"The all-seeing eye" in the middle of the ocean.

(Baonghean) - Nghe An currently has over 4,000 fishing vessels, including nearly 1,000 offshore fishing boats. Alongside acquiring larger vessels with powerful engines, fishermen are focusing on modern equipment to improve fishing efficiency. This includes equipping vessels with long-range communication devices, satellite positioning systems, vertical sonar... and recently, some vessel owners have equipped their vessels with horizontal sonar to locate schools of fish.

In 2010, a fishing boat owner in Quynh Long boldly spent over 140 million VND, equivalent to 50% of the machine's value plus the matching funds from the fisheries promotion program, to purchase his first horizontal sonar system. By July 2011, Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi from Quynh Lap was selected by the District Agricultural Extension Station to implement a project to equip fishing boats with horizontal sonar systems, with the principle that the boat owner pays the remaining 50% and the project contributes the rest. During a rough sea, we had a meeting with boat owner Nguyen Van Muoi...

Having gone to sea with his father since he was in sixth grade, Muoi knew every channel and fishing ground in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An like the back of his hand. By the age of 20, he was already a skilled captain. He noticed that fish and shrimp were becoming increasingly scarce, and to exploit them effectively, he longed to be able to "see" the seabed. That dream, with his vertical sonar, was only partially realized. When he heard that Quynh Long had equipped itself with a device that could "see a wide area" underwater and even distinguish different fish species by their sounds, he was fascinated and sought to learn more.

Captain Nguyen Van Muoi is searching for fish using a horizontal sonar.

In 2010, he spent over 1 billion VND to build a new boat with a 320 HP engine. Although he had to mortgage his house to borrow money from the bank to build the new boat, when he heard about the project, he reluctantly discussed it with his fellow fishermen and borrowed money to invest in a sonar system. "Heaven rewards those with determination," after installing the engine, his boat's first catches were very successful. Some catches reached 7 tons. The time spent at sea gradually decreased. Previously, it took five to seven days to fill the boat, and sometimes he even lost money on fuel and lights. Now, that has ended, because going to sea always brings something to bring back.

Mười bought the boat in July, and by the end of 2011, each of his crewmates earned over 65 million dong, according to the boat owner's conservative estimate. Meanwhile, the income of crewmates on other boats was only 40-45 million dong per year.

According to Mr. Mười, previously, using a vertical sonar only allowed them to "scan" around the ship's hull in a circle of about 10 meters. Now, the circle has expanded to 400 meters. For every 10 meters increase in depth, the circle's circumference increases by another 10 meters. If a horizontal sonar detects more schools of fish to choose from, sometimes dozens of schools can be "seen" within one nautical mile. The ship only drops anchor and casts its nets to catch the largest school.

Previously, before deciding to cast their nets, the captain would use a small seine net to check the size of the fish. Now, this can be determined using a sonar screen. Despite his limited experience, Captain Mười can distinguish between schools of fish, large and small, based on the colors on the screen. Smaller fish appear more frequently in red, while larger fish are lighter in color. Dense clusters indicate mackerel, while scattered spots indicate sardines and spotted fish. Experienced users can even listen to the sounds to differentiate between fish species and choose the most effective catch. "I haven't reached that level yet," Captain Mười admits. But he is trying to learn and accumulate experience to master the equipment. Since acquiring the sonar, his boat has become a focal point at sea. Whenever his boat drops anchor, no matter where it is, a fleet of over a hundred fishing boats gather around, creating a lively scene on the water.

Inspired by the effectiveness of Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi's horizontal sonar, local fishermen are hoping for investment from project programs so they can acquire similar "all-seeing eyes" to help them prosper in their fishing profession.

Cong Sang