New Dutch Herring

UPDATE:
Thanks everyone for helping this entry hit the Spotlight!
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The first catch of the season is brought in to shore yesterday by the SCH23 - left in this shot - and marks the beginning of a very Dutch tradition... the eating of raw herring!

(Besides the japanese we are probably the only nation renowned for eating fish raw, but we eat it quite differently, we hold the headless & cleaned fish above our head and slide it into the mouth as you can see here)

On the day of the first catch - yesterday - there is a special auction of 'The First Cask' for a good cause. This year it was a holiday camp for complex handicapped children and the barrel raised 56.500 euros (76540 dollars)

Today is the first day that the new herring may officially be sold everywhere and that often causes a run to the fish shops and marks many specially organized 'Herring Partys'

Coming saturday is 'Flag Day' in Scheveningen and celebrates the new herring in one of the biggest street festivals in The Hague and usually attracts more than 200,000 visitors.

Ps. The shield with the 3 Crowned Herrings on the bow of the fishing vessels is the weapon of the Scheveningen township. There is more in depth info in the link above.