Golden snapper worth half a billion VND, but fishermen in the Mekong Delta are not yet ready to sell.

A restaurant owner from Can Tho contacted Mr. Cong, offering to buy a 5.5 kg golden snapper for 450 million VND, but Mr. Cong has not yet agreed to sell it.

On the morning of September 17th, Huynh Phi Cong (33 years old, residing in Hamlet 20, My Hung 2 village, My Hoa commune, Binh Minh town, Vinh Long province) pulled up his fishing net, which he had previously cast on the Hau River, and caught a golden snapper weighing 5.5 kg and nearly 1 meter long.

Mr. Cong was delighted to have caught a "huge" golden snapper.

According to Mr. Cong, the location where they pulled the net was 3 km downstream from the Can Tho Bridge. “When we pulled the net ashore, I didn’t know it was a golden snapper; I only knew we had caught a big one because the net was very heavy. My younger brother and I struggled for almost 10 minutes to pull the fish onto the boat,” Mr. Cong said.

After news spread that Mr. Cong had caught a "giant" golden snapper, a restaurant owner in Can Tho came to negotiate, offering 450 million VND, but Mr. Cong has not yet agreed to sell.

"This morning, a wealthy businessman from Saigon contacted us, came to see the fish, and expressed interest in buying this golden snapper," a relative of Mr. Cong said.

Many fishermen in My Hoa commune said that many families in the area make a living by fishing in the river and are familiar with croaker fish, but only white croaker. "Some weigh up to ten kilograms. However, this is the first time I've seen such a large yellow croaker," said Mr. Huynh Ngoc Phuong (56 years old), a local resident.

Earlier, in mid-August 2016, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hanh and her husband (residents of Tam Hiep commune, Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province) also caught a golden snapper weighing 3.8 kg and nearly 1 meter long, and traders came to inquire about buying it for hundreds of millions of dong.

The golden snapper weighs 5.5 kg.

The golden croaker, scientifically known as Otolithoides, is considered one of the most expensive fish species. This fish is mainly distributed in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and China. Its high economic value stems from its rarity, infrequent sightings, and significant value in the medical field.

This fish has a very special swim bladder, which is used as an organic material to produce a type of absorbable surgical suture that does not damage tissue and minimizes the risk of infection. In addition, this fish also has extremely high nutritional value.

According to Zing.vn