Staying up all night fishing for sardines on Lam River
Huy Thu•DNUM_CCZADZCACF 20:57
Sardine season, although it is hard to stay up all night, in return, people in fishing villages along Lam River have more income. This year, sardine prices are high, the joy of the people is doubled.
These days, people in localities such as Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong... who fish on the Lam River are in the season of catching sardines. At night, the river surface sparkles with the flashlights and signal lights of fishermen. Photo: Huy ThuSardines in the sea only go upstream on the Lam River once a year in the spring. Some years the fish come early, some years late. For people who work on the river, around March is the season to catch sardine. Photo: Huy ThuMr. Nguyen Cong Tinh (58 years old) - a fisherman with many years of experience in catching sardines in Thanh Tan hamlet, Thuong Tan Loc commune (Nam Dan) shared: Sardines go upstream all day and night. However, catching more fish at night is better, so people here mainly go fishing at night. Photo: Huy ThuEach Thanh Tan hamlet in Thuong Tan Loc commune has dozens of boats for fishing sardines. Small households have 1-2 boats, large households have 3-4 boats. Depending on their preferences, people leave the port early in the morning or at midnight. Whether they leave early or late, the boats only fish for about 4-5 hours and then return to the port. Photo: Huy ThuSardine fishing boats from Thuong Tan Loc commune can go all the way up to Phuong (Thanh Chuong) or down to Lieu market area (Hung Nguyen). Each boat usually carries a few "hands" of nets about 100 - 300 m long. After dropping the nets, the fishermen will anchor the boat, take a nap on the boat's roof or lie down and surf the phone for about 1 - 1.5 hours before collecting the nets to catch fish. Photo: Huy ThuAround 5-6am, the boats that go fishing for sardines at night in Thuong Tan Loc commune will dock one after another. At dawn, many fishing boats are still trying to pull in the last net. Photo: Huy ThuMs. Nguyen Thi Lan (58 years old), a sardine fisherman in Thuong Tan Loc commune, said: Going sardine fishing requires staying up all night to cast the net, which is quite hard, especially on drizzly, cold windy nights. On a stretch of river, many fishing boats cast their nets at the same time, sometimes the nets drift and get stuck together, making it very difficult to untangle. Photo: Huy ThuMr. Nguyen Dinh Loan (65 years old), Mrs. Lan's husband, shared: During the sardine season, he and his wife often go fishing at 12 midnight and return in the morning. Each time they go fishing, they catch 3-5 kg of fish. On "stormy" days, when it rains or is sunny, they catch more, about 7-8 kg or 1 yen. Photo: Huy ThuAccording to Mr. Loan, people here often sell sardines caught on the Lam River at Sa Nam market, online, or to traders who come to the wharf to buy them. Many households store a lot of fish in the refrigerator to sell to acquaintances in the South and the North. Photo: Huy ThuThis year, the price of sardines in Nam Dan fluctuates from 80,000 to 100,000 VND/kg, nearly double that of last year. With good prices and good sales, sardines are bringing joy and a good source of income to people in fishing villages on the Lam River. Photo: Huy ThuRetrieving sardines from the net tomorrow morning. Video: Huy Thu
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