Decline of the North Sea fishing industry felt on shore

This is revealed by new monitoring carried out by Wageningen Social & Economic Research on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN).

The regions along the Wadden coast, the northern tip of North Holland and southwest Netherlands were hit hardest in 2022 and 2023. The closure of fish auctions, the decommissioning of cutters, and uncertainty surrounding fishing permits in nature conservation areas all played a major role. In Den Helder, the local fish auction - an economic anchor for the port for decades - closed in 2022.

At the same time, some regions have managed to reposition themselves. Companies in IJmuiden, Katwijk–Scheveningen and Urk reported relatively stable or even slightly rising revenues. This is largely due to a shift from North Sea catches to processed imports, especially Norwegian salmon and tropical shrimp from Asia. Of all fish processed in the Netherlands, only 14% (by weight) now originates from the North Sea or from Dutch fisheries and aquaculture businesses.

Foreign-flagged fishing vessels also land their catches in Dutch ports. These vessels, though sailing under foreign flags, are often owned by Dutch fishing families. Even if their landings are counted as Dutch production, the country’s dependence on its own fisheries remains limited at just 21%, meaning that 79% of all fish processed in the Netherlands comes from imports.

This declining dependence is the result of a sustained drop in economic performance in the fishing sector (as reported in Visserij in Cijfers 2025) since 2016, along with broader market trends and policy measures such as the cutter decommissioning scheme, Brexit, nitrogen regulations, and the expansion of offshore wind farms. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging through energy and innovation subsidies, which are creating work for suppliers such as shipyards involved in refitting and making vessels more sustainable.

“Many shore-based companies within the fisheries clusters have shown agility and entrepreneurship,” says researcher Geert Hoekstra. “But without support, there is a real risk of losing essential functions in fishing ports and regions. Fish auctions and fisheries cooperatives are particularly vulnerable, as they depend heavily on North Sea landings.”

To address this, the Ministry of LVVN made €30 million available in 2024 for the Fisheries Development Plan (VOP). The plan aims to help shore-based businesses in the fish value chain adapt to a more international and innovative future.