Fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin, Nghe An fishermen hit the jackpot with tuna

Fishermen transport fish from boat to shore. Photo: Thuy Ho

The iron-hulled boat NA 99399 TS of Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong has just returned from a fishing trip in the Gulf of Tonkin. On this trip, his boat caught nearly 4 tons of various types of fish, of which more than 3 tons were tuna. On this occasion, due to difficulties in exporting to the Chinese market and some countries in the region, the price of fish has decreased by 20 - 30,000 VND/kg.

Currently, mackerel sold at the port is priced at VND150,000/kg for type 1, and VND135,000/kg for type 2. However, fuel costs have also decreased, so boats still make a profit. On this trip, Mr. Phuong's boat earned over VND400 million.

Traders buy fish at Quynh Phuong port.

Sharing the joy of a good tuna season, other large-capacity offshore fishing vessels also caught 2-3 tons of tuna per trip. The tuna were caught about 60-80 nautical miles offshore. Each fish weighed 3.5 kg or more, some weighed more than ten kilograms.

Because Quynh Phuong fishing port has a convenient location for anchoring boats and the price of imported fish in Nghe An is also higher than in some other places, many boats from Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa also stop by to sell. On average, dozens of tons of mackerel are sold at Quynh Phuong fishing port every day.

Mackerel has high economic value. When caught, traders and agents buy it right at Quynh Phuong fishing port, then retail it at markets in the province and import it by refrigerated trucks to sell to neighboring provinces. These are the biggest tuna catches of the year in Nghe An.

Mackerel is a fish with high economic value, each fish weighs over 3.5 kg on average.

Thanh Thuy (Hoang Mai Center for Culture, Information and Communication)