Nghe An farmers hunt 'flying shrimp' with giant nets, earning millions every day

Summer-autumn rice is entering the stage of grain filling, the number of locusts appearing in the fields is quite large. This is also the right time for many Nghe An farmers to hunt. Therefore, in the fields from Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Do Luong... occasionally encounter hunters "flying shrimp" with 2 giant rackets attached to the back of a motorbike.

People who hunt "flying shrimp" have to ride motorbikes all day in the fields. Photo: Xuan Hoang

On the morning of August 7, while hunting locusts in the rice fields of Xuan Thanh commune (Yen Thanh), Mr. Nguyen Dinh Binh, residing in Quynh Trang commune (Hoang Mai town)said: Because grasshoppers are sold for 100,000 VND/kg, since the beginning of August, he has left every day from 5am to 5pm. His area of ​​operation is in the fields of Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong districts...

Observations show that the tools for catching locusts are very simple, just need 2 giant nets, 60 x 70 cm wide mouth, a 1.5 m long net bag, and an old motorbike. When reaching a certain inner-field road, drive the motorbike at a moderate speed, steady throttle, the locusts on both sides of the road can easily fall into the net mouth. After running 1-2 roads, stop to pick up all the trash in the bottom of the net to gather the locusts into a mesh bag.

The tool used to catch "flying shrimp" is a motorbike with two giant nets attached to the back. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"At this time, the summer-autumn rice is full of grains, there are many "flying shrimps", so every day we can catch about 10 kg, bring them back to sell and import totraderat a price of 100,000 VND/kg. After deducting all expenses for gasoline, food, etc., the profit is 700,000 VND/day. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the specialty "flying shrimp" cost 200,000 VND/kg, so the profit was high. "Flying shrimp" are purchased by traders, then transported to cities for consumption, and processed into specialty dishes" - Mr. Nguyen Dinh Binh shared.

There are no statistics on how many Nghe An farmers are currently engaged in this kind of "flying shrimp" hunting. But according to Mr. Binh, in Hoang Mai town there are quite a few people who are engaged in this kind of shrimp catching.specialtyFrom dawn, everyone started to go, each person dispersed to different fields in the delta districts: Hoang Mai town, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong... and the number of locusts caught reached hundreds of tons.

Flying shrimp is currently priced at 100,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Flying shrimp" is processed into a specialty dish by chefs. Photo: Internet

Mr. Vu Van Truyen in Quynh Vinh commune (Hoang Mai town) added that there are many grasshoppers in the rice fields from the time when the spring rice harvest is near until the summer-autumn rice harvest is completed. Therefore, this "flying shrimp" hunting job starts from April to September every year. He earns over 100 million VND each year, after deducting all expenses, he still has a profit of about 80 million VND. However, this job is quite hard, especially on hot days, because he often rides a motorbike on rough, difficult inner-field roads and comes into contact with grass and garbage, which is very painful.

This specialty of hunting "flying shrimp" does not affect rice plants, but also contributes to protecting crops, so wherever it goes, it is supported by local people./.

Xuan Hoang