Norfish 02 Dutch Herring Fisheries 1512–1790

The Dutch fleet was one of the primary operators in this industry together with the English, French, Danish, Flemish and Spanish fleets. At certain points in this period, the Dutch fleet could be considered to be the largest in terms of landings.

The technologies, equipment and methodologies employed by the Dutch were relatively advanced compared with other fleets in very general terms, enabling them to be consistently productive and capable in economic terms.The Dutch Herring Fishery thrived from the beginning of the 16th Century. However, there is a lacuna of information in terms of actual landings, catches and effort spent until records are available from 1580 onwards.