The first sea trips of the new year are flourishing in Nghe An province.

At 2am on the 14th day of the first lunar month, dozens of fishing boats were lining up to dock at Quynh Phuong fishing port in Hoang Mai town. On board, the crew members were calling each other, and everyone's faces showed excitement. Trays full of fish were quickly transferred down by strong fishermen. On the shore, women were waiting to transport and purchase.

At this time, most of the boats that went to the sea and the inshore have returned. Quickly wiping away sweat after unloading fish, fisherman Nguyen Thanh Dat, Tan Hai block, Quynh Phuong ward, excitedly said: Going out to sea is also rough and windy, but at the beginning of the year, after a new trip of 8-9 days, we earned 4-5 million VND, so we are very happy, coming back to celebrate the full moon day. Hopefully this year's sea season will be favorable for fishermen to stabilize their lives.

Quynh Phuong fish market is bustling with buyers and sellers early in the morning. Photo: Thanh Thuy

Sharing the joy of the opening day of the sea with the fishermen, fishing boat NA 93176 of Mr. Nguyen Anh Sang has just returned from the first fishing trip of the year with more than 2 tons of mackerel, snapper and squid. After saving some fresh fish to share with the crew and their families as the first sea luck of the year, the remaining goods were quickly purchased by the traders.

While instructing the crew to collect the fishing gear, he excitedly informed them that the ship departed on the 4th day of the lunar calendar, operating in the fishing grounds of the Gulf of Tonkin. This trip had calm seas and favorable weather, so as soon as they approached the fishing grounds, they encountered schools of fish. The crew took advantage of the time to take turns pulling the net to return in time to attend the ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th day of the lunar month. The total revenue for the 9-day trip was about 100 million VND, after deducting expenses, each crew member had more than 4 million VND.

Fishermen are shaking herring out of their nets. A one-day trip netted nearly 1.5 tons of herring. Photo: Thanh Thuy

After more than a week of deployment, many ships have caught a relatively large yield, including many high economic value and export value products such as squid, axehead fish, seahorses, groupers... so the fishermen's lives are less difficult.

The average income per trawling trip (1-2 days) is about 20-30 million VND, and for offshore fishing it is about 100 million VND/trip. Currently, the price at the wharf of squid is 330,000 VND/kg, grade 1 mackerel is 115,000 VND/kg; red snapper is 65,000 VND, herring is 13,000-15,000 VND/kg...

Compared to the time before Tet, the first sea trip of the year has seen a slight increase in seafood prices because there are not many ships going out to sea. Photo: Thanh Thuy

Thanh Thuy