Fisheries and the First World War
*Herring saved our lives*
Brecht Demasure
For a lo n g tim e , the sup ply o f food to
occupied Belgium and the developm ents in
agriculture were a neglected aspect of
historiography of the First W orld War.
Although this has recently changed, it is
strik in g th a t little or no attention is paid to
the fishing industry. Yet fisheries can be
com plem entary to agriculture, p a rticularly in
tim es o f im m inent food shortage. Nearly the
entire Belgian fishing fleet left the country in
October 1914. The fisherm en who stayed
behind succeeded in m e e tin g th e local needs
under d iffic u lt circumstances. For refugee
fisherm en the w ar period was anything but
wasted. They continued th e ir activities
operating from British, French and Dutch
ports. In this article we investigate to what
degree the First W orld War was a tu rn in g
point for sea fisheries. Was herring fishing
crucial to the survival of the civilian
population, as was the case in the Second
W orld War (in other words: Did herring save
our lives)? Were fisherm en able to get back
to w ork in Belgium after WWI? And w hat role
did the seaside resort o f Ostend play?
Traditional sailing ships in the Ostend harbour at the end o f the 19th century
(Private collection}
Sea fisheries on
the eve of the war
The decade prior to the start o f the First
W orld War was a favourable period fo r the
fishing industry. The average purchasing
power was increasing in Western Europe
and transp ort to consum ption centres was
im proving noticeably. The growth o f the
fishing in du stry was based on a spectacular
technical evolution. In the last qu arter of
the nineteenth century, the fishing industry
underwent rapid developm ent thanks to the
use of ice to preserve fish (1874) and the
introduction o f steam fish in g boats (1884).
The use o f ice extended food life and made
longer fishing trip s possible. Steam fishing
boats were soon adopted in Belgium thanks
to the intensive fish trade between Belgium
and Britain.
Ostend was the principal fish in g port
on the Belgian coast. In 1885 the Société
Anonym e des Pêcheries Ostendaises was
established spe cifically for operating steam
traw lers. W ealthy investors from Brussels
enabled substantial investm ents, w hile the
introduction o f steam ships opened up new
90
De Panne had a fishing fleet but no harbour. Boats were stranded at lo w tide during the
First W orld W ar as well. Picture taken by Belgian Queen Elisabeth on 7 July 1916 (Albert en
Elisabeth 1914-1918: albums van de koningin, 1984, cat. N °: S./VI. 389, p. 66)
VLIZ
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Com position o f the Belgian fls h in g fle e t on 31 December 1913
(ARA, M arine A ffa irs A dm inistra tion, N° 8102: m em orandum to M. Hostie, 8 A ug ust 1919)
Port
Sailing boats
Sloops
Steam trawlers
Ostend
140
149
29
Blankenberge
60
3
-
Nieuwpoort
28
5
-
Oostduinkerke
16
2
-
Heist
68
-
-
Koksijde
8
1
-
De Panne
88
-
-
Zeebrugge
20
-
-
Total
428
160
29
perspectives w ith regard to fleet structure
and fish in g grounds. The sh ip b u ild in g
in du stry adapted to this new situa tion : steel
ships replaced wooden vessels. And the
tra d itio n a l sa ilin g s h ip s th a t had dom inated
fish in g un til 1875 gradually disappeared.
This is clearly illustrate d by the evolution
o f trade in the Ostend fish m arket. In 1890
steam boats accounted for 15% o f the to ta l
value o f landings (worth 3,749,000 Belgian
franc or approx 95,000 EUR in tod ay’s
money). By 1910 this figure had increased
to 58% o f a to ta l value o f 4,396,000 Belgian
franc. Thanks to steam boats, Ostend was
able to compete w ith northern French
fish in g ports such as Dunkirk and Calais.
Fishing com m unities from the Belgian west
coast provided crews for French vessels on
account o f the low wages and th e ir extensive
expertise. Besides Ostend, every coastal
town had its own sm all fish in g fleet (see
table). The boats were som etim es moored on
the beach and were operated by a fisherman
and his close relatives. Especially those
fisherm en who did not m odernise had a hard
tim e o f it. They often supplem ented th e ir
income from running an inn or a shop.
When the war broke out in August 1914,
the Belgian fish in g fleet responded in various
ways. M ost fisherm en chose to flee abroad,
ta kin g only th e ir relatives and some personal
belongings w ith them. Fishermen who had
larger vessels helped w ith the evacuation of
Belgian refugees. Others, especially those
in De Panne, chose or were forced to stay at
least un til 1916-1917.
The German declaration o f war affected
the food sup ply straightaway. The Belgian
authorities im m ediately banned the export
o f foodstuffs. Food prices rose considerably
as a result o f hoarding by the population.
Non-perishable foo dstuffs were particularly
sought after. By contrast, fish prices declined
sharply. Ostend, a m ajor m arket for the
export o f fishery products, saw its export
VLIZ
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vanish com pletely so tha t prices in the fish
m arket dropped system atically. Due to the
closure o f the borders, entire trainloads
even had to return to the Belgian coast in
the sum m er heat. Furthermore, the dom estic
market was already saturated. The demand
for more expensive fish dropped in the first
week after the German invasion: the price
of tu rb o t declined from 3.5 Belgian franc to
0.2 Belgian franc per kilogram m e and the
price o f sole fe ll from 200 Belgian franc to 36
Belgian franc per kilogramme.
Refugee fishermen
A ll fisherm en who had a seaw orthy
boat fled abroad from the autum n of
1914 onwards. France, England and the
Netherlands were the m ost popular
destinations. A few fisherm en even went
all the way to the Belgian Congo. The
refugee fisherm en were soon given a fishing
licence in th e ir new home port. To protect
them du rin g the war, the M arine A ffairs
A dm inistration created a war-risk insurance
fund for fisherm en in Septem ber 1917. The
fund was intended to provide insurance for
the Belgian fishing fleet and the fam ilies
o f fisherm en in case o f accidents or other
incidents resu ltin g from the war.
The Netherlands
Im m ediately after the start o f the war,
Zeelandic Flanders was overrun by Belgian
refugees. Two boats of the Belgian Telegraaf
company, accompanied by numerous mussel
boats carrying refugees from Antwerp and
Mechelen, arrived in Bruinisse du rin g the
first week o f Septem ber 1914. Fishermen
from the Scheldt area, e.g. from Temse and
Baasrode, also fled to the Netherlands.
Due to the reception problems in Zeelandic
Flanders, m any Belgians continued to
Rotterdam or Amsterdam . Nearly 720,000
Belgian refugees had arrived in the
Netherlands by O ctober 1914. This situation
did not last long, however. Already in
November 1914 large numbers o f Belgians
returned home. The w a rring parties had
gotten bogged down in a bloody trench war
and the Germans threatened to confiscate
property.
The fishermen from Heist and Zeebrugge fled to Zierikzee in Zeelandic Flanders in the spring
o f 1915, as d id Eugène Vlietinck on H 36 (Schot, Vlaamse vissers ais vluchtelingen, p .Z ó .j
91
Ostend and sea fisheries during the First W orld W ar
From the end of September 1914 onwards, nearly all Ostend
fishermen fled abroad, not just for fear of the German arm y but also
for fear their fishing activities would be severely disrupted. They
were right: the Germans banned any form of fishing on 22 O ctober
1914. They were suspicious of fishing vessels that wanted to enter
port and opened fire at the slightest pretence. Although many ships
and boats had been taken abroad, 33 vessels stayed behind in
Ostend. The majority were small shrimpers and sloops that could
only be used for inshore fishing. In March 1915 the German
authorities ordered all boats to be collected and transferred to a
shed. In other words, it did not seem like a lot of fishing would take
place during the war.
Lijiwgseto i Opppsst ! j
R i- í i j f l
The fish caught by Ostend fishermen were a welcome supplement to
the inadequate food supply. Potatoes, beans, bacon, rice and bread
were the staple foods. The caught fish could only be sold in the fish
market. The first official sale during the occupation took place on
21 M a y 1 9 1 5 . Fish was rationed so that every household got the
opportunity to buy some. A fam ily with two children, for instance,
was entitled to two large and two small soles. The gross sales were
modest: 108 Belgian franc on the first day. Sales in the fish market
quickly increased afterwards, so that values of 60 0 Belgian franc
were no exception anymore. To regulate trade in the fish market, the
local authorities drew up several decrees. For example, only holders
of a municipal bread ration card were allow ed to purchase fish.
To prevent sale at exorbitant prices, passing on or reselling family
bread ration cards to fishmongers was strictly forbidden.
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Yet a few brave Ostend fishermen secretly began to fish in an
abandoned dock, since the food shortage caused the demand
for fish among consumers to rise. Fishmongers were eager to buy
up the fish. Remarkably enough, the Germans tolerated these
spontaneous fish sales. Subsequently, M ayor Liebaert successfully
entered into negotiations with the Ortskommandant to resume
inshore fishing. Eventually, fifteen small boats were permitted to
fish just outside the harbour channel in M a y 1915. They had
to stay hidden from the French coastal batteries on the front in
Nieuwpoort. W hen the Germans had a fishery protection vessel an abandoned and converted motorboat - at their disposal, several
sloops were allowed to leave port under German surveillance.
However, fishermen needed to have a Schein (licence) issued by the
Oberkommandantur (Supreme Command) in Bruges.
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I Recreational fishing was strictly controlled by the German occupiers.
Heavy fines were imposed on fishing without a permit
(De Vooruit,04-07-1915}
Although the fish caught was intended for supplying food to the
local population, German officers sometimes tried to get a piece
of the pie. In addition to difficulties with the Germans, fishermen
also faced common problems such as storms and accidents.
Remarkably enough, the German fishery protection vessel often
rescued unfortunate fishermen from drowning. After a few incidents,
25 fishing boats were allow ed to leave port every day. These small
boats were seaworthy in calm weather and as long as they stayed
close to the coast. But in foul weather the thirst for money sometimes
prevailed over common sense. N o less than seven boats sunk and
nine fishermen lost their lives off Ostend during the storm of 23
December 1916.
The amount of caught fish steadily grew, as did the da ily trade in the
fish market. Values of over 1000 Belgian franc were no exception. A
peak of 3 7 0 0 Belgian franc was even reached in December 1916
thanks to the supply of fresh sprat. O f course, inflation also played
a role in this. Fishing threatened to become the victim of its own
success. A regulation by the Kommandantur (commander's office)
curbed the exorbitant prices. For instance, the maximum price for
sprat was fixed at 0 .2 5 Belgian franc per kilogramme and for shrimp
this was 0 .9 0 Belgian franc. Fish market staff saw to it that fish was
only sold in the fish market. Such provisions indicate that the fish
trade was increasingly regulated. Towards the end of the war, the
German occupiers took ever stricter measures such as confiscating
all fish caught, since Germany increasingly faced problems with the
food supply of their troops. The harbour channel was completely
blocked on 6 O ctober 1918. Fishing only became possible again
after the armistice of 1 1 November.
I Fishermen fled with their families from Bassin d'Echouage, the
current M ontgom ery Dock in Ostend (Freddy Philips, 1 4 /1 8 op
Zee, 20 13 )
92
VLIZ ' DE G R O TE REDE
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De Roos - a wooden shrimper built in 1912 - is moored a t the pier in Nieuwpoort. This w a y the ship could leave the harbour quickly. The nets
are drying after fishing (Collection o f Daniel Moeyaert)
Belgian fis h in g boats in B ritish p o rts in 1917 (ARA, M arine A ffairs A dm inistra tion, N° 7921:
Annex to ‘ S itu a tio n de la flo title de pêche b e ig e ’ , 1917).
Port
Sailing boats
Sloops
Total
Lowestoft
43
8
51
Ramsgate
38
-
38
Rochester
4
-
4
Gravesend
3
-
3
Folkestone
-
14
14
Rye
10
1
11
Brlxham
5
-
5
Swansea
4
-
4
M ilford Flaven
31
-
31
Total
138
23
161
VLIZ
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In late November 1914, the British-French
fleet shelled the ports o f Zeebrugge and
Fielst. A great deal o f harbour facilities were
hit and destroyed. The Inhabitants of these
coastal towns were advised to leave the ir
homes and relocate. Fishermen from Fielst
and Zeebrugge first went to the Dutch towns
o f Philippine and Cadzand, h o p ln g to be able
to fish In the W estern Scheldt estuary. In late
A pril 1915, the Germans told them they had
to leave the W estern Scheldt, whereupon
the Fielst and Zeebrugge fishermen moved
northw ard to Zlerlkzee.
No less than 72 Belgian fishing boats
arrived In this Zeeland coastal town In April
1915, carrying 325 adults and 173 children.
The fisherm en lived w ith th e ir fam ilies on
th e ir boats for a w hile. There was a pressing
need for housing In Zlerlkzee. It was not un til
A pril 1916 that the first wooden houses were
ready for the Belgians. By tha t tim e, many
fisherm en’s fam ilies were housed In private
houses and warehouses. The presence o f a
large num ber of fisherm en’s children made
the establishm ent o f a separate school
In Zlerlkzee necessary. Nearly all Belgian
fishermen brought th e ir catch on the m arket
In Zlerlkzee. A few of them also supplied the
m arkets o f Breskens and Vllsslngen. The
most targeted species In 1916 and 1917 were
sprat, herring and shrim p. Shrimp peeling
plants were founded where fisherm en’s
wives could be em ployed. Belgian fishermen
continued to sail under the Belgian flag
and m arkings fo r a long tim e. This was
93
English-language media urged the populati­
on not to waste food. Fishermen were depicted
as heroes [Canadian W ar Museum).
dangerous, as they also ventured out of
the Dutch te rrito ria l waters. For instance, a
German subm arine sank a Heist fish in g boat
in August 1915. From then on the Belgian
fish in g fleet sailed under the Dutch fla g and
m arkings.
Britain and France
A fter the start o f the war, France and
England received a lot o f Belgian fisherm en
as well. Due to various circumstances they
were not all able to keep on fishing. Ships
were commandeered, lost at sea or used
for spare parts. Fishing boat crews were
som etim es forced to w ork in shipyards
in Scotland. Fishing sloops th a t moored
in Britain were allocated certain fishing
grounds by the local m aritim e authorities.
Belgian sailin g boats and sloops that were
not o f m ilita ry im portance were spread
over the British ports (see Table p.93). By
contrast, steam traw lers operated from the
m inor ports of Lowestoft, M ilford Flaven and
Fleetwood.
The Belgian boats th a t were tem porarily
based at M ilfo rd Flaven sailed under the
Belgian fla g and were equipped w ith guns.
Just like the British fishing vessels, the
Belgian fisherm en needed a licence issued
by the British Board of A griculture and
Fisheries. In case o f attack, Belgian fishing
vessels had to raise the British fla g and
the crew had to put on the uniform o f the
British Royal Navy so th a t they w ould not
be considered francs-tireurs. The sm ooth
deploym ent of Belgian steam boats in British
94
Some Ostend fishermen fled to France during the w ar (1915)
(De Plate 20 04 , p. 169)
offshore fish in g is dem onstrated by the
sales figures fo r M ilford Flaven, Swansea and
Fleetwood. From Septem ber to December
1914, Belgian steam traw lers achieved a
turnover o f 20,907 pound sterling. In 1915
and 1916 this figure had risen to 148,610 and
258,054 pound ste rlin g respectively. The
figures for 1917 are not available, but the
turnover fo r 1918 is estim ated at 870,442
pound sterling.
Overall, living conditions for fisherm en
were be tte r in Britain than in Belgium. Wage
growth outpaced the increase in food prices.
The proxim ity of the fishing grounds enabled
fisherm en to make longer fishing trips as
w e ll as to spend more tim e on shore w ith
th e ir wives and children. Although the
Belgian fisherm en form ed a separate social
group in each port, the British government
did not leave them to fend for themselves.
The local authorities set up a general and
vocational education system tog ether w ith
the Belgians. And it was possible to take
exams for captain, lieutenant and mechanic.
Flowever, not everything went smoothly.
Occasionally there was friction between the
English and the Belgians in M ilfo rd Flaven,
since form er com petitors were now forced to
live side by side for a w hile. The authorities
threatened w ith severe punishm ent.
Fishermen who went too far were sent back
to Belgium or, in the w orst case, to the front.
The Belgian fisherm en who had fled to
France were divided in to three groups, each
supervised by a Belgian m aritim e
commissioner. The first group operated from
Calais, Boulogne, Gravelines and Dunkirk,
and had about sixty sailin g boats. The
second zone was located near Dieppe, where
approx 90 fish in g vessels were spread over
the ports o f Le Tréport, Dieppe and Fécamp.
The th ird and final group o f Belgian
fisherm en had fled to the Normandy coast. A
to ta l o f 20 vessels operated from Le Flavre,
VLIZ
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TrouvUle, Honfleur and Port-en-Bessin. The
aim was to m aintain these numbers
throu gh ou t the war. The movements of the
Belgian fish in g fleet based in French ports
were more s tric tly regulated than in the case
o f British ports. The French adm inistration
was less inclined to issue licences, pa rtly for
fear o f Belgian com petition.
Belgian fisherm en continued to practise
th e ir trade in France and Britain. Sometimes
they actively too k part in the war. Some of
them were involved in provisioning the
Belgian troops. Occasionally, the fishing
boats also perform ed support tasks such as
clearing mines or escorting submarines.
Several steam traw lers were even armed.
These ships served as coast guard vessels
and engaged w ith German U-boats. Belgian
crews rescued shipwrecked British sailors on
various occasions, often in d iffic u lt and
dangerous circumstances. As a token of
gratitude, the Belgian rescuers and crews
were given an engraved silver cup as w e ll as
a m onetary rem uneration. The Distinguished
Service Cross was awarded for exceptional
gallantry.
Fishermen who suffered damage,
irrespective o f th e ir active participation in
m ilita ry operations, could apply for
com pensation. To this end, the captain o f a
sunk ship subm itted a form w ith a detailed
description o f the circumstances. The
shipm aster and his (surviving) crew then
appeared before a com m ittee tha t assessed
the m atter and decided w hether the
shipm aster was eligible for compensation.
The fishing industry after the war
The fisherm en who had fled abroad were
greatly affected by the war. No less than 74
o f them lost th e ir lives. The fleet registered
before the war lost 7 steam boats and 125
s ailin g boats. Over 60% o f losses was caused
by the enemy: 77 sailin g boats were sunk by
gunfire or torpedoes, or struck a naval mine.
A to ta l of 21 sailin g boats sank because of
the weather conditions. Thirteen vessels
were lost durin g the occupation of Belgian
ports or were towed away by the Germans.
Finally, fourteen sailin g boats were sunk by
the Allies. A ll stricken steam traw lers sank
durin g combat at sea.
The first steam traw ler returned to Ostend
in December 1918. The ship was loaded w ith
fish, a g ift from the refugee fisherm en in
M ilford Flaven to the residents o f Ostend.
The British Royal Navy had granted special
passage to the steam ship, given the
numerous m inefields in the English Channel.
A ll sailin g sloops that had fled returned
in the course of 1919. The steam traw lers
were more hesitant about going back to the
Belgian coast, as fish prices were a lot higher
in England than in the devastated homeland.
Moreover, the operating costs were high in
Belgium due to a lack o f m aterials and the
destruction o f the harbour facilities. The
dom estic demand for fish was low, on the
other hand, as the population had become
VLIZ
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Immediately after the war, free fish was distri­
buted among the hungry population in Ostend
(Archives o f the M arine Affairs Administration,
N ° 7921}
im poverished. Belgian steam trawlers
continued to operate from British ports up
to the end o f 1919. It was not un til 1920 that
the Belgian fishing fleet was up to strength
again, although its com position was different
than in 1914.
The problem s resu ltin g from the war
damage to fish in g boats continued until
the early 1920s. The Belgian legislator
established a special arb itratio n com m ittee
for war damage done to fishing vessels
at sea. Its express assignm ent was to
investigate the damage to fishing boats
caused by the w ar in Belgian or international
waters. The Comm ittee was founded because
many problems could not be dealt w ith
w ith in the norm al scope of the w ar damage
courts.
The First W orld War had diverse effects on
sea fisheries. Capital was not lacking after
the war, since considerable reserves had
been b u ilt up from 1914 to 1918 and sales in
the fish m arket were high from 1922-1923
onwards (taking in to account post-war
in flatio n). In ad dition, Brussels financiers
invested a great deal in the expansion
o f the fishing fleet and in steamers. For
example, Ostend saw the foundation o f six
new steam ship companies between 1919
and 1923, includ in g SA Pêcheries à Vapeur
du Congo. A to ta l o f 31 steam traw lers,
104 sailin g sloops and a large num ber of
shrim pers operated o ff Ostend in 1920.
Individual fisherm en had also accumulated
a nest egg durin g the war and became the
proud owners o f th e ir own sloops. Some
switched over to the internal com bustion
engine or even to high-sea fish in g (in
Icelandic fishing grounds) after the war.
The m igration of Belgian fisherm en to
the French Channel ports and the British
west coast also had several technical
consequences fo r the fish in g industry.
M ooring shrim pers on the beach, as had
been the custom in De Panne, was fina lly
abandoned. Smacks w ith a m anoeuvrable
steel hu ll replaced the old sailin g sloops.
Tonnage and length increased, and com fort
on board improved. W ireless telegraphy
and the first refrigeration systems were
introduced. Furthermore, the em igrant
fisherm en had explored new fish in g grounds
in St George’s Channel, the Bristol Channel
and the Irish Sea from th e ir new home ports.
They continued to visit these fish in g grounds
after 1918 as w ell, which resulted in large
catches.
Fishing boats lay neglected at the M aritim e Station in Ostend at the end o f W W I; picture
taken in 1919 (VLIZ, w w w .vliz.be (wetenschatten}}
95
N V Oostendsche Reederij was established on 1 O ctober 1921 thanks to investments from socialist circles. 0 .1 4 9 - Emiel Vandervelde was part
o f the 'Red Fleet' (Daman en Jansoone, Oostende na 1918, 63.}
M any fisherm en who returned home
had changed mentally. During the war,
they had not ju st been prom oted to brave
warriors, they had also come Into contact
w ith the m ilita n t British trade unions for
fisherm en and sailors. They brought these
‘revo lu tiona ry’ Ideas w ith them to Belgium,
much to the anger o f the large tra d itio n a l
shipowners, who wished to keep on
Im posing the same w o rking conditions after
the war, w hile fisherm en wanted to Improve
th e ir situa tion . On 15 June 1920 a general
strike broke out tha t w ould last u n til October.
The social struggle was especially Intense In
the socialist bulw ark o f Ostend: the socialist
movement even created the so-called ‘red
fle e t’ , N VO ostendsche Reederij, In 1921. The
shipowners eventually made concessions
w ith regard to wages.
Sources
Belgian General State Archives, Archives o f th e General
State Archives, N° 7921: Zeevisserij. Verslagen over
toestand Belgische vissers in Engeland, 1915-1918.
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