Tourism is starting to pick up, fresh green herring is in high demand

Around 7am every day, the rafts of Dien Chau fishermen begin to return to shore. Photo: Xuan Hoang

In the second half of April, herring fishermen in Dien Chau district are excited because herring prices have increased.

When the sunlight sparkles on the sea, it is also the timeraftof Dien Chau fishermen hurriedly returned to shore. At this time, on the shore, the fishermen's families and traders had gathered, waiting to escort the rafts to shore. When the rafts had been brought to a stable position, people began to remove their nets and collect fresh green herrings to sell.

Observations showed that each group of 3-4 people, of which 2 people rode motorbikes and tied ropes in front, the rest pushed behind, pushing the raft about 300m to shore. Although it was hard work, the fishermen were all excited because each raft brought back a lot of herring.

Escort to pull the raft ashore. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh, the wife of a fisherman, happily said: My husband goes to sea from 1am and comes back at 7am. Every trip is the same, bringing back hundreds of kilograms of herring. If he is lucky enough to catch this type of fish,herringLong-bodied herring is sold for over 20,000 VND/kg, short-bodied herring is priced at 13,000 VND/kg. After deducting fuel costs of about 400,000 VND, the profit is millions. "The life of coastal fishermen using rafts is to go for short periods of time, fishing with nets close to shore, so each season has its own food, almost every day there is income," Ms. Binh shared.

An old fisherman named Can in Dien Kim commune, about 50 years old, said that he has been involved in raft fishing since he was a child, so he has a lot of fishing experience. He goes to sea all year round, but the highest income is still the herring season which lasts from February to May every year, because the catch is high, while this is the tourist season so it is easy to sell.

Fishermen remove herring from nets. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Ms. Truong Thi Lan, a fish trader, said that herrings are caught in a short time and are still fresh when they reach the shore. These days in the second half of April, whenNghe AnSince sea tourism has restarted, herring has been selling very well, so the price has increased by 2-3 times compared to last month.

"After purchasing, we transport them to coastal restaurants for wholesale, or grill them and sell them at rural markets. There are two types of herring, but the more delicious is the long-bodied, thick-fleshed herring, so rafts that catch this type of herring have high income, because we buy them at a price of over 20,000 VND/kg, some rafts catch 200 kg/trip, earning 4 million VND," said Ms. Lan.

The herring was caught in a short time so it is still fresh. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Nghe An has the most rafts, mainly in the two communes of Dien Kim and Hien Hai of Dien Chau district, always maintained with about 300 boats. Therefore, every early morning along the coast of these two adjacent communes is bustling, the output of fresh seafood is estimated at tens of tons.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of Department of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentDien Chau districtAccording to him, fishing with rafts requires little investment, but is highly effective and safest. Because seafood is caught with nets, not dragnets, it does not destroy seafood resources./.