Yerseke

Almost all Dutch mussels and oysters pass through Yerseke on the Oosterschelde. Mussel seed is collected, grown on leased plots on the seabed, harvested and then brought to the mosselpercelen - the water plots in front of the village - where the shellfish are laid in tidal pits to purge sand before sale; the pits are visible at low tide and are the reason the village looks the way it does. Oyster culture was established here in the nineteenth century and the oyster pits, walled basins fed by the tide, are still in use, producing the Zeeuwse creuse and the flat Zeeland oyster, which is the rarer and more expensive of the two. The season for mussels traditionally runs from around July to April, with the first landing marked as an event. The Oosterschelde storm surge barrier was built with openings specifically so the tide could keep flowing for this industry.

History

Skeletal remains found here in 1923 date from the Carolingian period, and the first record of the name, as Gersika, is a deed of Emperor Otto I of 24 January 966. Farming was the main living until the 16th century, when the Saint Felix flood drowned the land around Reimerswaal and left Yerseke on the shore of the Oosterschelde; fishing and shellfish farming grew from the 19th century (Wikipedia, Yerseke).

What's there

• Tidal purging pits - the plots in front of the village where shellfish clear sand.
• Walled oyster basins - nineteenth-century pits still fed by the tide.
• Two oysters - the creuse and the rarer flat Zeeland oyster.
• A barrier built for the tide - the Oosterschelde works left open to keep the water moving.

When to go

September to April for mussels; year-round for oysters. A day.

Before you go

The mussel season is limited and the first landing is a busy weekend. Shellfish safety depends on water monitoring - buy from the trade, not from the flats. The village is working, not scenic.

Nearby

Goes is west; the Oosterschelde barrier is north-west.

Key facts