Lesson 1: Joy from sea trips

However, since the end of the third quarter of 2016, fishermen have continuously received good news with boats arriving at the port full of seafood. This once again affirms that for fishermen, “the boat is home, the ocean is homeland” - Mother Sea will always protect and build their lives.

A bumper catch of purse seine nets by fishermen in Quynh Luu. Photo: Dao Tuan

New Year's Eve

Arriving at Lach Quen wharf, Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu) at 6am on April 4, dozens of fishing boats of Manh Son parish anchored and transported seafood to shore. Fisherman Nguyen Van Ho steered the boat close to the wharf, scooping up trays of sea shrimp from the boat in the excitement of a good fishing season. Mr. Ho said that his boat usually leaves the wharf at 6pm and goes out to sea to fish about 5-8 nautical miles. After 1 night, he collected more than 250 kg of sea shrimp, deducting expenses for an income of 2 million VND.

Having become a traditional fishing profession, fishermen in Tien Thuy commune often use boats with a capacity of 18 - 24CV for different types of jobs such as catching crabs, mantis shrimp, sea shrimp, shrimp and various types of fish... Each job uses a different type of fishing gear. Fisherman Pham Van Hung said: "Because the boat is small, it only fishes about 10 - 20 km from the mainland. Currently, it is the season of shrimp and sea shrimp, next month it will be the season of squid fishing and crab fishing. On this trip, my boat caught a lot of shrimp and sea shrimp, selling for more than 2 million VND". The holds of the boats full of shrimp of the people of Manh Son parish were quickly purchased by local traders, then distributed to markets, supplying to processing facilities. In addition, right at the wharf, there are households that buy fresh seafood to raise in aeration tanks to supply to restaurants.

Sticking to the sea, loving the sea and eagerly going out to sea since the first days of the year, up to now, many fishermen in Manh Son parish and Tien Thuy commune have achieved a large yield. Previously, on the afternoon of March 31, dozens of fishing boats of Tien Thuy commune fishermen happily docked at Lach Quen port with their holds full of seafood. In particular, fishing boat numbered NA 97688 TS67 was newly built according to Decree 67 of the Government with a value of 13 billion VND by fisherman Ho Ba Dung. On the first offshore trip, Mr. Dung's boat caught 20 tons of seafood, mainly hairtail fish and fresh squid, worth over 300 million VND.

In January 2017, fishermen in Manh Son parish caught 340 tons of shrimp and more than 1.4 tons of sea shrimp; in February, they caught 200 tons of shrimp and 10 tons of shrimp, bringing in hundreds of millions of VND in revenue. This April alone, fishermen are continuing the shrimp and sea shrimp fishing season, and many boats have switched to crab and squid fishing. It is known that Tien Thuy commune has over 328 boats with a total capacity of nearly 90,000 CV, including 157 offshore boats (4 iron-hulled boats, Son Hai hamlet alone has 2 iron-hulled boats built according to Decree 67). In 2016, seafood output reached 17,685 tons; in the first quarter of 2017, it reached 7,851 tons, with a total production value of 145.6 billion VND.

At the fishing port of Tien Thuy commune - where the boats of fishermen of Tien Thuy commune and some neighboring communes, including Quynh Long commune, are anchored, the whole fishing port is bustling with an urgent and vibrant working atmosphere. On the boat, sailors are carrying boxes of fresh iced fish onto the conveyor belt; on the wharf, women quickly wash, pack and weigh them for the transport team with dozens of refrigerated trucks waiting to take them to consumers. Excited about the full hold of more than 5 tons of fish, including 3 tons of ù fish weighing over 2kg/fish and 2 tons of spotted fish, Mr. Uoc - a boat owner said: With the selling price right at the wharf of 50,000 VND/kg for ù fish, 17,000 VND/kg for spotted fish, my boat earned nearly 200 million VND on this trip. After deducting expenses, each person will get about 8 million VND for 10 days at sea.

Buying and selling seafood at Lach Quen fishing port. Photo by Viet Hung

Talking about the tradition of fishing in Quynh Luu district, we must also mention Quynh Long commune. Being present in this locality, the first feeling is the excited, joyful atmosphere spreading throughout the village, when the first trips to sea in the year brought back a lot of sea luck. High catches, good prices, and increased income, so many fishermen in Quynh Long are very excited. There was a trip within 2 weeks when people caught more than 10 tons of fish. Accordingly, income from fishing labor in the first months of 2017 increased, reaching an average of 8 million VND/person/month. The purse seine profession alone reached 10 million VND/person/month. The average income of the whole commune reached 37 million VND/person/year - among the highest in Quynh Luu district.

Mr. Tran Quang Ve - Secretary of the Quynh Long Commune Party Committee happily said: In the last fishing trips of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, fishermen had big catches. Not only that, many fish species that had long been absent suddenly reappeared with high yields such as catfish, sardines, snakehead fish, and bream... Many trips yielded dozens of tons of fish worth hundreds of millions of dong.

Not a day away from the sea

These days, Lach Quen fishing port is bustling with boats returning home. The sound of engines and fishermen is loud throughout the long harbor. While the ships are docking in triumph with their holds full of shrimp and fish, many other fleets are eagerly preparing their fishing gear to set sail. It is not yet the main fishing season, but Lach Quen fishing port is filled with a bustling, urgent, and bustling atmosphere with activities of transporting ice, fueling, and necessities for the ships going out to sea, dispelling the late cold wind of April. Hundreds of large and small capacity ships line up inside and outside waiting to refuel. Along the fishing port, gas stations, ice factories with hundreds of fishermen and shore workers are working at full capacity to promptly provide logistics for the ships going out to sea.

Fishermen bustlingly welcome "sea luck" at Lach Quen fishing port (Tien Thuy commune, Quynh Luu). Photo: Viet Hung

For fishermen, fishing and fishing are not only a profession that feeds them and their families, a profession that their ancestors have built and passed down for generations, inspiring a love for the sea. Mr. Ho Suu - a fisherman in Quynh Nghia commune, the owner of a fishing boat who is busy preparing for a happy sea trip with his wife said: "The sea profession is really hard, but if we don't go out to sea to cast our nets for a day, we feel anxious and miss it so much. Because for us, the waves and the saltiness of the sea seem to have seeped into our skin. Moreover, going to sea brings food and savings, so everyone is happy."

Fisherman Nguyen Kim Duong in Manh Son parish, Tien Thuy commune has just prepared the final stage for a new sea trip. Implementing the shipbuilding program according to Decree 67 of the Government, Mr. Duong boldly registered to build an iron-hulled ship with a capacity of 829CV worth 16 billion VND. In August 2016, the ship was completed and put into operation. This is Tien Thuy's first iron-hulled ship. With extensive experience at sea and the use of a modern ship, after each trip to sea, his ship always catches a lot of fish, with a heavy net full of fish.

Mr. Duong shared: This ship has been at sea for 9 trips. Compared to when we used to run small ships near the shore with a capacity of 165CV, now with a large ship, modern equipment helps workers have more leisure time and high efficiency. Exploiting in the Gulf of Tonkin, since the establishment of joint fishing teams at sea, helping each other with fishing locations, the efficiency has been outstanding. Each trip lasts 5-7 days, earning about 250 million VND, so everyone is excited.

Fisherman Nguyen Kim Duong in Manh Son parish, Tien Thuy commune has just prepared the final stage for a new sea trip. Implementing the shipbuilding program according to Decree 67 of the Government, Mr. Duong boldly registered to build an iron-hulled ship with a capacity of 829CV worth 16 billion VND. In August 2016, the ship was completed and put into operation. This is Tien Thuy's first iron-hulled ship. With extensive experience at sea and the use of a modern ship, after each trip to sea, his ship always catches a lot of fish, with a heavy net full of fish.

Mr. Duong shared: This ship has been at sea for 9 trips. Compared to when we used to run small ships near the shore with a capacity of 165CV, now with a large ship, modern equipment helps workers have more leisure time and high efficiency. Exploiting in the Gulf of Tonkin, since the establishment of joint fishing teams at sea, helping each other with fishing locations, the efficiency has been outstanding. Each trip lasts 5-7 days, earning about 250 million VND, so everyone is excited.

Returning to Hoang Mai, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau or Nghi Loc, Cua Lo town, the children far from home are happy because the life of the coastal people is improving day by day, high-rise buildings are built close together, every house has purchased modern means of transportation and audio-visual equipment. In recent years, fishing has been the main occupation of the people and with their dynamism, diligence and hard work, the sea has brought them a prosperous life.

Coming to the people in many coastal villages, we feel the deep love of fishermen for mother sea. Many fishermen have been attached to the sea for decades, the fishing profession has been passed down from father to son, never stopping. Attached to the profession of fishing at sea with many hardships, waves and drifting, but never had the intention of giving up the profession to do another, easier job. “For generations, for every fisherman, the boat is home, the sea is homeland, an endless source of life and they have become rich in their homeland. Therefore, despite the risks, despite the fact that life has become much more prosperous, fishermen still go out to sea on long voyages with the belief that they must keep their profession, love the sea to live, to develop the economy and protect the homeland's sea and islands”. – Fisherman, parishioner Nguyen Kim Duong confided.