Nghe An fishermen 'hit it big' with anchovies

At Quynh Lap port, dozens of local fishing boats come and go busily, each holding dozens of tons of fresh anchovies after a fishing trip, creating a bustling atmosphere in the first days of the year.

After more than 6 days of "turning the waves" to go out to sea, Mr. Le Ba Duong - owner of fishing boat NA 91517 in Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town, was excited because his sea trip was a "big hit", catching nearly 50 tons of anchovies.

“The sea has been calm these past few days, so anchovies have appeared densely. This is our first trip out to sea in 2024 to catch so many anchovies. This trip earned over VND440 million, minus expenses of about VND180 million, the profit is about VND260 million,” said Mr. Duong.

Anchored not far away is the boat of fisherman Le Ba Han, who has just caught 30 tons of anchovies. Taking advantage of the opportunity to go to the port to sell fish to traders, refuel, get ice and necessities to prepare for a new trip, Mr. Han said that Quynh Lap's fleet specializes in catching anchovies. Never before has the anchovy output been as high as this year, every time the net is cast down, fish are caught, the boat is so heavy that it is not strong enough to hold it, so some boats stop at Ninh Co port (Thai Binh) to sell some, some boats quickly return to Quynh Lap port to sell in time for a few more trips.

The anchovy season usually starts from the 8th lunar month and lasts until the end of February of the following year, but the main season is in October and November. Many boats have pulled up 7-8 tons of anchovies in just one night. The anchovies in this sea area are white-striped anchovies, 5-7cm long, often appearing in large schools and feeding on plankton in the surface water. The schools of fish will gradually move south, and after Tet, fishermen will move to exploit the waters of Ha Tinh.

Currently, Quynh Lap commune has more than 100 large-capacity offshore fishing vessels, mainly exploiting anchovies, squid, and needlefish. In recent days, the anchovy catch has been quite large, with 100 tons sold on January 7 alone. The fishing port is bustling with people loading fish, trucks carrying goods, and thousands of trays of fish filling the walkways.

Anchovies are mainly brought to steaming furnaces to make dried fish for export to domestic and Chinese markets, to be used as raw materials for salting fish sauce or marinating spices, dried to make dried fish, ground to make fish powder... The freshest batches of fish can be used to make salad, soup, sweet and salty braised...

Anchovies arriving on shore will be classified and sold at different prices. At this time, grade 1 anchovies cost about 10,000-10,500 VND/kg, grade 2 anchovies sold as fish meal for animal feed cost 7,000 VND/kg. Compared to previous years, the price of anchovies is cheaper but in return, the output is higher.

In addition, due to the good anchovy season, not only fishermen have high incomes, but many women in Quynh Lap commune and neighboring communes and wards have jobs at the beginning of the new year, such as transporting, processing, and classifying anchovies for traders. Fishing logistics services have also developed strongly, bringing a dual value chain to the locality.

The leader of Quynh Lap Commune People's Committee said: Since the beginning of the full moon season (early November of the lunar calendar) until now, Quynh Lap fishermen have exploited about 1,500-1,600 tons of anchovies. At the beginning of the new year, fishermen had a big anchovy haul, bringing in quite a high income, so everyone was excited. Local leaders, the Fisheries Association as well as fishermen are determined to go offshore, both to develop the economy and to contribute to protecting the sovereignty of the Fatherland's sea and islands.