Go fishing in Hua Na lake

(Baonghean) - The hot sun in the highlands of Dong Van commune (Que Phong) is like pouring fire, but many people in Pieng Van and Pu Duoc villages... are still diligently fishing in the Hua Na hydroelectric reservoir...

We arrived at Dong Van commune (Que Phong) before 8am but the sun was already scorching hot. Occasionally, we met a few people carrying nets on their shoulders going in the opposite direction, some with happy faces, others with sad faces. Me Loc said: "People go fishing from the lake to there. When there was no land for production, they only knew how to go into the forest to fish. From here to the lake is about 3km". "With such strong sunlight, does anyone still go fishing, ma'am?". "There are still people, but not as crowded as in the early morning. If you want to go at this time, there are still people out there casting nets". "Have you been fishing for a long time, ma'am?". "Of course, if we don't go fishing, how can we get money to buy rice? People over 70 still go to the forest, fishing is normal. In the summer, people go fishing at 4am, return at 7am, after that, some go into the forest, some go to fetch water.... When there is no land for production, fishing is the salvation of the villagers".

Casting nets on Hua Na Lake Photo: Sy Minh

Unable to catch a taxi, we had to walk. The roads through Pu Duoc and Pu Khon villages... were sparsely populated, the houses were quiet. Occasionally, there were a few old ladies sitting looking after their grandchildren. In front of the house's garden, the cassava plants were wilted by the prolonged heat, the ground cracked. "How many people in your family go fishing?". "Except for the children who go to school, the rest go fishing. Fishing saves money to buy rice, fish sauce, and salt...". Me Loc is over 60 this year, she still looks healthy, her skin is red. She said: "Back in the old village, we never had to go hungry because there was a lot of land for production, each family had at least five or seven buffaloes and cows. In the new place, there was no land for production, people only knew how to go into the forest, to the lake to cast nets. In the old village, this season, the rice harvest filled up the houses and yards. In the new village, if we have to wait for land for production like this, it would be very sad...".

While the village was still in the dark, they were already at Hua Na Hydropower Reservoir to cast their nets. Me Loc said that the summer was hot, so the earlier you go fishing, the cooler it would be. Some people diligently carried their nets out to the reservoir at 3 or 4 am. Her husband is nearly 70 years old this year, but he goes fishing every day from 4 am, and returns home around 6 am. It seems like he has a connection with fish. Every day he goes out, he has fish to sell and fish to eat. Some people drag their nets all day long and still can’t weigh the fish, and if they sell them, they only get a few tens of thousands of dong…

The road to the lake is steep in many sections, on either side of the mountain or the river, with few people passing by, only the sound of the stream can be heard. Me Loc said that in the rainy season, this red dirt road is very slippery, a barefoot pedestrian could fall at any time, not to mention other means of transport.

Noon. The lake is getting hotter. The sudden rain passed quickly, the steam rising from the ground. A few people still cast nets around the lake despite the scorching sun. Ms. Lo Thi Que from Pieng Van village said: "The father and son went fishing and earned a few tens of thousands. When I got home, I felt free so I went back to cast a few nets to relieve boredom and earn some food. Since we don't have land to produce, we have to find work." Above the lake, a 2-year-old girl was sitting on a net looking out at the lake, her head covered with an adult's shirt. "Why don't you let your child stay home to avoid the sun?" "If parents go fishing, they have to bring their children along. My siblings just got their summer vacation and they also go fishing with their parents. I have a small child and I don't dare let him on the raft. It's dangerous if he makes a mistake, so I just cast the net close to the shore. But many people cast the net close to the shore. If they go on a raft, it's dangerous if they make a mistake. If they have a boat, it's more convenient to go fishing, the whole family can go fishing together, but buying a boat is very expensive, at least several tens of millions of dong. Here, some people buy boats to serve people traveling on the lake, and they mainly go fishing by bamboo raft.

The advantage of the large and deep reservoir is that there are many types of fish living there, most of which are cool-water fish. Occasionally, people catch catfish weighing up to 3-4 kg. The fish are sold early in the morning before dawn. People who buy fish in the reservoir are mainly from Kim Son Town, some open restaurants in the center of Dong Van Commune.

Despite the hot weather, a man named Kim in Pieng Van village still tried to catch another fish before returning home. He stretched his arms to the lake with all his might. He shared: In winter, around 7 o'clock, customers have already arrived at the lake to buy fish, and in summer, at 5 o'clock, the fish buyers are already waiting in the lake. When the net is pulled up, people buy all the fish, from big to small. Prices are almost fixed in advance, fluctuating according to the season and the weight of the fish, and each type of fish, so buyers, whether familiar or unfamiliar, rarely bargain or haggle. Fishing also depends on luck, sometimes you go all day, wake up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning to cast the net and only catch a few kilos of fish. In summer, there are fewer fish than in winter. Then Mr. Kim smiled brightly: "So sometimes you cast the net and get the right catch, a net of several kilos."

Ms. Que fishes all day, except for the time when she has a break for meals. Because her children are studying and she has no land to produce, she and her husband have to take turns, one goes fishing, the other goes to the forest to make ends meet for the family of 7. In return for that hardship, they earn 50,000 VND a day, and on lucky days they earn hundreds, and they never go home empty-handed. In winter, there are more fish, especially on cold days when they catch more fish. In summer, there are fewer fish, but everyone is happy. In addition to having fish to eat, they also have money to buy rice, so they don't have to worry about coming home early or late.

Then her voice dropped, sadly: “Going fishing is just a temporary solution. Having land, we can feel secure in production, and our lives will be stable… I really wish I had land!”

Mr. Lang Van Tuan - Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee shared: "Going fishing and going to the forest is a temporary solution, if you don't go, you won't have money or food. Moving to the new village has advantages such as electricity, roads, schools, and stations, but there are also many shortcomings. Up to now, people don't have land for production, and domestic water in Pieng Van village is enough. More than ever, people want to soon have land for production and domestic water to focus on growing rice, growing crops, and raising buffalo and cows like in the old village...".

Thu Huong