At the heart we are small scale inshore fishermen, fishing on the Dutch Wadden Sea and the adjacent North Sea beaches. The area is a UNESCO world heritage site and a European Natura2000 nature reserve. In the intertidal zones we fish for seabass and grey mullet with gillnets and along the shore we use fyke nets to fish for eel and crab. At low tide we hand pick oysters from wild oyster banks. As well as catching fish, we also buy and sell fish from colleagues who share the philosophy of 'Goede Vissers', an initiative of fishermen towards shorter, transparent trade chains for responsibly caught fish. In the weekends we sell fish at the organic farmers markets in Utrecht and in Amsterdam, and we deliver fresh fish to restaurants that support ‘Goede Vissers’. Every week we deliver fish and oysters to selected traders in Zürich (Switzerland) and Berlin and Bremen (Germany). The third branch is restaurant 't Ailand. This is a small fish restaurant at the harbour of Lauwersoog only open in the weekends. We serve local fish while informing the guests about the fisheries of the region. From 't Ailand we also take civilians out fishing to let them experience our artisanal fishery. We are actively engaged in the world wide Slow Food network and strive to incorporate the principles of good, clean and fair food in all our activities.
Organic methods: Traditional fishing methods, only wild catch
Opening oystes and selling fish at markets and events
Fish smoking, processing, filleting, making sops and bouillions
Certifications: Waddengold certified traditional fisheries. Wid catch!
Type of work: We aim to connect people with the sea by serving fresh regional catch, telling the stories of fishermen, emptying our fuke nets with guests, taking people out to sea, or let them watch wonderful plancton under the microscope.
Our newest project is a traditional fishing boat from 1903, specifically built for the salmon fishery. With that boat we want to tell the story of the river Rhine, migratory fish species and the historical importance of salmon for the ecosystem, as a source of good protein and as part of Dutch culture and economy.
We are also continuously improving our equipment for plancton watching and for fishing with guests. WWOOFers are very welcome to help us realise those improvements.
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Learning opportunities
Aquaculture
Vegetable or fruit preservation
