BELGIUM: The last of the horseback shrimpers vow to keep the tradition alive in Belgium

Record ID: 744645

  • Title: BELGIUM: The last of the horseback shrimpers vow to keep the tradition alive in Belgium
  • Date: 29th August 2007
  • Summary: TOURISTS STROKING A HORSE CHILDREN PLAYING IN THE WAVES CHILDREN PLAYING ON THE BEACH FISHERMEN ON HORSEDRAWN CARTS RETURNING FROM THEIR FISHING IN THE SEA
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAE7QR2VQ8T1VUB30X852CKKFBR
  • Story Text: Dressed in bright yellow overalls, the fishermen, astride their Belgian workhorses, enter the North Sea at low tide to fish for shrimps as their forefathers have done for more than 500 years.
    Traditionally, horseback fishermen worked in France, the Netherlands and Britain, but the number has dwindled to fewer than a dozen men in this tiny corner of Belgium.
    In 1500, farmers in this region would head their horses into the waves to scoop up shrimps and other bits of fish for fertilisers.
    The horses drag two large planks behind them and once in the sea, the fisherman opens these planks to reveal a net which scoops up the shrimps and any other fish lurking amid the surf.
    Fishermen use the same method today only once on the shore they are surrounded by hoards of children and adults alike clamouring for the prized shellfish.
    After throwing a few pailfuls of squirming shrimps onto the beach for the children, the fishermen rush off to their homes where they cook the shrimps while they are still alive.
    "Each fisherman has his own recipe to cook his shrimps. Normally shrimps are cooked in sea water but the fisherman on horseback cook their shrimps in fresh water, they put salt on it and also a little thing more, it's a secret of the fishermen and each fisherman has an other way to cook them and they think they have the most tasteful but they are liars: my are most tasteful!" says Eddy d'Hulster one of three old fishermen.
    D'Hulster says the farms have all disappeared from the coast line which is now dotted with buildings and tourists.
    And the tourists have put pressure on space and cost: as the coast becomes built up the fishermen can no longer farm or keep their horses nearby.
    But Oostduinkerke's tourist board supports the tradition because of its draw.
    Christiane Moncarey of the tourist board says the region is very proud of its fishermen and she is confident that enough young blood will take over from the ageing fishermen of today.
    "From day one we have to keep this tradition and we do everything to keep it and there are still men who like this type of horse and fishing to combine and they like it very much, it's really a passion for them," she says.
    Boys as young as 15 are learning the trade but the question is whether they will be able to persist.
    Another problem is to find a horse as many of them balk at the sight of the cold, harsh waves and run away.
    D'Hulster says the horses are like the men: "they don't work anymore"
    In fact they have to undergo a lot of training since most horses are afraid of the sea the first time they come close to it.
    But once a horse is found and the horse and fisherman are paired off, its for life.
    "We have about an instruction of six months to teach the horse to do good fishing. One time, the horse is good at fishing, it stays with the fisherman its whole life. It's such a love story between the horse and the fisherman. Once he has the horse which works he is married with the horse.
    Sometimes we say we like more our horses than our wife. But it's not true!"says d'Hulster.
    Despite the challenges, the fishermen are optimistic that their tradition can live on.
    D'Hulster said before heading off with his catchment for the morning: "It will stay. We will work on it. I'm sure it will be here in 3000 also."
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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