Nghe An fishermen stay at sea all night to catch needlefish

Meet captain Ho Van Tinh - owner of fishing boat NA 903.51 in Son Hai commune (Quynh Luu) when the boat just arrived at Lach Quen port after 7 days of fishing at sea. Unlike other fishing boats using purse seine, Tinh's boat specializes in catching hairtail and squid. Under the boat's hold, fishermen transport trays full of hairtail to shore for sale to traders.

Quynh Luu fishermen's boats use high-voltage electric lights to catch needlefish. Photo: Viet Hung

On this trip back to the dock, the crew caught more than 1 ton of needlefish, earning over 100 million VND in revenue. To get trays of fresh needlefish, the crew had to stay up all night, fishing under high-pressure lamps. When they returned to shore, the fish were purchased at a high price, and the crew was very excited.

Fisherman Ho Van Tinh - owner of fishing boat NA 903.51 in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu

To attract prey, especially needlefish, in recent years, fishermen in Son Hai, Tien Thuy, and Quynh Long communes have invested in high-pressure lighting on their boats worth hundreds of millions of dong. Currently, each fishing boat is using two types: super bright high-pressure lights and LED lights, each boat is equipped with 250-300 bulbs, some boats invest in about 400-500 bulbs.

Thanks to the increasing number of light bulbs on ships, the light shines far out at sea, attracting prey from other places. This is a good condition for fishermen to effectively capture and fish for needlefish.

When it gets dark, the lights are turned on and fishermen start fishing for needlefish. If lucky, one person can catch 200-300kg of fish per night. Photo: Fisherman provided

Fisherman Ho Dinh Binh in Son Hai commune said that when it gets dark, the high-voltage light bulbs are turned on, which is also the most suitable time for fishermen to sit and fish for hairtail. Each crew member holds a rod and drops bait into the sea. The hairtail see the light shining into the sea, so they gather to eat the bait and get caught in the trap. On a lucky night, on average, a worker can catch 200-300 kg of hairtail with just a simple rod, earning millions of dong each night.

After about 7-10 days at sea, fishermen return to shore to transport fish to sell to traders. Photo: Viet Hung

Hairtail fish are a ferocious fish, they surface to feed during the day and return to the bottom at night. What fishermen like most is the market, the price is stable at a fairly high level (from 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg). Previously, hairtail fish caught by Quynh Luu fishermen were preserved and exported to markets in Korea, Japan, Taiwan...

Since the beginning of the year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the purchasing price of hairtail fish has decreased to 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg. However, according to fishermen, thanks to the decrease in gasoline prices and especially when the fish are bought by traders when they come ashore, people are also confident in staying at sea to catch seafood.

Hairtail fish is a specialty fish exploited by Quynh Luu fishermen, reaching over 4,000 tons per year. Photo: Viet Hung

According to statistics, the whole Quynh Luu district has nearly 1,200 fishing vessels, of which about 700 are offshore fishing vessels specializing in catching hairtail fish. To exploit this fish, in addition to fishing, fishermen also use nets to catch it.

Hairfish appear most from September to February of the following lunar year. Thanks to the advantage of seafood resources, Quynh Luu fishermen catch more than 4,000 tons of hairfish each year with a revenue of hundreds of billions of VND./.