Nghe An people stay up all night fishing on Lam River

Every year from March to May of the solar calendar, catfish often go upstream of the Lam River to spawn. This is also an important night fishing season for fishermen in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen districts... Photo: Huy Thu

Night fishing on Lam River in Ha Long hamlet (Thanh Ha commune) and Giang Tien hamlet (Thanh Giang commune), Thanh Chuong district, in addition to men and boys, women and the elderly also participate in the job. Some families with small children bring their children along, they watch over them and fish at the same time. Photo: Huy Thu

Here, there are women who work alone on a boat, working hard at night. It seems that they are so used to the job that they do not care much about the night sky or the river. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thieu (59 years old), a resident of Giang Tien hamlet, shared: "I have been fishing on the river for decades. Now that my children are grown, I still follow my husband to the river to cast nets. The night work is hard, but I earn money." Photo: Huy Thu

Every night, each river wharf has dozens of boats participating in fishing. On a narrow stretch of river, boats cannot drop their nets at the same time, they will stick together, so the people in Giang Tien set a rule: "Drop the net according to the lot". Before dropping the net, the fishermen will gather to draw lots and write down the order number. Whoever catches a number will drop the net according to the order of that lot number. In the photo: Before dropping the net, people often check the machine, net... carefully. Photo: Huy Thu

When the nets are cast, the boats will run across the river. They do not start the engine, but use their feet to paddle and their hands to spread the net very rhythmically. The time for each "netting session" from the time of casting to the time of collecting is about 30 minutes. Each night, a fisherman can only cast a few rounds. Photo: Huy Thu

The end of each night fishing net is usually attached to a buoy light. This light uses small batteries, is plugged into two plastic bottles containing Styrofoam, and will flash on the river. Fishermen rely on the light to know where their net has drifted. Therefore, the light must not only be bright but also have its own color. Photo: Huy Thu

The more fishermen there are, the fewer times they have to cast their nets. While waiting for their turn to cast their nets, fishermen often have dinner, smoke tobacco, sip strong tea or take a short nap right on the boat. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quang (62 years old), a resident with many years of experience fishing at night in Giang Tien hamlet, added: "Night fishing not only depends on the means and tools but also on luck. On a good day, you can catch a few kilos, or a whole bird, but on an unlucky day, you may not catch any fish at all." Photo: Huy Thu

Every night of casting the net, if lucky, a fisherman can earn a few hundred thousand dong. On “losing” nights, they lose money on gasoline. Fortunately, during the days of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, gasoline prices have dropped sharply, so the fishing villagers have been somewhat relieved. The season of catching sardine and anchovy is a business opportunity for people in fishing villages. Behind the hard work and hardship to make a living are wishes and hopes… Photo: Huy Thu