor het Belgisch kustgebied. Europees Visserijfonds: [s.l.. 33 pp.]
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Larbouillat, J. (1974). De zeevisserij te Heist. Heemkundig Museum Sincfala: Knokke-Heist. 1-80 pp.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 ‘Evolutie van strand- en kustvisserij’ Sincfala – Museum van de Zwinstreek, consulted on february 19th, 2014.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Devent, G. (1989). De Vlaamse zeevisserij. Marc Van de Wiele: Brugge. ISBN 90-6966-061-X. 208 pp.
- ↑ Desnerck, G.; Desnerck, R. (1974). Vlaamse visserij en vissersvaartuigen: 1. De havens. Gaston Desnerck: Oostduinkerke. 256 pp.
- ↑ Hovart, P. (1994). 150 jaar zeevisserijbeheer 1830-1980: een analyse van normatieve bronnen. Mededelingen van het Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij (CLO Gent), 235. Rijksstation voor Zeevisserij: Oostende. 317 pp.
