The Flemish Centre for Agricultural and Fisheries Marketing has lamented the premature revelation of the results of the recent election -- of the Fish of the Year.
The lucky winner's name should have been announced on Thursday, but the hypermarket chain Makro had already published the result in its advertising, and the unwitting announcement made the press.
"A pity," commented Liliane Driesen of the Centre. "All the tension is lost, and it's our own fault. We had actually planned the election for a week earlier. We postponed it at the last moment, but by then the Makro folders had already been printed".
Just in case you're still wondering, or if you had money on the result, the winner of the Fish of the Year election was the skate, a flat fish of which only the so-called wings are eaten, often with capers or with black butter. Belgium fishes 1,757 tonnes of skate a year.