To this day, fishing and seafood represent a very significant part of Shetland’s economy. The main fish caught from the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean waters surrounding the archipelago include herring, cod, and mackerel. The first of these has been historically very popular in the Netherlands. Between the early 17th and late 19th-centuries, Dutch fishing fleets chasing after the bountiful herring and other valuable shoals off the coast of Shetland would often dock in Lerwick during the summer. Large groups of Dutchmen who used the small town as a port…
