Fishermen hit it big with anchovy harvest at the end of the year

(Baonghean.vn) - In the last days of the 2016 calendar year, at Lach Con fishing port, Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town, the scene of buying, selling and transporting fish was bustling. Groups of large-capacity ships operating in distant seas had all returned to port in time before the news of a tropical depression.

At 11:00 am on December 28, we arrived at Lach Con fishing port, Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town. On the shore, mothers and sisters were hurriedly carrying trays of fish, one tray after another. Some women were always weighing and taking notes, while others were urgently arranging trays neatly on trucks of all sizes. The working atmosphere here was extremely urgent.

People classify fish.

Talking to Ms. Nguyen Thi Phien in Dong Luc hamlet, who has been working at the fishing port for more than 20 years, we learned that it is the season of anchovies and spotted fish, Quynh Lap boats have a big catch, so the women work at full capacity almost every day. The highest month, the income of those working like Ms. Phien is 6 million VND, the lowest month is 3 million VND. For female workers in coastal areas, this is a good source of income, able to cover all family expenses.

People quickly weigh the fish.

Fisherman Le Hoi Duc, captain of the NA 98 288 TS, has just docked. After 4 days at sea, his boat caught more than 20 tons of anchovies, with a selling price at the dock of 13,000 VND/kg, earning 250 million VND. After deducting expenses and the professional part, each worker pocketed 5 million VND. Since the beginning of the year, Duc's boat has gone to sea 20 times, with an average income of more than 100 million VND/person for workers, and 600 - 700 million VND/vehicle for professionals.

Fish are loaded onto trucks for sale.

When asked how the fishing industry is doing this year, Mr. Duc said: “My boat fishes in two main fishing grounds, Hoang Sa and Bac Bo Gulf, exploiting two main fish: spotted fish and anchovy. At the beginning of the year, there were some trips at sea that did not bring in much income, but in return, in the last months of the year, the anchovy fishing was very profitable, each trip lasted 4-5 days and exploited dozens of tons of fish, the high price at the beginning of the season brought in 300-400 million VND, during the main season like now, there are many fish, the price is low at 12-13 thousand VND per kilo, also 200-250 million VND”.

It is the main fishing season so the fishing boats in the area are operating at full capacity, the last group arrived yesterday. The output in the last month of the year reached 270 tons, worth 3.5 billion VND.

Quynh Lap's marine industry creates direct jobs for 1,560 workers at sea and thousands of workers serving logistics services onshore. In 2016, Quynh Lap fishermen's catch was 35,560 tons, exceeding 11% over the same period last year, with a value of 350 billion VND. The traditional occupation of the people here is catching anchovies and spotted fish. Anchovies in particular are a high-value export item to the Chinese market.

To serve fish processing, currently in the area, 30 steaming and drying facilities have been established with a capacity of tens of tons of fish per day, processing about 50 tons of fish caught by fishermen. Each facility creates jobs with a stable income of 5 - 6 million VND for 40 - 60 female workers in Quynh Lap and neighboring areas.

Fishermen diligently repair their nets and tools to prepare for a new trip.

On the last afternoon of the year, we walked along the length of the Con Lach wharf, witnessing the scene of boats returning, fish being brought ashore by fishermen busily, big and small trucks “eating” full of fish then gliding away to make room for other trucks. On the boats, the men eating the waves, talking about the wind also made the whole sea area bustling on the day the North wind came.

Mr. Phan Van Hai - Chairman of Quynh Lap Fisheries Association, captain of a fishing boat and owner of a sea purchasing service boat, could not hide his joy and said: "After deducting expenses, this year my family's two boats earned 1.2 billion VND. In 2017, I also hope for favorable weather so that people in my coastal hometown can continue to stick to the sea, exploit, and bring the blessings of the sea back to build their families and homeland."

Nguyen Van