Unique profession of pulling nets to catch fish at sea

(Baonghean.vn) - Every morning at around 4-5am, fishermen in Quynh Luu (Nghe An) take advantage of the opportunity to go to sea to pull nets to catch fish. This job requires many people to participate.

When the dawn just began to rise, people gathered on the beach to prepare for fishing. Each person had a job, some prepared fishing gear, some pushed the boat out to sea to spread the net, the rest stayed on the shore to pull the net together.

As the first person to arrive to prepare for the work, Mr. Le Hong Cau in Quynh Luong commune urged the participants to quickly complete the work to start pulling the net, to avoid the fish diving far out in the morning.

When the net has been spread out to sea, people on the shore divide into 2 groups, each side has 4-5 people holding the rope to pull it up, the sea fish will fall into the net.

Every day, around 4-5am, people in the coastal area of ​​Quynh Luu gather to pull nets to catch fish under the sea. Photo: Viet Hung

Mr. Cau said that to pull a grove under the sea, it takes more than 10 people. Before pulling, they will use a motorboat to pull the grove from the shore 300 - 400 meters away from the ground and then circle back. When the 2 starting points of the grove are assigned to 2 groups of people on the shore, then they will start pulling it up.

“The job of pulling the net is similar to net pulling, but the method is different in that net pulling requires a large, wide net and a large number of participants. Furthermore, pulling the net requires good health, steady pulling, and good coordination between the two sides,” Mr. Cau shared.

Currently, the types of fish that are often caught are mainly spotted fish, garfish, herring, crabs... Photo: Viet Hung

According to those who practice the craft of pulling nets, this profession has existed since ancient times. In the past, because boats did not have engines, people had to row by hand to put the nets out to sea. Nowadays, thanks to machinery, pulling nets has become easier and more convenient.

Fishing is a year-round job. When the sea is calm, people go out to sea together to fish. Some days, they catch a big catch. Each fishing village can catch hundreds of kilograms of fish, earning millions of dong.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, one of the members of the group, said that to catch a lot of fish, they have to pull the net at 4-5 am, when the fish are close to shore and are easily caught in the net. In the summer, they often catch spotted fish, striped fish, herring, swordfish, etc.; in the winter, they catch many types of large fish with higher economic value such as mackerel, scad, croaker, etc. If they are lucky, fishermen can earn 500,000 - 700,000 VND/person each morning.

Pulling the net from the sea requires more than 10 people to participate, divided into 2 groups standing on the shore pulling the net from the sea. Photo: Viet Hung

Currently, in the coastal communes, there are more than 10 fishing villages with over 50 workers concentrated in the communes of Quynh Luong, Quynh Bang, Quynh Minh and Quynh Nghia. Fishing is considered a secondary occupation by fishermen during the off-season, but the income from this profession is quite high./.

Viet Hung