Seebad Ahlbeck. 6 o'clock in the morning. The wind carries a soft chug of an engine across the water. The closer it gets, the louder the screeching of the seagulls gets. They circle the boat in swarms to fight over the fish bites.
The flat wooden cutters, which have their anchorage against the backdrop of the Ahlbeck pier, almost make it to the water's edge. With strength and yelling, tractors pull the boats backwards onto the soft sand. They have been part of the familiar image of the imperial spas for many generations, although a main occupation has become a traditional business. There used to be countless boats waiting every morning for the hard-working fishermen to take them out to haul in the nets with the little red flags. The bellies of the sand cutters were once filled to the brim with the silver of the Baltic Sea: the herring.
While there were still 1932 professional fishermen in Pomerania in 7.305, today there are only 270 along the Baltic Sea coast from Flensburg to Ahlbeck. Shortly before reunification, 65 fishermen were still fishing in the imperial baths on the Baltic Sea, today you can count the local professional fishermen on two fingers. Overfishing, catch quotas and fish imports ultimately led to the containment of the profession.
But these fishermen can still be seen today, dressed in oilskins, troyers and caps, pulling the sparkling herrings out of the nets and selling the freshly caught fish directly from the cutter. You can listen to their stories and the hope of maintaining their traditional profession for as long as possible.
Even the name of the place - Heringsdorf - goes back to the tradition of fishing: In the official gazette of the royal government in Stettin of July 31, 1820, the place name was officially mentioned for the first time. But even before that, the colony's fishermen caught the herring that swarmed past the island. As a result, head forester Georg Bernhard von Bülow, the founding father of the community, set up a herring packing plant. This wanted 1820 by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. be visited. However, the founding of a new town had to be registered with a proposal for a name settlement. Based on this omission, a solution had to be found quickly. So it was a good thing that Princes Wilhelm and Carl traveled to the new colony the day before their father. They are said to have given the town the name “Heringsdorff”, as von Bülow writes in the advertisement for the place name application. It's a good thing that the name plaque was set up the following day when the king visited Heringsdorf. How did von Bülow manage to do it so quickly?
Fishing is not only essential for the region and its locals, but also for the destination and its guests. Or would you want to do without the typically delicious fish sandwich? The traditional way of fishing with nets and little flags could not be more sustainable. In relation to industrial fishing, it is the regional procurement, the low catch numbers and responsible fishing that make up the traditional fishing in the Baltic Sea. But today many fishing boats have disappeared from the beach of the imperial baths. A large piece of tradition has already gone under.
The fishing profession will soon disappear like a cutter on the horizon. The failure is by no means due to the love of the sea or the hard work, but rather to aging, a lack of young people and restrictions. Tradition is in crisis, and has been for a long time. With ever lower catch quotas, the traditional fishermen's guild is now more than threatened, ultimately it is on the verge of extinction. And with it a piece of history that once founded the imperial baths as such.
When the old ship's diesel starts to roar, then it's off to the Baltic Sea. There aren't many commercial fishermen left, but those are still sea-sick. Once a job with a future, today almost nothing but tradition. In particular, the silver of gold, the herring, has always been the bread fish of our local fishermen. But in addition to Matjes & Co. other fish also gets between the rolls and on the plate. And we hope it stays that way for a long time.
Even though he looks like a snake, he's a fish. In the months of June to October, the eel, which can be up to 150 centimeters long and weigh up to 6 kilograms, comes into the traps and onto the plate.
The bream is also called lead because of its silvery-grey coloration. Due to the high reproduction rate, it is not one of the endangered fish species. With its impressive weight of up to 9 kilograms, the bream occurs all year round, but it only spawns from April to June and likes to do so near the shore.
The leopard among the fish. Not because of its speed, but because of the marbling. The cod can reach an impressive length of up to two meters, which makes it a feared hunter for small fish.
"Flat as a flounder" - the phrase already reveals what is probably the most distinctive characteristic of the fish. But the flatfish can do even more: the flounder is the chameleon among the fish of the Baltic Sea. He likes to make himself comfortable on the seabed, ideal that he can adapt his color to the conditions - and his pair of eyes are on one side of his body.
Large, heavy and fast - the pike can reach a length of up to 150 centimeters and a weight of up to 16 kilograms, but despite this the predatory fish is able to grab its prey at lightning speed. His collapsible fangs also help him with this. Its characteristic features are the beak-like mouth and the green bones.
The fish that gave Heringsdorf its name. It used to be the so-called breadfish of the local fishermen, and it still is. When the herrings move towards shallow water in spring, it is the focus of the menu, as it is during the Usedom herring weeks. Then the silver of the sea comes classic and refined.
Unlike their close relatives, the salmon, the sea trout migrate to the rivers to spawn but later return to the sea. Since it is one of the endangered fish species, its catch is subject to closed seasons. When sea trout spawn, their scales are brown, otherwise they are silver.
Even if the plaice was not popularly known, it is in no way inferior to the flounder: When threatened, it burrows into the sandy seabed, no wonder that it can live up to 45 years.
With its special appearance, the sea hare will probably not be a scaredy-cat among the fish: it not only has pelvic fins that have been transformed into suction cups, but also bone teeth on its hump. It is not a migratory fish and is therefore rarely caught by fishermen.
Like the flounder, the turbot has mastered the game of hide-and-seek perfectly. It is also able to adapt its color to the background. But he only has this gift on one side, the side underneath appears almost white. Good that he also has his pair of eyes on his dark side.
You are currently viewing placeholder content from Vimeo. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that data will be passed on to third parties.
More information© 2024 KaiserbäderTourismusService GmbH
You are currently viewing placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that data will be passed on to third parties.
More information
