Horse anglers

The horse fishermen, unique & therefore the attraction point of Oostduinkerke, is an experience that you should not miss during your visit.

You can find all the information on the website of the Paardevissers via this link.

Who doesn't know the sympathetic horse fisherman, as he has been immortalized hundreds of times by painters, sculptors, photographers and filmmakers? The horse fishermen, perched high on their sturdy farm horses, still command everyone's admiration as they laboriously plow through the waves.

Shrimp fishing is practiced at low tide, for 2 to 3 hours. The horse fisherman in yellow oil jacket, high boots and with a sou'wester on his head, sits on a wooden saddle on his horse that drags the heavy shrimp net behind him.
Occasionally horse and fisherman come on dry land to empty the net into the baskets attached to either side of the horse.

During the months of March, April, May and September, the horse fishermen go to sea at the Schipgatduinen (St. André) and at Groenendijk. During the months on the calendar, they depart from Astridplein. Then this secondary profession regains the value of an age-old tradition. In December 2013, shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke was added by UNESCO to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.