The interest the protagonists display in the catch underscores the economic importance of fishing to the survival of Dutch communities. So, too, does de Vlieger’s use of light in this work which subtly emphasises the bellies of the caught fish. De Vlieger’s painting may be read as an illustration of one aspect of national prosperity. The resilience of fishing villages like Scheveningen and its inhabitants, all of whom identified with the sea and the topography of the Dutch coastline, were a source of tremendous national pride. The artist has infused this scene with national sentiment, evoking a distinctly Dutch atmosphere through the use of a herring-like grey and brown tonality. The painting may equally merit a religious interpretation, since the profusion of fish and the safe return of the fishing boats represents ‘an image of God’s reward to those folk living by the sea’.

Simon de Vlieger was important early painter in the emerging discipline of marine art. He was a sophisticated early exponent of the Dutch realist tradition and later focused intently on beaches, estuaries and shorelines, assiduously exploring the Dutch coastline and reinforcing its status as a purposeful subject matter for Dutch artists of the time.