Betting life with the profession of 'stabbing the river god'

(Baonghean) - Hard, tiring and full of dangers..., but many men with good health and the ability to withstand pressure changes in the Dien Chau sea area still accept to risk their lives to become divers. That trade-off helps them earn several million dong per day - something that people in other professions do not dare to think about.

Early in the morning, when the fog had not yet completely cleared, each group of divers on the boats was busy carrying their equipment, clean water and preparing food for the new diving trip. Each group of about 5-7 people, they took each heavy step towards the anchored boat. What they left behind was only a deep indentation in the fine sand. Far away at the mouth of the inlet, the first rays of sunlight had not yet cleared the layer of steam on the sea surface. But just those signs were enough for Mr. Luu and everyone to assess the weather for this trip. "Today the sky is not very clear, the boat can go but this trip will be a bit difficult. There might be strong waves" - Mr. Luu said and then struggled to put the equipment on the deck.

Divers are equipped with life jackets, snorkels, lead weights, gloves, and sharp iron beaks. Photo: Nhu Suong

Mr. Luu's fishing boat is not very big, just enough room for 7 people to sit and a space for a breathing machine with a system of air pipes about 10 long hoses, each person has a diving suit with gloves, a net bag...

“If the most important thing for a fisherman is the net, then for a diver, the most important thing is the air tank, the hose and the weights. A life jacket may or may not be available, but these three things are a must to be able to immerse yourself in the seabed tens of meters deep to search through the sand to pick up each clam and snail...” - Mr. Luu shared.

When asked about his chance to become a diving teacher, Mr. Luu leisurely told the story. When he was just 20 years old, he took a bus to the South to find a job and coincidentally met a friend from Ha Tinh who was diving for coral, snails, etc. in the Binh Thuan sea. Being fishermen and born in the Central region, the more they talked, the more compatible they became. From then on, Mr. Luu was sent to learn the profession.

“I thought I would be able to quickly get a job because I have been swimming in the sea, diving to find clams and mussels along the shore for a long time. But it is not that easy! Learning to dive for a job is not about holding your breath for as long as possible, but learning to breathe through your mouth through an oxygen hose and gradually increasing the depth of the water as well as the time to endure high water pressure. Because the deeper you go, the greater the water pressure, causing the chest and blood vessels to be compressed. If you are not used to it, you can immediately cough up blood from your mouth, nose or ears. Many others who are slow to adapt have their arteries ruptured, becoming disabled, and some even die at the bottom of the water. And for those who have been in the profession for a long time, most of them have problems with their ears and eyes,” said Mr. Luu.

Lead weights weighing tens of kilograms are tools that help divers go deeper. Photo: Nhu Suong

But that only stops at learning to dive, what about other things? “That is a leak in the air duct!” - Mr. Luu turned to explain briefly. According to him, during use, just some accidental collision can cause the snorkel to puncture, allowing water to overflow and block the air.

Meanwhile, most divers usually dive at an average depth of about 8-9 fathoms (1 fathom is about 1.6 meters - PV), quickly removing a lead plate weighing dozens of kilograms to float to the surface is not an easy task. In addition, not to mention other risks that occur regularly, such as being attacked by jellyfish until the face is swollen, or dangers from natural disasters such as the boat being sunk by waves, encountering a big storm, damaged machinery...

Divers said that their ancestors warned them of two things not to do: "First, destroy the forest, second, stab the river god." However, because of the large profits, after a short time, many people heard the news and came to Mr. Luu's house to ask questions, then invested in buying fishing gear, hiring skilled workers from Phu Quy island (Binh Thuan province) - considered the cradle of diving - to come here to work.

According to Mr. Luu, in his village alone, the number of fishing boats has increased to about twenty. Most of the workers are hired from the interior and a small number from Ha Tinh. His boat has a diving team of distant relatives from Binh Thuan who come together to join the profession.

“In the past, boats and rafts only dived in the Quen and Van estuaries - about a few dozen nautical miles from shore. However, because there are more and more boats fishing, the amount of clams and snails is gradually decreasing, forcing his trips to be further and further away. Now, he has to go all the way to Cua Hoi to find...”.

The “spoils” after a day of diving are being gathered at the beach. Photo: Nhu Suong

And the species that the diving team likes to catch the most are silk clams, sweet snails, razor clams and oysters, but mainly silk clams because this species is quite abundant, distributed in many regions while oysters are very rare. On average, each trip, his team of 7 people catches from 1.4 to 1.6 quintals of silk clams; the import price at the wharf this season is stable at 120,000 VND/kg of unshelled type. Particularly in the cold water season, when few people go fishing, the price can go up to 200,000 VND/kg. That also means that each day, a diver can earn from 1 to 3 million VND. But those are lucky trips, there are trips where working all day is not enough to cover expenses. There are even trips that are lost because of wind or broken equipment...

The diving profession also depends entirely on the tide. On calm days, divers can go out to earn money, but on windy days, they stay home and do nothing. And for divers in Dien Hung, most of them "work for a season but earn a living all year round". The busiest season lasts from March to July, when the weather is warm, the sea is less rough, and it is also the tourist season. In August, there are many storms and big waves, so divers move to the interior, or look for alternative jobs.

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