The joy of a boat full of anchovies returns to the quay. Picture: TT.
Nowadays, the shallow sea in the north of Quang Binh province has large streams of anchovies. Many small fishing boats in Quang Trach district are constantly going out to sea to catch lots of anchovies. Every trip, the fishing boat returns to the quay, and the fishermen earn tens of millions of dongs.
For the past week, the beach in Quang Xuan Township (Quang Trach District, Quang Binh Province) has always been crowded from morning to midnight. Dozens of bamboo boats (small-capacity boats called by relatives) take turns going out to sea, returning to the wharf, and the scene of buyers and sellers is busy.
Quang Binh fishermen quickly brought fish ashore. Picture: TT.
In the early morning the fishing boat Dau Minh Hung docked, the brothers on the boat quickly shoveled fresh anchovies into baskets and carried them ashore. Flat, white anchovies, about the size of an adult finger, bounce up and down with every step.
Mr. Hung enthusiastic: “This morning my boat went with 4 people and caught almost 1 ton of anchovies. This trip is over a ton at night, in the morning. Think of it as two trips to the beach in one day. If you subtract the expenses, you also have an income of almost VND 2 million. Compared to previous years, this case is a great success, so the fishermen are very happy.”
Good season, good price, so the fishermen in the coastal area are very happy. Picture: TT.
In the distance, Mr. Duong Minh Phuc’s boat also slowly docked. The fishermen on the boat and the people on the shore cheered to bring the fish to the quay. Although they stayed up overnight because of the fishing season, everyone was not tired but was laughing and talking.
Mr. Phuc got some fresh fish from the boat and gave them to us as a gift. “Lucky Lake, everyone can enjoy it,” he smiled happily. He said the boat ran onto the canal on this trip, the fishermen were very happy, tied the nets around the fish and scooped it into the boat. “By dividing this trip evenly, each fisherman will get almost VND 1.7 million. I hope this season lasts for people to have an income,” Phuc confided.
Give each other a hand with heavy fish. Picture: TT.
According to many fishermen, the fish follow the channel close to the shore. Anchovies live in the floating layer more than 10 km from shore and occur in groups day and night. Therefore, catching is very easy, does not take much time and saves fuel. Therefore, fishermen also catch anchovies day and night.
Mr Phuc told us: “At night the fishermen use scooping methods, that is, use lights to lure the fish, then use nets to catch fish and use large nets to scoop fish into the boat. Use a small net to cover and pull up during the day. Return to the wharf until the boat is full of fish.”
Buyers and sellers bustle about on the shore. Picture: TT.
When it’s busy, there are more than a dozen bamboo boats ashore to bring fish to the beach. With happy and excited faces, the fishermen quickly bring the fish from the boat to the shore. Delicious fresh anchovies are sold at 15,000 – 20,000 VND/kg, all kinds of motorbikes and cars line up to eat and then hurry.
Mr. Duong Minh Phuong, chairman of the Quang Xuan Township People’s Committee, said that the fishermen’s lives still face many difficulties due to the shallow sea. The whole municipality has 134 fishing boats, from which about 80 avocados are caught near the shore, so the production is low and the fishermen’s income is not high.
Anchovies are processed into a delicious fish sauce. Picture: TT.
This year, after a heavy rain, the water source was disturbed, the coastal waters had a lot of food, so the fishermen caught near the coast constantly fished out seafood such as anchovies, scads, shrimps… on average each boat trip all reached a production of more than 1 ton of seafood and earned tens of millions of dong.
“After a long difficult period due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in gasoline prices, this is a great joy for our fishermen in the coastal area of Quang Xuan Township,” Mr. Phuong said.
Sun-dried anchovies are sold at VND 200,000/kg. Picture: TT.
Ms. Duong Thi Xuan, a private trader who buys anchovies, is also very satisfied. She said that while the fishermen have money, she also has money to buy and sell on and off the field. Anchovies are a source of raw material for fishermen to make traditional fish sauce or dried to sell with higher value.
“In terms of quality, anchovy fish sauce is the best. When drying, the ratio is 4 fresh to 1 dry. Dried fish with rice is sold at VND 200,000/kg. No matter where you go, it’s sold out,” Ms. Xuan said excitedly.