Quynh Long net mender

(Baonghean) - Nets have accompanied people at sea for generations. From the time when fishing boats were still simple and used to trawl and dredge until every family had a large boat going out to sea, the people of Quynh Long (Quynh Luu) have still been attached to the job of mending nets...

Net mending in Quynh Long.

The net-repairing trade in Quynh Long is concentrated in Dai Hai, Dai Bac, Phu Lien and Minh Thanh hamlets. The riverside is bustling with people carrying nets up and down boats, the nets are dark red. Right along the country roads, in front of the yard, there are nets drying in the early morning sun.

When asked about the net mending profession, it seems that everyone from old to young in Quynh Long commune knows about it. But when asked when the net mending profession started here, few people know. According to the elders in the commune: "Since I was born, my hometown has had the sea and boats. Every day I saw my grandmother and mother mending nets, my father carrying the net on his shoulder wading through the sea to dredge." Mrs. Vo Thi Tu, in Dai Hai village, is over 80 years old this year. Every day, Mrs. Tu mends several meters of net. She said that in the past, net mending was less than now, because the fishing method in the past was manual and rudimentary, mainly fishing near the shore, and the purse seine profession was not yet developed. Now, many big boats, big engines go offshore, go far, and stay at sea for long periods of time, so fishermen need more nets. Mending nets are only enough to serve the fishermen in the commune. Ms. Dau Thi Vinh, Dai Hai village, while mending nets, talked: "People who go to sea consider nets as "fishing rods", and net menders like us consider mending nets as a career. Net menders must always keep their heart in the profession, mending so that the nets can be used for a long time. Durable nets require workers to not only be skillful, hard-working, patient but also have to grasp the "secret". Depending on the type of net, in the process of attaching buoys and weights, appropriate techniques are required. If it is a trawl net, the buoys are attached like a trawl net, and with a trawl net, when attaching buoys, special attention must be paid to the distance between the buoys so that they are even, and only when the buoys are even when the net is cast can a lot of shrimp and fish be caught. Quynh Long people who go to sea also have a few nets ready, if one net is torn, another one can be used to replace it. Net menders work in groups, a group of 5 to 8 people, mending for 8 hours a day, from 6-10 am in the morning, 1-4 pm in the afternoon, the average wage is 2,000,000 VND/month, stable job all year round. I asked: "Why don't you accept more nets to mend at night, to earn more income?". "At night, I keep an eye on my children's studies. To be honest, it's because I love the job, love the fishermen who go to sea in my hometown that I mend nets, but in Quynh Long there are other jobs that earn higher incomes than mending nets. Just take a few hours to go to Lach Quen port to trade, carry shrimp and fish from the sea and you can earn tens or hundreds of thousands...". Ms. To Thi Ha, in the same group, added: "The net mending profession has been around since ancient times, associated with the soul of the sea in my hometown for generations. Everyone wants the nets to go offshore from the hands of the people of Quynh Long sea to mend. As long as the sea is still a profession, the net mending profession still exists."

Every morning, the fishing net teams and groups call each other to go mending their nets. People mend their nets in groups and by boat owner. Ms. Vinh's group has 6 people, all 6 women in the group have husbands and children who sail for their boat owners to mend their nets, so each net the women not only do with the heart of the job but also put into it their love and faith in a fruitful and safe trip out to sea. Also from the job of mending nets, the village lives in solidarity, close-knit and loving each other like brothers and sisters in one family.

Mr. Le Duc Thien - Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Quynh Long commune happily said: The whole Quynh Long commune has 177 fishing vessels, mainly for long-distance fishing trips, fishing nets are always needed by Quynh Long fishermen. The net mending groups in Quynh Long not only contribute to preserving the profession, increasing family income but also creating solidarity among the village and hometown.

Along the way back, through the villages of Dai Hai, Phu Lien... children play beside the crimson fishing nets hanging in front of their houses, people sit grilling fish and drying squid. The scene of the coastal village is bustling and peaceful...

Thu Huong