It’s early in the morning when the trucks of local fishmongers and large wholesalers of fish pull in to Scheveningen’s port. Scheveningen was actually used in WW2 as a password in order to identify German spies, being a word near impossible to pronounce for a non-native Dutch speaker. Here’s some authentic footage of that:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWmMxzTKlcw]
Back at the auction: Friday is usually a busy day, many ships are unloading their catch of the week. The fish auction starts almost simultaneously, the men look around to estimate the quality of today’s harvest and make their lists. At seven o’clock, the auctioneer gives the go ahead. The clock starts ticking and the game begins. Bidding for the best price requires concentration. The whole process takes up a small chunk of the morning to guarantee the luxury of being able to buy fresh fish every single day.
Yeah, it’s pretty Dutch.
Photo’s by Thomas VandenHecke (made possible by Vishandel Verheij & Zoon)
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