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In 1932 the Zuiderzee was closed off. The water turned fresh, and dozens of fishing villages lost their living.
The dam
Thirty-two kilometres between North Holland and Friesland, built between 1927 and 1932. The trigger was the flood of 1916.
What happened to the fish
Anchovy, herring and shrimp vanished within a few years: saltwater fish cannot live in fresh water. Eel and pike-perch took their place, in smaller numbers.
The villages
Volendam, Marken, Monnickendam, Urk and Enkhuizen lived by fishing. Some turned to tourism, others to processing fish brought from elsewhere.
Urk as the exception
Urk moved its fleet to the North Sea and grew into one of the largest fish processing centres in Europe. Before that it was an island in the Zuiderzee.
The smokehouses stayed
Eel smokehouses on the IJsselmeer still work, with fish from elsewhere. The craft outlived the catch.
Where to look
Urk for the fleet, Volendam and Harderwijk for the smokehouses, Enkhuizen for the Zuiderzee Museum.
Where to try it
Places in our directory that serve this
Restaurant in Harderwijk 46 · Restaurant in Urk 16 · Restaurant in Monnickendam 12 · Restaurant in Enkhuizen 33