Newsletter June 2025
News from the Harbor
v. chairman Hans Schneider
Hvide Sande Harbor would like to be the Town's harbor. It is crucial that the town and harbor are in close interaction and dialogue.
So much is happening all around the harbor. Our harbor is not particularly large, but there are many very different initiatives underway, and that is delightful because it contributes to the development of the harbor. Whether you talk about tourism, fishing, industry, or craftsmanship, there is the vitality that characterizes Hvide Sande, and we need to create the best conditions for that here at the harbor.
Hvide Sande Harbor will therefore send out a newsletter once every quarter to the harbor's users and others who are interested in the harbor. We hope that you will find joy in reading about the harbor. This is, of course, a new initiative, and it may ultimately be that we have to make some adjustments as we go along, and if you have ideas for changes, we would also like to hear about it.
Big and small about everyday life at Hvide Sande Harbor
Spring equates to many activities at Hvide Sande Harbor. It is wonderful to feel the activity all around the harbor's corners. The increasing activity also creates more busyness, but remember that everywhere in the harbor there is a speed limit of 30 km/h.
A special initiative that we would like to highlight is the collection of fish nets for use in Ukraine's war for freedom. It has been shown that the fish nets are suitable for resisting drone attacks, allowing Ukrainians to save lives and reduce material destruction. It is lovely that users from Hvide Sande Harbor can also be involved in this.
Throughout 2025, we will work on improving parking conditions in several places. New parking spaces have been established near the Auction Hall, and the area behind the Cash Hall has been marked. We are also looking at optimizing parking opportunities at the Sports Fisher Center and in the inner part of berth 81a at Nordhaven Quay.
We expect to get new asphalt on the northern part of berth 81 and the outer part of berth 81a during the summer.
New streetlights will be installed throughout the harbor in 2025. We received new streetlights in 2024, but it turned out that they could not withstand the climate here. Fortunately, the Supply Company is now replacing them.
As mentioned elsewhere, we want to work with sustainability. We are therefore testing improved waste sorting at our Night Parking Lots, where we can sort the waste a little better than has been possible so far. It should also be specified that all waste areas at the harbor are for use by the harbor users when they have waste in connection with what they do at the harbor.
We would also like to work with Hvide Sande Harbor as the Town's harbor. Therefore, we would, among other things, like to establish a picnic area somewhere. If you have ideas on where it could be, please let us know.
One of the frustrations last winter was our EIVA buoy out by the entrance, which is meant to provide information about the current conditions. Fortunately, the supplier has initiated work to find out why it keeps breaking down, so hopefully we will soon have a more stable buoy.
Key figures May 2025
Fisheries in the first 5 months have seen a decrease in the landed amount of industrial fish from 11,683 tons in 2024 to 6,668 tons in 2025. Prices have been better in 2025, with the decline in value being only 10%.
Landings and value of fish at auction are almost unchanged from 2024. For shrimp fishing, there has been a halving since last year. Landings of crabs are almost unchanged compared to 2024.
The amount of goods over the quay is almost unchanged compared to 2024; in 2025, 58,000 tons have been unloaded over the quay. Construction materials, gravel, and sand are the dominant category in 2025. In contrast, the amount of feedstuffs has dropped from 23,000 tons in 2024 to 4,000 tons in 2025.
Did you hear that, the sprat quota this year is 163,334 tons in the North Sea
New strategy
The harbor's board and management have developed a new strategy for the harbor's development – the strategy is valid for the period 2025-2030.
The harbor has the following 4 themes:
The four overarching strategic goals are:
1. Offshore Wind
Hvide Sande Harbor should be Denmark's best service harbor, and we must therefore be the service harbor for all wind farms in the area of North Sea 1, and parts of the construction activities for these parks must be based at Hvide Sande Harbor. If we succeed in this, we have good opportunities for future-proofing Hvide Sande Harbor, and we will have much better opportunities to develop other activities.
2. General Business Development
Hvide Sande Harbor is characterized by having relatively many business areas. This should also be the case in the future. We must ensure that development in offshore wind is accompanied by development in other areas, and we must be known as the multi-port on the West Coast that is best at finding solutions. Fisheries must therefore be larger than it is today. The volume of transport and goods must be at least 250,000 tons by 2030. Revenue from land leasing must increase by 20% in 2030 compared to today.
3. Sustainability
Hvide Sande Harbor, as part of its foundation, will work with sustainability. Hvide Sande Harbor will strengthen its efforts in selected areas. The harbor must thus be CO2-neutral by 2030 and an essential contributor to the national and municipal goals regarding CO2 neutrality. We believe that this is one of the opportunities for more activities in the harbor. The harbor will also work to strengthen its social responsibility and have a better composition of personnel in 2030 than today concerning age and gender composition.
4. The Town's Harbor
Hvide Sande Harbor should be the town's harbor. The town arose as a result of the harbor, and the harbor has gained its strength from the energetic people in the town. Fewer citizens today have their daily work at the harbor, and for many, it matters less that the harbor is an active commercial harbor. Hvide Sande Harbor will measure the town's experience of the harbor, and the goal is for the measurement to show a close relationship between the town and the harbor.
The four themes have been chosen because they reflect where we as harbors have the best opportunities to develop in the coming years. Offshore wind provides the opportunity for a significant increase in the harbor's revenue. It is essential for the harbor's DNA that fisheries continue to play a central role in the harbor, and through projects such as Langsand and Sluseøen, there is an opportunity to develop tourism and increase revenue in the harbor and the town. All forms of harbor development require a sustainable approach to how it solves the tasks. And finally, we must never forget that the town and the harbor have arisen together – it is vital that the harbor, in its development, maintains the connectivity to the town.
Did you know that, on January 1, 2026, it will be 25 years since Holmsland Municipality took over Hvide Sande Harbor from the State Harbor Administration in Esbjerg.
Survey
Historically, Hvide Sande Harbor has had a close interaction with Hvide Sande Town – the roots are also shared. In the old days, a significant part of the town's citizens worked at the harbor - that is no longer the case.
Today, the reality is different. There are many other things to do in Hvide Sande than to work at the harbor, and Hvide Sande Harbor is also engaged in a range of different activities where the harbor's tasks are for many others than just businesses and citizens in Hvide Sande.
All this means that Hvide Sande Harbor must strive to earn the town's support, and that is why Hvide Sande Harbor's strategy includes a theme stating that we must be "The Town's Harbor".
As part of this, we have conducted a measurement among the members of Hvidesande.by, which represents the town's merchants, etc. There are 38 members of Hvidesande.by who have responded.
On one side, there is an overall reasonable assessment of the cooperation with Hvide Sande Harbor and the harbor's reputation. On the other hand, there is room for improvement in these matters. Fortunately, many have taken the time to comment on what they think the harbor can do better. Some feel that the harbor does not focus enough on tourism development, while others express uncertainties about the possibility of getting long-term lease agreements with Hvide Sande Harbor and that the cost of renting the areas is too high.
In contrast, there is overall satisfaction with the cleanliness of the harbor's areas and no complaints about toilets.
There also seems to be evidence that the parking challenges are not as significant as we have perceived – and there is only minimal support for a parking garage if it is to be financed through parking fees in the town center.
Hvide Sande Harbor has been granted permission to host an event with Hvidesande.by after the summer holiday, where we will review the survey and what we will do regarding the many constructive remarks.
Henning's anecdotes:
The true story of why it is called Æ Tyskerhavn!
For many years, there has been speculation about why it is called Æ Tyskerhavn. Some say it has to do with the war. Others believe a German once lived there. And then there are those who think it is about geography. Many explanations have been offered – but here you will get the truthful one, which connects to both the history of the dunes and a certain farmer king on the dune.
Back in 1910, the first canal at Hvide Sande was dug through the dunes. But already in 1912, after violent storms, it had become 260 meters wide. This prompted the authorities in Copenhagen to order a closure. For this work, materials were needed, and they were shipped to the place we today know as Tyskerhavnen. But that does not explain the name – a completely different story does.
In the mid-1800s, scattered dune farms lay from Søndervig in the north to Bjerregård in the south. Here, people lived off the land, the fjord, and the sea. It was a simple but industrious life where community meant everything.
North of present-day Hvide Sande lived a man they called the Farmer King. He was well-liked, quick with a reply, and an eager participant when the farmers gathered to play cards. One winter evening, there was a gathering at Æ sønderklit. The cards flew, the coffee punch was strong, and the stories only got better as the evening went on. The Farmer King had a good night – he won a good amount of money and drank plenty.
On the way home, feeling good and wrapped in blankets, he lay back in the cart. The horses knew the way. But as the night grew darker, his eyes grew heavier. The Farmer King fell asleep.
A little north of today's Tyskerhavn, a small bridge crossed a ditch. The horses passed as they always did, but the cart slipped – and the Farmer King ended up in the ditch with a splash.
As he soaked wet wobbled up from the ditch, he hoped no one had seen it. But unfortunately, the rest of the farmers, who had been at the card game, came shortly after. “Hwa lawer do der?” they asked, laughing. The Farmer King had to admit he had fallen asleep.
The Farmer King hoped the episode would be forgotten, but it was on the dune, as it still is in Hvide Sande, that it doesn't take much before someone gets a nickname or there is another name for something, which also happened here.
The story of the Farmer King who ended up in the ditch spread like wildfire on the dune. From then on, he was called Æ Vådekonge, and the ditch – it was named Kongeåen.
Kongeåen was the boundary ditch north of Jens Thomsen's farm (later Kristen Tarbensen's farm on Apollovej). The area south of Kongeåen was therefore named Germany, and thus the residents were called "æ tyskere".
When VBV established the landing site for the closure of the Hvide Sande canal in 1912 in