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

At the end of the second lunar month, when sardines go upstream, it is also the time when fishermen along the Lam River enter the season to exploit 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 the second lunar month), 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 perform their spawning cycle. The season when sardines go upstream to find a place to spawn 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 in 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 3-5m from the river surface 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 the 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 tougher, more fragrant, and more flavorful the fish become. Therefore, sardines in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, and 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 the Farmers' Association of Thanh Ha commune said: "The sardine season is very short, only a little 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 6pm to 8pm, in 2 hours, I got about 10kg of fish, sold it to traders at a price of 35,000 VND/kg (mixed fish of different sizes), after deducting expenses, I still earned more than 200,000 VND.There were years when the sardine season was good, each net hauled in a hundred kilograms of fish, each day bringing in a hundred kilograms of fish, earning millions of dong was common.

Sardines are in the breeding season so their bodies are thick, their meat is fatty and 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 the fishermen catch as much as they can, the traders buy it all.

Ms. Giang Thanh, a 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 fishing such as dropping nets, setting up traps to catch, and absolutely not using electric shock or explosives in fishing.

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