Spending the whole night 'casting nets' to catch fish against the current on the Lam River.
(Baonghean.vn) - Every year, during the season of the scad fish, people who make a living by fishing on the Lam River stay up all night "drifting their nets" to catch fish against the current. Catching scad fish is hard work, but it also brings a significant income to the people in the localities.
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| According to folk experience, the fish migrate upstream from the sea to the Lam River.fishThe scad fish swim upstream more frequently at night, so fishermen in the villages usually concentrate their fishing activities at night. In the evening on the Lam River, people who fish for scad in Thanh Chuong often gather their boats and fishing gear at several convenient riverbanks such as Quanh wharf, Ru Ha, Huu Vo temple... to prepare for a sleepless night of catching scad. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| As night falls, the melodiesriverThe area where locals usually choose to fish has become unusually bustling. The river surface glitters with flashlights, electric lights, and signal lights... Ms. Nguyen Thi Suu, residing in Hamlet 4, Thanh Ha Commune, who is "drowning her nets" on the Lam River, said: "This year's mullet fishing season has seen fewer fish caught than last year, while the price of gasoline is high, making mullet fishing by motorboat more difficult." (Photo: Huy Thu) |
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| Motorboats and rowboats began to weigh anchor and leave the dock to go fishing. The equipment they used...fishingThese are three-tiered nets, 150-200 meters long and 1-1.2 meters high, carefully prepared by the locals and securely hung on net posts at the bow of the boats. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Because there are many fishing boats (8-15 boats/wharf) and fishing takes place on the same stretch of river, the locals usually voluntarily abide by the agreement: whoever arrives first casts their nets first, and whoever arrives later must wait. When the person downstream retrieves their net, only then can the person upstream cast theirs, and so on sequentially. In some places, a lottery is held before casting the nets. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The wait time to cast nets depends on the number of fishing boats at that riverbank. If there are few boats, the wait is quick; if there are many, the wait is agonizing. Many people have to anchor their boats to play cards, browse their phones, or even sleep right there. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Sleeping on the riverbank during calm weather attracts a lot of mosquitoes. Some people have to wear raincoats and cover themselves from head to toe to avoid them. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Thefishing villageIn the coastal fishing villages of Dong Van, Thanh Ha, Thanh Giang, etc., besides men and boys, women and the elderly also participate in the profession. Some elderly people over 70 years old still go out on boats every night to cast their nets. In the dead of night, many women diligently work alone on their boats, striving to make a living. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Each "net casting" takes about 30 minutes, from the moment the net is spread out until it is retrieved. Each night, a fisherman can only cast a few nets, at most 5-7. The most difficult part is when the nets drift away; not only do they have to stay up all night, enduring rain and wind, but encountering tree stumps, bamboo stalks with intact branches and leaves, or piles of debris makes retrieving the nets much more difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes even damages the nets. (Photo: Huy Thư) |
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| According to locals in the fishing villages, catching scad is a matter of luck; some days they catch a few kilograms, other days a whole 10 kilograms, but on unlucky days they might not catch a single one. Nguyen Viet Bao, residing in Hamlet 1, Thanh Ha Commune, said: "This year's scad season, I caught a 'famous' net with 105 scad, earning 3 million dong. That night, my brother also caught a net with over 70 fish. For people who make a living catching scad, that's a big win." (Photo: Huy Thu) |
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| After catching the fish, the fishermen usually put them in the boat's hold or in net cages hung along the side of the boat to keep them alive. The next morning, when the boat returns to the dock, these fish are taken to the market or sold along the roadside. Large, fresh fish usually fetch a good price. The price of fish ranges from 40,000 to 100,000 VND/kg, depending on size. Each night of fishing, if lucky, a person can earn several hundred thousand dong, sometimes even millions. On nights of failure, they lose money on gasoline. Photo: Huy Thu |