The 'basin boat' profession in Cua Lo
(Baonghean.vn) - With a rudimentary bamboo boat and a few nets, the "basket fishing" trip starts at 3am, and by 8am, the fishermen of Cua Lo earn millions of dong per fishing trip. Through many changes, the "basket fishing" profession is still associated with many fishermen here, associated with the livelihood of the people of the fishing village...
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| The “going to the basket boat” profession is considered a traditional profession, “passed down from father to son” of Cua Lo fishermen. According to preliminary statistics, by 2022, the whole Cua Lo town will have about 300 basket boats, of which Thu Thuy ward has the most with 139 boats; Nghi Thuy ward has 70 boats… Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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The "going on a bamboo boat" job is to fish close to shore, leaving at 2-3am and arriving at shore at 7-8am. Each boat has 1-2 workers. The "going on a bamboo boat" job is to fish all year round, except on days of heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas when the nets are "set aside". Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| In the past, fishermen used bamboo boats coated with otter oil, rowed by hand and used kerosene lamps to fish; today, people have improved and use composite plastic boats with small horsepower engines to fish. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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Men go fishing, women (wife or children) wait on the shore, when the fishing boat reaches the dock, they gather to remove the net and sell it to customers. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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Seafood caught is usually shrimp, a little bit of squid, and fresh fish. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| Each trip only lasts a few hours, the seafood caught is always fresh and delicious, so it is very popular with customers. Thanks to that, the income of fishermen going on the fishing trip is quite high, ranging from 700,000 - 1,000,000 VND/trip. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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Old fisherman Nguyen Minh Sang (73 years old, in Thu Thuy ward, Cua Lo town) said: “A few years ago, it was easy to make money going to sea, the sea was full of fish and shrimp, just need to go out to sea and cast a net to get fish, rarely return empty. Now, near the shore, fish and shrimp are scarcer, have to go further away, oil prices are getting more and more expensive so income is also decreasing. To protect marine resources, ensure long-term livelihoods, fishermen have long switched to fishing with large mesh nets instead of small mesh nets, only catch big fish, do not exploit to the fullest. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| In the past, in addition to fishing, fishermen also used bamboo boats to transport tourists to experience squid fishing. However, due to safety concerns, the Cua Lo town government banned this activity. Currently, bamboo boats are only used to exploit seafood near the shore or to transfer seafood from large boats to shore. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
