Why end a fishing trip?
Steenbergen (for Dutch fishers, bound to keep the weekend) 2015:
Poor catches may be a reason to end the fishing trip earlier. According to one respondent, this is mainly the case in early summer when shrimps are less abundant. At the end of summer or beginning of autumn, fishermen will most likely continue in case of poor catches because there is a higher chance that areas with better catches will be found during the course of the week.
The shrimp trading companies are at times a reason to stop the fishing trip earlier. It has occurred, in periods of high shrimp landings, that trading companies decided to organise shrimp auctions on Wednesdays only, meaning that the vessels had to be back in the harbour at that time.
Once at sea, shrimp fishermen will aim to catch as much as possible because there is no limit to the amount of kilos that can be landed. The length of the fishing trip varies between the groups of fishermen. In the Sylt area and in the German Bight, shrimp fishing can be continued for nine days during a period of fourteen days.