The dream of "far from shore" is still far away

(Baonghean.vn) - The seafood output of the whole Nghe An province is mainly concentrated in the districts of Quynh Luu and Dien Chau. In Dien Chau alone, in 2011, the output of aquatic and seafood catches reached over 18,000 tons, but the main force that made this achievement was the small boat fleet, even rafts operating near the shore. The nearshore seafood resources are gradually depleted, only going offshore can provide a chance to prosper. However, the structural transformation from small boats to large capacity ships in the coastal district of Dien Chau is facing many difficulties...

Ancient fisherman

Mr. Thach Dinh Nghia, Vice Chairman in charge of Dien Bich commune's economy, who went to sea when he was 16 or 17 years old, said that the whole commune has over 5,000 workers, only 860 of whom work in the sea, the rest work in services related to fishing, mainly trading seafood. A large number of surplus workers go to industrial parks inMale, in the North to work as workers, or follow contractors to work as construction workers. There are also people who come to the "promised land" by exporting labor toMalaysia, Korea, China...

Prepare to cast the net

When they are 14 or 15 years old, coastal boys are sent by their parents to go to sea on boats to learn the basics of fishing. At first, they have to get used to not getting seasick, then they have to do side jobs like casting nets, collecting nets, and then serving and cooking for the whole group of fishermen. Dien Chau fishermen call these apprentices “lien em”. When they are new apprentices, sea boys have to learn how to face risks. Then, when they grow up, they know how to accept it calmly. Risks in the seafaring profession spare no one when they choose this arduous job.

Mr. Thach Dinh Nghia said: Just last year, in Dien Bich, there were 4 large ships in distress, one of which ran aground and could not be used again. Incidents like that are often a huge economic shock to fishermen. Most of them will not be able to recover to reproduce, if they do not receive timely help, they will easily fall into debt and bankruptcy.

But those risks do not seem to be enough to discourage fishermen who are brave enough to stick to the sea. It is the profit from seafood that makes Dien Chau fishermen want to brave the waves and go out to sea. Many people share: If they have the opportunity to borrow capital to build a boat, they do not hesitate to go out to sea, because each trip lasts about 5-7 days, after deducting all expenses, they still make a profit of about 10 million VND. Many fishermen see this profit but lack the capital to build a large boat, so they have to accept only going to the shore and not being able to go out to sea. However, people still go out to sea with small 48-horsepower boats, like Mr. Vu The Quang (Quyet Thanh Village - Dien Bich - Dien Chau). Some, because of lack of capital, go to Thanh Hoa or to the southern provinces to buy used boats for 200-400 million VND to have a means to stick to the sea. Well, let's wait until we have enough capital to buy a larger boat.

There are not many fishermen who can afford to buy old boats, even small-capacity motorboats. Most fishermen in Dien Kim, Dien Ngoc, Dien Hai, and Dien Bich communes still use rowboats, or even go fishing on bamboo rafts. Walking along the length of Dien Kim and Dien Hai beaches, we saw boats parked close together, most of them rudimentary and unequipped with machinery.

Motorboats and large ships are all anchored in the creeks, which only account for a small percentage. On the beach, we met young fisherman Pham Van Nam. He has known how to go to sea since he was 10 years old, and left his village to work as a worker in the industrial zone because he found going to sea too hard, but the 19-year-old still had to return to the sea. With his small raft, he still does not hesitate to go dozens of nautical miles from shore to find seafood with the hope of soon having money to buy a boat. But with an income of about 400 - 500 thousand per day, that is still a distant dream. Mr. Pham Van Mai (Yen Thinh village - Dien Kim) is nearly 80 years old, still has to go to sea to find fish to support himself because his children are also in difficulty and cannot help much.

He confided: “Perhaps I will never dream of having a boat to go out to sea again in this lifetime.” The old man has over 60 years of experience in the seafaring profession. He cannot remember how many bamboo rafts he has had to replace, because each new one only lasts half a year at best. Coming to Dien Chau, walking along the beach, most of these old men have to work to support themselves because they have no support when they get old.

As for the old fisherman Vu Van Nu (Quyet Thang village - Dien Bich), he considers the sea as his soul mate. At 77 years old, he still lives on a boat, drifting on the waves more than on land. Being old and not having his own boat, he has to help on the boats of the villagers. He understands the sea like he understands his soul mate, even when he is sad, happy, or angry.

With Mr. Nu on the boat, everyone felt reassured, because he had the ability to determine the wind direction, looking at the waves to know when the weather was calm or when there was a storm or rough sea. He said that he was born to be attached to the sea, so he felt very sad when the fishermen's lives became more and more difficult. Losses in business have caused motorboat owners to tend to gather to fish near the shore. The nets always skimmed the mud surface, pulling up all the shrimp, fish, crabs, and snails on the way. This type of fishing puts the seafood resources near the shore at risk of depletion. Motorboats coming close to the shore are also a concern for the owners of small rowboats and rafts to lose their jobs. Many small boats have had their nets torn by motorboat propellers, or even capsized?!

Sadness goes away

I promised myself that I would soon have my first sea trip, but after dozens of “plans”, my dream of going to sea to witness the hardships of fishermen finally came true. It was the first day of the second lunar month of the year of the Dragon (2012), when the festival season had ended and the boats were really entering the new business season. I had the opportunity to follow the fishermen of Dien Bich commune - Dien Chau on their boats to go fishing.

It was not until late afternoon that the "crew" of 4 of us finally went down the Van creek through Ngang Dien Thanh beach to go out to sea. Before that, by chance, I met fisherman Vu The Quang (48 years old) who has been in the fishing profession for over 30 years. When I called to ask if I could go fishing together, he said: "We only go inshore, not out at sea." After asking further, I heard his sad voice: "Last year, my business suffered a loss, so I had to stop going out to sea for a while." This fisherman with a face as sharp and wrinkled as the waves had dreamed of getting rich from the sea. After many years at sea, he still only had a small 48-horsepower boat. Mr. Quang had gone out to sea many times with that small boat. Although he did not have the conditions to buy a big boat, he did not want to be inferior to boats with double or triple the capacity of his small boat.

He once said: "You have to invest big and work hard to make a profit. We lack capital, so we have to take risks to have a chance to prosper." However, at the end of the year, calculating and seeing a loss of over twenty million for the whole year, he clicked his tongue: "Let's go back to the sea, going out to sea like this will "kill" us!" So the promise to take me out to sea had to be put on hold: "You have to wait until I buy a boat, then I will let you go out to sea." - He laughed crazily and said. But he himself did not know when he would be able to buy a boat to go out to sea with peace of mind. Now, to build a new boat of about 90 horsepower would cost over 1 billion VND. In the past, when we went out to sea, there were trips that earned tens of millions of VND, but when we returned to the sea, a lucky two-day fishing trip only earned about 1-2 million VND. However, there were also trips that resulted in heavy losses. People who went to sea were used to such losses. They could only accept it and return to shore, preparing for the next fishing trips.

On the same trip with us, Mr. Thai Ba Luc (Dien Bich - Dien Chau) also contributed his story: "For us fishermen, let's assume that every year, except for food, living expenses, except for stormy days when the sea is rough and we have to stay home, we earn about a hundred million each year, so it will take another ten years to buy a big boat." Nearly 50 years old, with over 30 years of fishing, but up to now, Mr. Luc still hasn't bought his own boat. He can only go and work as a hired hand on other people's boats.

Our conversation ended when the boat owner gave the order to pull the net. And I witnessed another misfortune that fishermen often encounter. The net was torn, the amount of fish caught was only a bunch of less than 1kg! A spare net, which was only for catching shrimp, was dropped down. After a few rounds of casting and pulling the net, only a few bunches of fish and snails were caught, the boat owner turned the boat back to shore.

While waiting for the tide to rise to steer the boat into the dock, the fishermen sat together under the dim light of a battery-powered light bulb. After a few glasses of wine, fisherman Vu The Quang said: In the past, he had to take his wife and children to Ham Tan (Binh Thuan), but in the end, he had to return to the sea. Although he knew that this was a profession that always faced risks and disasters, it was like "karma" that had come into the life of this man with a weather-beaten physique.

That night was also the first time I slept on a fishermen's boat. After a day of struggling, I slept soundly. I woke up when the sky was just bright. The people in my night fishing group had already gotten up and were packing up their nets to mend them, preparing for the next trip. Mr. Quang said that this fishing trip had lost at least over 1 million VND. As for me, that first trip to sea was not a happy one. But I suddenly thought, the fishermen here are used to going on fishing trips empty-handed and returning empty-handed, the important thing is that they always have the will to stick to the sea, to brave the waves and go out to sea. However, to do this, we need more attention from the authorities at all levels for these brave and patient fishermen!

You Wei