UvA alumnus Marco Kraal reflects on 30 years of Vis TV: “Remarkably popular among students”
Fishing as the ultimate form of relaxation? Perhaps for some, but for Vis TV presenter Marco Kraal (62), it is a serious matter. The jubilant UvA alumnus talks about his student days in Amsterdam, camera-shy fish and catching zander in the IJ: “I was strongly advised not to study fish.”
You graduated as an aquatic ecologist in 1991. Why did you choose that course?
“Apparently, when I was four, I said I wanted to be a biologist, a vet or a pilot. I inherited my love of nature from my father, who was a huge animal lover. As a child, I had severe ADHD, which I still have today. I’m always busy in my head and can be difficult to deal with at times. Eventually, our neighbour advised my father to give me a fishing rod, saying it would calm me down. That’s how my love for fishing was born. I quickly figured out how ecosystems worked and became interested in the relationships and connections between animals and their environment. That led me to biology and later aquatic ecology, which was a good fit for me.”
How was your time at the UvA?
“It was a fantastic time. I could have gone to Wageningen, but it seemed like a boring city to live in as a student. In hindsight, that turned out not to be true at all, but I still preferred Amsterdam. It was the city to go out in, where everything happened. Studying at the UvA was one big party; I have nothing but good memories of it. Aquatic ecology was still a young field of study, so all kinds of new things were happening. Philosophical discussions about ecology and ecosystems – it was a really exciting time. I was sorry to graduate in 1991. I spent all my free time fishing and partying, which went well together. In the summer months, I was an avid carp fisherman, spending two thousand hours at the water’s edge, and from October to April, I did nothing but party.”
Was there a lot of research into fish at the UvA?
“No, not at all. The university only focused on primary production in water. In other words, everything revolved around the beginning of the food chain, such as water fleas and algae. Scientists viewed fish as nothing more than a tasty meal, but otherwise uninteresting. Still, I wanted to conduct research on fish, even though I was strongly advised against it. In the end, I got permission, and it even led to a publication.”
Did you start working at Vis TV straight after graduating?
“I first worked briefly in consulting, at environmental agencies. That was quite fun, but my passion was fishing. So when I had the opportunity to apply for a job at the fishing union, I jumped at it, even though it was half my previous salary. I thought I would do it for two years at most, but I ended up staying a bit longer. When I had been there for three years, we decided to start a television programme. My colleague Ed Stoop was the presenter at first, but we soon wanted to add some biological items to the programme. That’s when I came into the picture as Ed’s sidekick. When I had to replace him for an entire episode because he was ill, it went so well that we started presenting as a duo. I’ve always enjoyed doing that, even now that Ed has retired. Even after thirty years, it never gets boring.”
Turning your hobby into your job sounds like a dream job.
“It certainly is. However, I’m not pursuing my hobby during filming; it’s really hard work. The days are long because the fish often don’t want to cooperate; they’re camera-shy. That makes it a bit stressful because you want to catch something to show to the viewers. Fishing is a relaxing activity, but when I’m working, it’s all tension; it’s really serious business. We often start at dawn and continue until it gets dark in the evening. In the summer, that can mean eighteen-hour days. It’s tough, especially when you also have to travel to South Limburg. But it’s rewarding work.”
Does the programme get good ratings?
“Yes, funnily enough, a lot of students watch it too. It’s a kind of slow TV, so when they’ve been partying, they turn on Vis TV the next morning to relax. Recently, I was walking through the car park of the UMC in Utrecht when I was approached by a group of interns in white coats: “Hey, you’re from Vis TV, aren’t you?” I ended up in a photo with seven of those students. They were all fans of the programme, but they didn’t fish themselves.”
For students who are now excited about fishing, is there actually anywhere to fish in Amsterdam?
“Definitely. I used to fish regularly on the IJ when I was a student, but the strange thing is that the fish you caught in Amsterdam back then were inedible; even my cats wouldn’t eat them. Nowadays, it’s completely different. The water in the canals is much cleaner. The water board is doing a good job; you notice that immediately when you eat fish from the Amsterdam canals. I still fish on the IJ sometimes, but where in the 1980s you mainly heard the dull thuds of guns on the north side of the water when there was a shoot-out, it has now become a fantastic area. There is an enormous variety of fish in the water; you can find as many as forty different species. I don’t think many people in Amsterdam realise that. And what could be more fun than sitting behind Central Station early in the morning, after a night out with your study mates, with a fishing rod and some lures, fishing for zander? In the evening, you can enjoy your catch with a good bottle of white wine, and your day is complete.”
