Male potion 'sold out' at pubs, fishermen both happy and worried

(Baonghean.vn) - Sea cucumber - also known as sea rum, in recent years has been hailed by drinkers as a male elixir, so its price has skyrocketed. Many Dien Chau fishermen have completely given up fishing and earn millions of dollars every day by hunting sea cucumbers, but along with that comes the worry of extinction of a seafood species with great economic value.

Massive hunt for miracle drugs

Mr. Pham Van Ngoc (65 years old) - a fisherman with many years of experience in diving for rum in Xuan Chau hamlet, Dien Kim said: In the past, people rarely ate sea rum, only imported it for traders at a cheap price of 20-30 thousand VND/kg, but in the past 5 years, the price has skyrocketed, at its peak it reached 300,000 VND/kg, so many people, regardless of rain, sun or cold, go to the sea to dive for rum.

The "squad" of Dien Hung divers prepares to go hunting for sea cucumbers. Photo: Tien Dung

According to Mr. Ngoc, almost every village in Dien Kim has people who go fishing for sea cucumbers. The equipment is very simple, just an iron beam and a bag. The difficulty is to judge the area with a lot of rum, and you have to dive deep, soak in the water and then use your hands and feet to locate.

When discovered, the right hand holds the head (rum flower) and the left hand uses an iron beam to pry it up to catch it. The catcher must be very skillful and agile. Only experienced people can catch it, but without experience, they can only touch the "rum" once and lose track immediately. Moreover, the body of the rum is slippery like an eel, so even without experience it is very difficult to catch it.

“Every day, my father and I catch about 4-5 kg, which is more than a million dong, much more than going fishing at sea. In my village, there are about 30 people who go out to sea to fish and often go diving,” Mr. Ngoc said.

Arriving at Dien Hai beach, we met a group of divers from Dien Hung diving in the sea, about 4 km from the shore. This group of divers looked very professional, equipped with life jackets with heavy lead and diving gear.

Rum divers in Dien Hai. Photo: Tien Dung

Mr. Hung, a diver, said: We are all fishermen, but we found that diving for rum is "more profitable", so we quit fishing to go diving for rum in the seas of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. Each day, we earn about 1 million VND/person/day. Thanks to this job, I was able to build a spacious Thai-roofed house and send 4 children to school.

Previously, the entire Dien Chau sea area had rum every 1.5 meters of seawater, but now only Dien Kim and Dien Hai have the most because every day hundreds of hunters from all over come to hunt, so it has gradually become rare.

“Many people have been catching rum, but now it is almost exhausted. Today, each person only caught more than 1kg. If we continue to catch it in large quantities like this, in a short time there will be no more rum in this sea area,” said Mr. Hung.

The elixir on the plate

Because of the rumor that it is a miracle drug, eating it can strengthen the yang and nourish the yin, many diners come to the sea to enjoy this dish. Where there is demand, there is supply, many specialty restaurants have purchased this miracle drug to sell, the price is from 200-500 thousand VND/plate depending on the preparation method and quantity...

Rum can be used to make many dishes such as: steamed mugwort, Chinese medicine, porridge, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili. But the most popular dish is still braised rum or stir-fried with wild betel leaves... Mr. Nam, the owner of a specialty restaurant in Dien Hai, said: Customers often order this dish, regardless of price. But this item is currently very scarce because there are traders who buy it at high prices to send to China. Therefore, if you want to eat rum, it is not always available.

Close-up of sea urchin - a seafood that has recently caused a stir with the name "male elixir". Photo courtesy.

Mr. Nguyen Hai, a customer shared: I heard that eating rum is very nutritious and good for "that matter" so I came here to buy some to eat. I don't know how good it is but it tastes delicious, so today I brought my wife here to enjoy it...

Sea cucumber hunting is a fever in Dien Chau sea area. However, according to Mr. Pham Van Ngoc - a fisherman in Dien Kim commune, with the current rate of over-hunting, destruction and marine pollution, in the near future the precious sea cucumber species will be depleted in this sea area.

“Scientists should research to help fishermen breed this sea cucumber species for commercial farming like shrimp, clams, crabs, and sea bass. If so, it will not only be a “miracle drug” for men but also a “miracle drug” to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and enrich us fishermen,” Mr. Ngoc hopes.

Tien Dung