Fishermen go out to sea, get lucky at the beginning of the year

Currently, at Lach Quen, Tien Thuy commune and Lach Thoi, Son Hai commune,Many fishermen actively prepare fishing gear, gasoline, ice, food... to put on the boat in time for the first sea trip of the year.

Fisherman Nguyen Van Minh - Boat owner in Quynh Long commune said: "Fuel is now convenient, food is available, so after celebrating Tet, we just need to choose a time to set sail. This year, we will set sail on the 5th.

To start the first sea trip of the year, before returning home for Tet, each vehicle prepares about 3,000 liters of oil, the machinery is carefully repaired and maintained. After Tet, all that is needed is to transport ice to the ship's hold to be able to go out to sea to catch seafood.

Quynh Luu fishermen transport ice ashore to prepare for a new trip. Photo: Thanh Toan

According to experience, during the Tet holiday, due to the lack of regular exploitation and fishing, there are a lot of shrimp and fish. Therefore, after the Tet holiday, many fishermen do not miss the opportunity at the beginning of the year to hope for a successful trip to sea.

“We believe that a good trip to sea at the beginning of the new year will bring good luck for the whole year, so before setting off, we have to choose a good day and prepare our machinery and fishing gear carefully.”Fisherman Dong Van Manh - Owner of ship NA903 51TS, Son Hai commune added.

Son Hai is one of the communes with a long-standing seafood exploitation profession in Quynh Luu district, the lives of people here mainly depend on the sea. In 2017, although the weather had many complicated developments, especially in the last months of the year when cold air continuously increased, local fishermen still actively went offshore to exploit the sea, thereby continuously increasing output.

In 2017, seafood output reached 3,595 tons, exceeding the plan by 521 tons compared to 2016, with a value of 510 billion VND. The development of seafood exploitation not only contributes to increasing income for seafarers but also creates many jobs in the locality. Thereby, gradually improving the quality of life for the people.

Authorities check fishermen's documents and equipment before setting sail. Photo: Thanh Toan

Mr. Hoang Son - Vice Chairman of Son Hai Commune People's Committee said that in 2018, the commune has many policies to encourage fishermen to build large, modern ships to reach out to many large fishing grounds; promote the mobilization of fishermen to buy insurance for the hull, crew on board, equipment such as walkie-talkies, Icom, detectors, and purchase fishing gear so that fishermen can safely go to sea and catch a lot of seafood for a long time at sea.

Quynh Luu district currently has nearly 1,300 fishing vessels, of which more than 50% are offshore fishing vessels over 90CV. In 2017, the total fishing output of the district reached nearly 62,000 tons, an increase of 3.9% compared to the previous year. The total income from seafood exploitation reached 1,787 billion VND, the highest ever. The joy of a good fishing season in 2017 is the motivation for fishermen in the Quynh Luu sea area to go to sea at the beginning of the year with the hope of having a full hold of shrimp and fish, starting the new year with good luck.

InDien Chau districtIn the first days of the year, fishermen in Dien Kim commune also had a "sea fortune" and caught tons of herring.

Fishermen in Dien Kim commune (Dien Chau) sell herring wholesale at the beach. Photo: Mai Giang

Due to favorable weather, on the 3rd, 4th and 5th days of Tet, more than 200 rafts of Dien Kim fishermen went out to sea to fish. With the exploitation only about 3 nautical miles from shore, the fishermen set off at 2am and returned to the dock around 9am.

Because this is the main season for herring fishing, each raft catches 50 - 70kg/trip. The herring at the beginning of the season is fat, and it is also the time after Tet when sea fish are scarce, so they sell for a good price.

Currently, fishermen sell wholesale at the beach for 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg; each raft (with only 1 person) earns from 700,000 - 1,000,000 VND/day. In just 3 days at sea, each raft earns about 2 million VND.

According to the experience of fishermen in Dien Kim commune, catching a lot of herring at the beginning of the year signals a favorable year of exploitation, and the marine industry will flourish.