Early season of earthworms on Lam River

Huy Thu• October 3, 2021 09:00

(Baonghean.vn) - When the season of rươi comes, people in Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district (Nghe An) flock to Lam river to catch rươi. The job of hunting "heavenly gifts" at night is hard, but it also brings the people here a good source of income.

Every year, around September to November, the earthworms float on the Lam River bank through Phu Xuan hamlet, Trung Phuc Cuong commune (Nam Dan). Compared to the method of catching earthworms in the fields in the communes along the Lam River in Hung Nguyen, in addition to building banks, spreading nets and tarpaulins on the river, people here also use boats with engines to create currents to push the earthworms into the traps. Photo: Huy Thu

For those who hunt for worms by boat, every 20-30 minutes, people scoop up the net once to dump the worms. Depending on the depth of the riverbank, the hunters wade in the river or sit on a boat to scoop up the worms. Photo: Huy Thu

Because the river water during flood season has a lot of trash, every time we dump the baskets, there is a lot of trash mixed in with the earthworms. People who go to collect the earthworms have to use lights to pick up trash, which takes a lot of time. Photo: Huy Thu

Every night, dozens of people in Phu Xuan hamlet go hunting for worms on the Lam River, some families go with their whole family (some work on the river, some collect worms on the shore), so the riverbank at night is quite bustling, sparkling with flashlights and laughter. Photo: Huy Thu

Many children also go hunting for worms with their families. They often sit on the shore to pick them up. Photo: Huy Thu

The characteristic of Lam River worms is that they are small and not as fat as the worms in the fields in Chau Nhan and Hung Loi communes (Hung Nguyen). Mr. Nguyen Van Dong - a person who hunts worms in Phu Xuan hamlet said: His family hunts worms by motorboat and catches less worms than those who build dikes and spread nets on the riverbank. On average, his family only catches 4 - 5 kg of worms each night. Photo: Huy Thu

According to local people, each month, the worms only surface on the river surface twice during high tides, each time for only a few days, each day for only 2-3 hours. After finishing the process of hunting worms on the river, the hunters bring the worms back to the village to sell to purchasing points. Around 9-10pm at night, the buying and selling of worms in the village begins to bustle. Photo: Huy Thu

Early season Lam river worms are being bought and sold by people at 320,000 - 350,000 VND/kg, all the traders buy. When the season comes, every night, a family in Phu Xuan hamlet goes hunting for worms and earns millions. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ha - one of the households that hunts a lot of worms in Phu Xuan hamlet said: On nights when the worms are floating, his family earns on average several hundred kilos of worms each night. Photo: Huy Thu