Herring season, Nghe An fishermen earn millions of dong every day

Fishermen gather to unload fish to sell to traders. Photo: Nguyen Van

Fisherman Phan Van An in Hong Thai block, Quynh Phuong ward said that during the herring season, his boat made 4 trips with 6 workers, each worker earning 7 million VND.

According to fishermen, the herring fishing grounds are only about 10 to 12 nautical miles from shore, each trip out to sea requires only 4 to 5 workers. After one night, they can catch 3 to 4 tons of herring, small boats can also catch over 1 ton. The price of fresh herring sold at Lach Con wharf is from 10 to 12,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, each day each fisherman earns at least 1 million VND, large ones from 4 to 5 million VND. For many fishermen, especially those who do not have much capital for offshore fishing trips, herring is the source of prosperity for the new year.

Herring is rich in nutrients. Photo: Nguyen Van

Herring includes many types such as smooth herring, herring gourd and herring roe. When entering the season, the fish have not yet reached their highest weight, but are very fatty and delicious. The fish are grilled, dried and sold fresh, processed into many delicious and nutritious dishes such as: fried, cooked in soup, eaten in salad, braised... Cheap price, easy to process, so herring is very popular with consumers.

The price of fish at the beginning of the season is low, only 10 to 12 thousand VND/kg sold at the wharf. Photo: Nguyen Van

During the herring season, many workers in the fishing logistics industry have jobs with an income of 150,000 - 200,000 VND/person. Ms. Ho Thi Ha does not have the capital to trade seafood, she chooses the job of making nets and removing fish at the wharf. The herring caught requires a lot of people to remove, so every day she works from 5 to 7 hours, each hour the ship owner pays 30,000 VND. Calculating, each fish removing worker like Ms. Ha can also have an income of about 200,000 VND/day.

In Quynh Phuong, there are currently 130 vessels under 90CV participating in the herring fishery, the main fishing grounds are in the Gulf of Tonkin. With favorable weather, fishermen's fishing boats go out to sea to catch large quantities of fish, bringing high economic efficiency./.