On the coasts of Holland, Belgium, and Northern France fisherwomen
are a familiar sight, with their great hand-nets and quaint costumes.
Many of the towns have distinctive costumes by which their women
can be recognised anywhere. Those of Maria-Kirke, near Ostend, wear
trousers and loose blouses, while their heads and shoulders are covered
by shawls. They carry their nets into the sea, and scoop up vast
quantities of shrimps and prawns, with an occasional crab or lobster
and many small fish. They often wade out till the water is up to their
necks, and they remain for hours at a time in water above their knees,
rarely returning until their baskets are full.--“WOMAN’S LIFE.”