Students at Rev. GH Kerstenschool Yerseke are the first to receive children’s book ‘The sea kept it a secret for a long time’

By means of: Britta Janssen

Thu Apr 25, 3:06 pm

General

YERSEKE – Group 7 of the Rev. GH Kerstenschool in Yerseke had a fascinating morning. At the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) in Yerseke on Thursday, Wouter Klootwijk presented his new children’s book ‘The sea kept it a secret for a long time’, about a discovery in mussel farming. He told the children about his book, Mayor José van Egmond of the municipality of Reimerswaal read from it and, after a mussel masterclass by NIOZ researcher Johan van de Koppel, the class was allowed to do an experiment in the tidal tanks at the Oosterschelde. The students also all received a copy of the book as a gift.

Johan van de Koppel taught the children about mussels in a lively way. He noticed that there were also mussel experts among his young listeners. For example, a boy who said that his father had been a mussel fisherman knew why mussels liked to clump together. “For safety.”

Paw

Eyebrows were raised when Van de Koppel started talking about what happens if you leave mussels in a pan of salt water without turning on the stove. “Then small mussels eventually crawl out of the pan. Really and truly! They have one leg with which they can move. They continuously pull themselves forward with that paw. Handsome creatures, huh?”

Inventions

At the introduction of his book, Wouter Klootwijk said that farmers and fishermen in particular, more than other professional groups, have been making their own inventions for centuries, such as the wheelbarrow and fishing gear. “Fishermen would also like the fish to come to them, so they can stay on the bank themselves. It’s not quite there yet, but it doesn’t make much difference. A fisherman once saw mussels growing on a piece of wood and another fisherman saw mussels growing on a piece of rope. This is how we discovered that you can hang rope in salt water and then you will have mussels in six months.”

Experiment

The children also did that experiment on Thursday. They hung rope in the tidal tanks at the Oosterschelde. These tanks fill up with water when the tide comes in. They will come back in six months to see what happened.

The mayor enjoyed reading from the book because of the beautiful subject. “I think it is important that children know where their food comes from and that they realize that you can learn a lot from nature.”

Future

Klootwijk sailed with mussel fishermen for a television program and has also been to Yerseke several times. That inspired him to write his latest children’s book. “It’s about two children of a mussel fisherman who invent mussel farming with ropes. So the hanging culture. I wanted to explain this to children in a book, because hanging culture is the future. Research has shown that this is the least objectionable way of growing.”

Klootwijk would like it if his readers would unknowingly learn something from his book. “I hope it is an educational book and that I have written it in such a way that it does not bother them,” he laughs. “Without you realizing it, the book predicts the future.”