Visit any good seafood restaurant in Belgium, and you’ll see gray shrimp on the menu. In fact, you may even be offered a bowl of these small, sweet delicacies to nibble while you decide on your main course. These days, the majority of the gray shrimp are harvested by modern fishing techniques, but there is still one place, on the Belgian coast, where you can step back in time. In the town of Oostduinkerke, in Koksijde, a small group of souwester-clad fisherman take to the frigid sea on horseback. You can watch them bring in their catch and, if you’re lucky, you can even sample a few. The fishermen drag nets behind their heavy horses, normally sturdy Belgian breeds. This form of fishing doesn’t disturb the sea floor like modern day trawling, but it is much harder work. Make sure you see this magical spectacle before it’s gone forever. For more information and a photo essay of the Shrimp Fishermen of Oostduinkerke, follow the link: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/05/shrimp-fishing-horseback-oostduinkerke-belgium/
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Shrimp Fishing on Horseback—a Belgian Tradition
Visit any good seafood restaurant in Belgium, and you’ll see gray shrimp on the menu. In fact, you may even be offered a bowl of these small, sweet delicacies to nibble while you decide on your main course. These days, the majority of the gray shrimp are harvested by modern fishing techniques, but there is still one place, on the Belgian coast, where you can step back in time. In the town of Oostduinkerke, in Koksijde, a small group of souwester-clad fisherman take to the frigid sea on horseback. You can watch them bring in their catch and, if you’re lucky, you can even sample a few. The fishermen drag nets behind their heavy horses, normally sturdy Belgian breeds. This form of fishing doesn’t disturb the sea floor like modern day trawling, but it is much harder work. Make sure you see this magical spectacle before it’s gone forever. For more information and a photo essay of the Shrimp Fishermen of Oostduinkerke, follow the link: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/05/shrimp-fishing-horseback-oostduinkerke-belgium/
