Terug aan de zee

Until 1965, Rottumeroog, the northernmost island in the Dutch Wadden Sea, was inhabited by the Toxopeus family. Grandfather and father were island keepers and son Hendrik would love to be the third in line, but fate has turned against him. The island is doomed to disappear in a couple of years. Sand is constantly being washed away on the western side and silts up on the eastern side, so the island is making for the tidal outlet Wester Eems, where it will disappear into the much deeper water, at a speed of twenty-five to thirty metres a year. For this reason, it was decided some years ago to discontinue the maintenance of the island. With this gloomy prospect in mind, the ‘nearly’ island keeper Hendrik and two birdwatchers, who stay on the island for four months every year during the breeding season, talk about their beloved Rottumeroog.