Dutch fishermen catch most of their fish in the North Sea. In state-of-the-art fishing boats called cutters, they fish for sole, plaice, cod, whiting, herring and shrimp. They use boats called trawlers to fish for herring, mackerel and horse mackerel. There are freezers in the boats where they can store their catch. The oyster and mussel farms off the coast of Zeeland and in the Waddenzee are also important, and there is cockle fishing in the Waddenzee.
Every year, the EU tells each member state how many fish it may catch. Biologists look at whether the number of fish is still above a certain minimum and tell the EU how much fishermen should be allowed to catch. That way, there are always enough fish left over.
