Dien Chau fishermen have a good season of jellyfish and herring.

Fisherman Nguyen Xuan Khanh in Dien Kim commune is loading jellyfish to import to processing facilities. Photo: Mai Giang

Setting sail at 4am, fishing about 4 nautical miles from shore and arriving at 8am, the raft of fisherman Nguyen Xuan Khanh in Tien Tien hamlet, Dien Kim commune (Dien Chau) caught 600kg of jellyfish. As soon as it landed, all the jellyfish were purchased on the spot by the owner of the processing facility at a price of 100,000 VND/100kg.

Mr. Khanh said: "A raft only has one person, going out to sea at 4am. This year, we have to go further to catch jellyfish. A small trip can earn 500,000 VND, a large trip can earn millions. Catching jellyfish is also easy, we don't have to sell them, the facility comes to buy them right away."

Fishermen can catch jellyfish just 4 nautical miles from shore. Photo: Mai Giang

Along with the jellyfish rafts urgently imported to the processing facility owners, many fishermen also carried their nets ashore to remove herring from the nets. The batches of fresh, shiny green herring were purchased by traders who came to the shore or the fishermen's wives brought them to the market to sell.

Ms. Thai Thi Thu is unloading fish and shares: Early in the morning, we go to sea to wait for the raft to return, then rush in to collect fish, bring them home to grill to sell for a higher price; on average, each day the family earns about 1 million VND.

Fishermen gather to remove herring. Photo: Mai Giang

These days, more than 200 rafts in Dien Thinh, Dien Kim, and Dien Hai communes of Dien Chau district have achieved high yields. For herring rafts, the average yield is 100 kg; and jellyfish rafts reach 50-70 kg.

With an output of about 100 tons/day, jellyfish are purchased by 3 large establishments in Dien Kim and Dien Hai seas at a price of 1 million VND/ton. All are processed into many products such as dried jellyfish, instant jellyfish... serving the domestic market and for export.

With the amount of about 10 tons of herring per day, in addition to consuming at the price of 1-1.5 million VND/quintal at the markets, many facilities also buy it to make fish sauce and fish meal for livestock farming.

Herrings are purchased by traders right on the beach. Photo: Mai Giang

By actively going out to sea, a fisherman earns from 500,000 - 1,000,000 VND/trip. It is expected that each year Dien Chau fishermen will exploit 12,000 tons of jellyfish and 1,500 tons of herring.