Prisca Visser is a photographer with a love of the outdoors and nature. For the Biesbosch Line, she regularly goes out to capture stories. She takes a look at the fish auction in Woudrichem. Fishermen from the area sailed far up the rivers and brought their catch here to auction. Prisca visits to see this history for herself.
It is one of those places you might pass by daily without thinking about it. Just inside the gates of Woudrichem stands a modest building with green doors and windows of old, puckered glass. Not just any building: this was once the fish auction, the center of the fishing industry of the "Woerkum. Fishermen from the area sailed far up the rivers, even into Germany, and brought their catch here to sell. The fish were auctioned by the old "finishing" method, with the auctioneer quoting a high price that slowly dropped until a buyer tied the knot. The amount offered echoed through the building, excitement rose, and the best fish went to the highest bidder.
Today I step into the fish market to see this history for myself. It is an early, quiet morning. A light mist hangs over the river and it is almost windless. Then I smell something familiar ... yes, that's it: fried fish! I turn the corner and see that the green doors of the fish auction are already wide open. Inside, the smell of fried gurnard hangs in the air, and in the middle of the doorway stands a sturdy trestle table. On the table is a modern scale and a large tray of freshly fried, crispy fish.
Today is a special day: the Cooperative Fishing Association 'De Hoop' fries gurnard for the whole area. They do this once a month during the winter and the residents always look forward to it. Philip, the secretary of the association, greets me with a smile and leads me to the back of the building, where frying is in full swing. It smells wonderful and it works like a well-oiled machine here. On two large gas burners are heavy cast-iron pans, in which the fish sizzle and bubble into the oil.
Curious, I ask Philip how they know when to flip the fish. After all, I don't see a cooking timer or timer anywhere, and yet every gurnard is perfectly golden brown. "It's done by feel," he explains with a wink. "As soon as the bubbles in the oil diminish, we know it's time to turn them over. That way each fish has the perfect crispy crust." Within minutes, the fish are on a tray, given a final seasoning and ready for sale.
"Here, taste it." A fish is broken into two halves for me and so quickly stripped of bones. While I enjoy the still steaming hot gurnard, Philip begins to recount the rich history of fishing in Woudrichem. "The story begins on June 3, 1362," he says, "with a special license." On that date, Dirc Loef van Horne, lord of Altena and Woudrichem, granted fishing rights to the male porters and porters' children of Woudrichem. But these rights were not available to just anyone: every fisherman had to live in Woerkum for at least a year and six weeks in order to claim them. This fishing right, recorded in historical documents, still lives on. Today the Fishing Association 'De Hoop' has over one hundred members, all fishermen who are allowed to fish the designated waters around Woudrichem.
And that fishing can be done in different ways, I soon learn. Simply casting a rod along the shore or out on the river in a boat. People used to fish for eels with traps and the river was full of fat salmon. These fish migrated from the sea up the river to spawn higher up. Fishermen had their hands full bringing these fish in. With the salmon smacks full of fat fish, they returned to Woudrichem to sell the catch at the fish auction. Philip takes me outside and introduces me to a special, traditional way of fishing: seine fishing.
A seine is a large drag net laid out in a boat in a wide circle across the river. The bottom is weighted so that the net reaches the bottom of the river. Once the net is in place, fishermen on the bank slowly pull the net toward them. Once a year, during fishing day, fishermen still demonstrate this ancient technique. The fish caught are always returned to the river. At the mouth of the Historic City Harbor, Philip shows me a row of black poles, each equipped with short side hooks. "This is where the big fishing net, or seine, is hung out to dry," he explains. "It's a place you'd walk right past if you didn't know the story."
By the time we get back to the fish market, the quiet of the morning has turned into pleasant bustle. A line of people waits patiently for their turn, and white paper bags of fish fly across the counter. Inside, spice bitters circulate, and jokes fly back and forth over the pans. Proceeds from fish sales are used to maintain the fish auction, Philip says. "It's an old building, and it regularly requires some love and attention to keep it in good condition."
He looks around for a moment at the wooden beams, the puckered glass in the windows, and the old scales hanging from the ceiling. It's not hard to imagine how things used to be, with fishermen and merchants gathering here. The atmosphere is warm, the traditions are palpable, and the smell of freshly baked gurnard lingers in the air. As I am handed another bag of fish and a friendly greeting from Philip, I realize that this is much more than just another place. It is a living piece of history, and I leave the fish auction with a head full of stories and a bag of fried gurnard as a warm memory.
The men of the Cooperative Fishing Association 'De Hoop' fry fresh fish for you on the following dates:
Saturday, November 30, 2024 from 08:30 - 12:00 am
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2024 from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday, January 25, 2025 from 08:30 - 12:00 a.m.
Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 08:30 - 12:00 a.m.
Stop by the fish auction in Woudrichem, Kerkstraat 2, and enjoy the delicious freshly baked gurnard! Combine your visit with a day in Woudrichem. On this page we have collected the best outings for you, for young and old.
Text and photos: www.priscavisser.nl. Here you will find all of Prisca's blogs.