The start of this year’s herring season has been delayed by eight days because the Scandinavian fish are not fatty enough to be processed, the Dutch fish board said on Monday.

This means the charity auction of the first barrel of herring has been delayed from June 9 to June 17 and fishmongers will be banned from selling Hollandse Nieuwe herring until June 18.

This is only the third delay since an official start to the season was introduced.

The fish board says the chilly spring weather has had an impact on plankton growth but that a few days of sunshine will be enough to fatten up the fish. The herring need to eat plenty of plankton to develop sufficient fat to be classed as Hollandse Nieuwe.

However, Vlaggetjesdag, when the arrival of the new catch is celebrated at the seaside resort of Scheveningen, will go ahead on June 13 as planned, because it is too late to cancel it, the fish board said.

‘We regret the consequences of the delay but starting the season with fish which is not up to scratch is not an option,’ the statement said.