(Baonghean.vn) - With its natural rich soil and watering system, farmers of Ke Gam village (Xuan Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, Nghe An) have been given a great source of aqua-culture benefits. In addition to common fishing targets such as fish and shrimp, as a tradition, Ke Giam village has been well-known for its eel-fishing.
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| Eel-fishing requires cheap and simple gear, what needed is a 50cm-long fishing line knitted of several smaller lines to enhance the durability. One end of the fishing line is fixed to a 7-10 cm bamboo or plastic stick, the other is tied to the hook, which is a small, sharpened, ½ looped, stiff alloy fiber. |
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| A characteristic of swamp eels is that they hunt for foods by using its organ of smell and prefer fishy baits. That’s why, commonly, eel-fishing bait is ground worm, which is then fixed to an end of the hook. |
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| Mr. Nguyen Viet Tue in Ke Gam village has more than 50 years working as an eel-fisher. As he shared, eels usually burrow to live in muddy, bushy area where there is no flow, or in grass verge beneath the bank of fields. Just by uncovering the grass, eels’ “caves” will be exposed. Large eels often have caves with larger and smooth mouth, while caves of pregnant eels often have bubbles coming out. |
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| In general, swamp eels burrow deeply to the ground with one entrance opens to a field to help them hunting at night, and the other exposes to upper bank to help them breathing. In the day time, they are hiding in their caves; therefore, just by baiting on the entrance of a cave, one can fish the eel easily. |
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| In less than 10 minutes, Mr. Tue had caught 2 big eels, each of around 0.2kg in weight. Normally, his productivity is around 2kg/day, sometimes, he could get an eel of one kilo. |
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| The big eel is often caught. |
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| In Ke Gam village, many women go eel-fishing in their free time, not only to get an additional dish for the meals, but also to sell the eels later on. |
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| Eels caught in the fields are normally big, yellow in color, high nutrient and delicious in taste. In average, the price for one kilo of swamp eels ranges between 180,000 to 200,000 VND, twice higher than raised eels. |
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| Swamp eel fishing brings its own traditional characteristics which has become one of childhood memories for those who grown up here in Ke Gam village. |
Reporter: Thai Duong
Translator: Phuong Thu
