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The story of the Ekofish Group is the story of the De Boer family from Urk — a family that has loved the sea and the fishing life for generations. A family that wants to leave a healthy sea to future generations.
The story of Ekofish Group begins with Louwe de Boer (1914–2006), one of the founders of the Urk fishing fleet and a true-born entrepreneur. The sole and plaice he caught from the 1930s onward with his wooden botter on the former Zuiderzee (later IJsselmeer) and the North Sea were traded in Urk and IJmuiden, providing healthy and energy-rich food for the people of Urk and the rest of the Netherlands.
His seven sons followed in his footsteps and also became fishermen. They replaced the fragile wooden botters with steel vessels. In the 1980s, the North Sea trawlers of the De Boer brothers formed the largest fleet in the Netherlands. With no fewer than 21 trawlers, the well-known Urk fishing family De Boer firmly established its name. The fish—mainly sole and plaice—found its way to markets in the Netherlands and abroad.
In 2000, Louwe’s eldest son, Meindert de Boer (born 1940), left the family fishing company together with his sons and three trawlers. Rising fuel costs marked the beginning of an intensive search for an economically sustainable way of fishing. This search led them through Germany, England, Norway, and Sweden, and eventually ended in the port of Thyborøn, Denmark.
There, they took a leap of faith: the De Boer family converted their largest trawler—its pride and glory—from beam trawling to twin-rig fishing, a relatively unknown but significantly more fuel-efficient and sustainable method. It was an enormous financial risk, but true to the entrepreneurial spirit of grandfather Louwe de Boer, the family took the step: Never give up!
In 2006, the first unforgettable fishing trip using the new twin-rig method took place. Whereas in the past the ship’s engine had to run at full power during fishing, it now remained remarkably quiet in the engine room. Doubt arose: had the right decision been made?
But when the nets emerged after that memorable first haul—overflowing with top-quality fish—the intuition was confirmed: fuel-efficient and sustainable fishing is possible. And also: the way we fish can clearly be done differently, and better.
Since then, the drive for innovation has been firmly anchored in the DNA of Ekofish Group.
The road upward was wide open—until supermarkets decided in 2007 to remove plaice from their shelves because it had turned red on the World Wildlife Fund’s seafood guide due to overfishing. Once again, the life lessons of grandfather Louwe de Boer—‘life is about taking action’—inspired a bold move: the fishing company became the first to start discussions with the World Wildlife Fund about fisheries and sustainability.
This led in 2009 to Ekofish Group receiving MSC certification, making it the first fishing company in Europe to achieve this!
Since then, the company has expanded with more trawlers, all operating according to the Ekofish Group philosophy and quality standards: sustainable, respectful of the environment, and focused solely on delivering top-quality fish.
Since 2008, Ekofish Group has increasingly taken the processing and trading of its catches into its own hands. The goal is simple: to bring the fish to the consumer’s plate as quickly and as freshly as possible.
The story of Ekofish Group is one of love for the sea and for the fishing way of life, but also one of daring to step off the beaten path, persevering, and overcoming adversity. It is a story of respect for nature, as well as of a natural drive to innovate—a drive that has motivated the men of the De Boer family ever since the days of grandfather Louwe.
The youngest children of the De Boer family don’t build cars or farms out of their Lego—they build fishing vessels. A fisherman is not made, but born. Ekofish Group aims to leave behind a healthy sea for future generations. Yet another good reason to keep sustainability at the highest priority!