Fishermen spend all night hunting for 'half river, half sea' fish

At the end of the second lunar month, sardines go upstream, which is also the time when fishermen along Lam River start exploiting this specialty fish. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Sardines have a very special growth characteristic, similar to salmon in Europe. They live in the sea all year round, and when spring comes and the weather warms up (around the end of February of the lunar calendar), they swim upstream to lay eggs.

The eggs hatch, the young sardines grow strong and go downstream to the sea, starting a new life cycle. When they are adults, they go upstream to complete their spawning cycle. The season when sardines go upstream to find a spawning place is also the time when the fishermen start fishing.

Fishermen in Dang Son commune (Do Luong) remove their nets. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With more than 50 years of working on the river, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan (Giang Tien village, Thanh Giang commune, Thanh Chuong) has memorized the characteristics of sardines.

Mr. Hoan said: “Sardines usually move from the river surface at a depth of 3-5m during the day and close to the water's edge at night. Sardines are about 15cm long and weigh about 50-80g. To catch sardines, you must use a specialized net with large eyes and 3 layers of thickness.

Sardines pass through Lam River in Vinh City, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong… However, the further upstream they go, absorbing the river’s alluvium, the more chewy, fragrant, and flavorful the fish become. Therefore, sardines in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong are more fragrant, fatter, and more delicious than sardines in areas near the estuary.

Nets full of sardines. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The sardine fishing season only lasts about 1 month (from late February to early April of the lunar calendar) but it is the time when the fishing villagers have the best income of the year. Ha Long fishing village (village 1, Thanh Ha commune, Thanh Chuong) has nearly 20 "professional" households - specializing in fishing on the Lam River. During the sardine season, almost all the villagers stay at the wharf, taking turns casting their nets.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Ty - Vice Chairman of Thanh Ha Commune Farmers' Association said: "The sardine season is very short, just over a month, so people take advantage of the opportunity to catch fish. Normally, on the river, fishing is mainly done at night, from 8pm to 4am the next morning, but during the sardine season, fishermen cast their nets from the afternoon, through the night until morning.

Sardine season brings income to fishermen along Lam River. Photo: Thanh Phuc

However, it is easier to fish at night and catch more. There are households that cast their nets 3-5 times a day and catch 20-30kg of sardines. The selling price at the wharf ranges from 25,000 - 50,000 VND/kg (depending on size). At the end of the sardine season, they can earn tens of millions of VND.

This year, although it is the beginning of the season, the amount of sardines going up the river is less than every year, but the fish are bigger, fatter and sell for a higher price.Quickly removing fresh sardines from the net, Mr. Binh Thao (Dang Son commune, Do Luong) excitedly said: "From 6 pm to 8 pm, in 2 hours I got about 10 kg of fish, sold it to traders at a mixed price (big and small fish) of 35,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses I still earned more than 200,000 VND.There were years when the sardine season was good, each net pulled up a hundred kilos of fish, each day bringing in a hundred kilos of fish, earning millions of dong was common.

Sardines in the breeding season have thick bodies, fatty meat and are rich in nutrients. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After being caught, sardines will be picked up and purchased by traders at the wharf. This is a "specialty" fish, delicious, nutritious and only appears for a short time in the year, so it is very popular. The price of sardines is relatively cheap, only from 25,000 - 55,000 VND/kg, and can be processed into many different dishes such as: sardines cakes, grilled sardines, fried sardines... so whatever fishermen catch, traders buy it all.

Ms. Giang Thanh, a small trader in Dang Son commune (Do Luong) who specializes in buying sardines wholesale for restaurants and hotels in Vinh city, said: "Sardines are in high demand and are a delicious dish on the menus of many large restaurants in Vinh. People also love dishes made from sardines. Therefore, on peak days, I alone buy and supply the market with hundreds of kilograms of sardines."

Sardines are cheap, delicious, and can be used in many dishes, so they are very popular in the market. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Because this is a large resource, to protect sardines, in some areas, fishermen have agreed with each other that, during the sardine season, except for a certain period of time, boats will not fish, but will let the fish spawn before dropping the net; all boatmates must comply with manual exploitation such as dropping nets, setting nets to catch, and absolutely not using electric shocks or explosives in exploitation.

This is the way for "professionals" to maintain the sardine school, breed and multiply the sardine school, which is the "savings" for the next sardine crop...