Urk, Netherlands (AFP) — Jan van den Berg stares out at the sea where his father vanished seven decades ago — lost in a storm just days before his birth. Now aged 70, he clings to the hope of finding even the smallest fragment of his father’s remains.

In Urk, a fishing village in the northern Netherlands, the sea has long been the lifeblood for families — but has often taken loved ones in return.

Some bodies never surfaced. Others washed ashore on German or Danish coasts and were buried in unnamed graves.

Despite the tragedy, Van den Berg — the last of six children — became a fisherman like his brothers, defying their mother’s terror that the North Sea would claim her sons, too.

“We never found his body,” he told AFP in a low voice, mumbling under the brim of his hat.

But after decades of uncertainty, advances in DNA technology and artificial intelligence have given Van den Berg renewed hope.

Researchers are now able to match remains with living relatives more accurately than ever before, offering families long-awaited answers and the chance to finally mourn properly.

“Many families still gaze at the front door, hoping their loved-one will walk through it,” said Teun Hakvoort, an Urk resident who serves as spokesperson for a new foundation dedicated to locating and identifying fishermen lost at sea.