Hub for fish

With global fish production and consumption steadily growing, IJmuiden is well positioned to continue evolving into a central ‘hub for fish’ in Europe. The further development of IJmond as the leading logistical hub for fish hinges on the expansion of existing frozen fish trade flows and the attraction of new fish trade flows to IJmuiden that currently go through other ports.

IJmuiden acts as the central hub for the fish sector in West Europe. Boatloads of fresh fish from every continent are transhipped, processed, imported and exported here.

This central position in the fish sector has attracted all sorts of other business activity to IJmuiden.

Cold and frozen storage facilities

Almost one-third of the Netherlands’ total frozen storage capacity of seven million-plus cubic metres is situated in the ports of Velsen. The frozen packages of fish are forwarded in conditioned reefer containers. Demand for extra cold and frozen storage capacity is growing, particularly due to the greater supply of fish from North America and Canada. Indeed, permanent reefer line services operate between Alaska and Ijmuiden and all fish from Alaska that is destined for North Europe is transported via the IJmuiden hub.