(Baonghean.vn) - In mid-May, the East Sea was turbulent as China unilaterally imposed an unreasonable fishing ban, but the fishermen of Nghe An province remained steadfast in their commitment to fishing.
Reporters from Nghe An Newspaper embarked on a journey with fishermen in their ancestral fishing grounds to witness the enthusiastic atmosphere of labor and production, as well as their determination to protect maritime sovereignty and affirm that the fishing ban has no value for these people from coastal villages.
Fishermen in Nghe An: 'If we don't go out to sea for a day, we feel restless'
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| In mid-May, hundreds of fishing boats from Quynh Phuong ward (Hoang Mai town) left Lach Con port and headed north into the Gulf of Tonkin to continue their fishing trips. This is a traditional fishing area for Nghe An fishermen for many years, bordering Chinese waters. Photo: Tien Hung |
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| Here, fishermen mainly practice three-layered net fishing – a type of net used to catch fish that live near the seabed. After a journey of more than 150 nautical miles, a day's work for the fishermen usually begins at 5 am. Photo: Tien Hung |
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| Typically, the net is about 10 nautical miles long, divided into 5 parallel lines that intersect with the water current. At both ends of the lines, buoy flags are attached to mark the fishing area of each vessel and to help identify when to retrieve the net. Photo: Tien Hung. |
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| The job of casting the nets usually lasts more than 3 hours. Around 11 am, when the water calms down, the crew members begin their main task: collecting the nets. Nowadays, this is mainly done using winches instead of pulling them by hand as before. However, it usually takes at least 8 hours for the crew to collect 10 nautical miles of nets. Photo: Tien Hung |
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| This season, the most common fish species is the axehead fish, also known as the pipefish. "This type of fishing relies on experience. You have to pinpoint the areas with the most fish and pull in the nets at the right time to be effective," said Captain Nguyen Van Dien (44 years old). Photo: Tien Hung |
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| Each fishing boat typically has around 10 crew members. One person is in charge of pulling the winch, another pulls the nets onto the boat, and then the rest of the group will unload the fish and neatly store the nets in the hold in preparation for the next day's fishing. Photo: Tien Hung. |
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| According to fishermen, crabs are the most labor-intensive seafood to remove from the net. Each crab usually damages a section of the net. Photo: Tien Hung. |
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| For seafood species like red crabs, horseshoe crabs, and grouper, traders in Quang Ninh will sail directly to the fishing grounds to purchase them. Each kilogram of red crab sells for 500,000 VND at sea, while each pair of horseshoe crabs usually fetches over 400,000 VND. At the end of the first two days of fishing, Nguyen Van Dien's boat had sold nearly 15 million VND worth of crabs and horseshoe crabs. Photo: Tien Hung. |
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| The work of pulling in the nets often lasts until 3 am whenever the nets yield a large catch of fish or get entangled in oyster shells, etc. Afterward, the fishermen only get a little over an hour of rest before continuing their work for the new day, which begins at 5 am. According to the fishermen, each fishing trip lasts more than 10 days, bringing in about 300 million VND. After deducting expenses, each crew member receives about 10 million VND. Photo: Tien Hung. |
Tien Hung
