The size of the crew and the armament were also the object of regulation, which was all the more necessary in those times of war.
A “Noortsvaerder” of 70 to 80 lasts, and a “bush” of more than 24 lasts, ought to carry at least two “gotelingen” (small cannon). These guns are still to be seen in many old engravings. Nor was bravery lacking among the fishermen. M. DE JONGE (Vol. I, p. 182) gives an example of this in relating the meeting of an English craft with fishermen from Vlieland between the Skagerrack and the Doggersbank:
Scarcely had they come near each other when the English began throwing stones, for lack of other weapons. The Dutch answered by throwing fire wood, but this innocent fighting became a bore to the Hollanders. “They grappled the enemy’s boat, jumped on board of it, carry their knives in their mouths and, headed by their valiant steersman, Jonge Kees, drove the English down into the hold, which they nailed up, and returned triumphantly with their little boat to Amsterdam where a gold medal was offered to the brave leader and where the crew received the captured boat and other rewards”.
Our fishing fleet went very much to pieces toward the end of the XVIIIth and the beginning of the XIXth centuries. Matters became still worse toward the middle of the latter. If in 1843 there were still 126 fishing boats in existence, this number fell to 93 in 1852. (KOENEN, p. 156.) But a revival took place toward the end of the XIXth century and in 1905 there were again 724 vessels in our fleet. The upward start began in 1891, as shown in the table given further on. The great improvement in means of communication increased the demand for fish as a popular article of food, (See the Inaugural Address of Professor E. Vosnack at Delft; Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant. October 11, 1906, first sheet, A.) while more careful packing in ice now allows fish to be carried to much more distant points.
This is why the cod and haddock fisheries have been taken up here with renewed ardor (A. HOOGENDIJK, de Grootvisscherij, 1895, p. 47) and the trade has become more lucrative by combining it with the herring fishery.
The herring fishery requires rather a small boat, as the latter should not pull too hard on the nets. Winter fishing requires, on the other hand, a strong fast boat, as it has to be on duty in all weathers.
Hence it follows that, in order to combine both, a new type of boat, able to satisfy these discordant conditions, has become a necessity and the old types in use are doomed, naturally, to disappear. The faster the boat, the greater the number of trips and the fresher the fish brought back.
Countries which are rich in fish can be visited with fast vessels and it is not to be wondered at that steamboats should be put into use in our country, just as in England, after the “loggers” (luggers), “Kotters” (cutters) and “sloepen” (sloops) which had preceded them. The first steam fishing craft appeared in 1897, and since then the number of these vessels has steadily increased.
The English fishing fleet has now not less than 1600 steamboats for deep sea fishing.