Joys and sorrows of the 'small net' profession on Lam River

For those who are attached to this profession, despite going through many hardships, they still try to stick with it and always hope for peaceful rivers to have more income to cover their living expenses.

Mr. Tran Van Huy in residential group 1, Anh Son town has been in this profession for more than 20 years. Photo by Thai Hien

Thanks to Mr. Tran Van Huy in residential group 1 of Anh Son town, I experienced a session of catching eel on Lam river, I could feel all the hardship and difficulty of this job. While casting the net and sharing with me, Mr. Huy confided that he has been in this job for more than 20 years, for him this is a very difficult job, requiring a lot of experience, perseverance and hard work.

To catch fresh river anchovies, fishermenfishingOn the river, Mr. Huy often uses a small net that people often call a "com" net, which is only used to catch this type of fish. Most people who live by fishing on the Lam River know how to weave and use this type of net. The "com" net is woven with fishing line in a square shape about 1cm wide, with a buoy attached to the top and a lead attached to the bottom. Each net arm when stretched out is about 50-100 meters long...

To catch fresh river anchovies, fishermen often use a small net that is commonly called an anchovy net. Photo by Thai Hien

To catch this fish, Mr. Huy mainly casts his net at night and pulls it out the next morning. On average, his family earns 3-4 million VND/month, some days less, some days more. Although it is hard and tiring, for Mr. Huy, this job also brings him joy because he is not afraid of losing money, and is comfortable, free, and does not depend on anyone.

According to Mr. Le Van Nga in the upper Lam River area of ​​Tam Son commune, who has been fishing for eel for more than 30 years, with the characteristic of reproducing all year round, this type of fish is always abundant and can be caught at any time of the year, but the most effective and easiest way to catch it is during the dry season and mainly at night.

Nowadays, due to the use of electric shock and other destructive fishing methods, this species of fish has seriously declined. Photo: Thai Hien

According to Mr. Nga's experience, to prepare for a day of fishing, before going, you need to check carefully, if the net is torn, you need to patch it, arrange it neatly so that it does not get tangled when you drop it. At night, you need at least 2 people to carry the net, one person is responsible for steering the boat, the other person is responsible for dropping the net. The main place to drop the net is where the water is still, next to the river bank. The river is vast, so after dropping the net, you need to put stakes at both ends to mark and fix the net so that it does not drift. After dropping, soak the net until almost dawn, then collect it.

Although quite hard, catching anchovies also brings in a good income. During the fish growing season, on average, each netter like Mr. Nga can catch 3-4 kg of anchovies overnight, with the current selling price of 80,000 to 100,000 VND, which also gives him an income of around 300,000 to 400,000 VND.

Few people understand the hardship of being exposed to the sun and rain, and even constantly facing danger, which many people compare to "gambling" with the "river god" of the fishermen. Photo by Thai Hien

The job of catching eel fish on the river seems simple, but few people understand the hardship of being exposed to the sun, rain, and even always facing dangers that many people compare to "gambling" with the "river god" of the fishermen. For those who follow this profession, finding eel fish on the Lam River is not easy. When it gets dark, they have to quickly eat a meal, quickly drink a sip of water to continue their work to make a living or on rainy days, they still have to brave the rain to scoop up their nets to catch fish. With this type of eel fish, they have to understand their habits, when the fish come ashore to find food, when the fish swim to the middle of the stream, and in which season the fish grow a lot. It is an art of fishing that not everyone knows.

On average, we catch 5-7 kg of fish each night, sometimes even catching dozens of kg of fish. Photo by Thai Hien

According to those who work in catching anchovies, in the past, there were a lot of this type of fish on the Lam River. Regardless of the season, just dropping a net overnight would yield an average of 5-7 kg of fish, and some days, even a big catch of dozens of kg of fish. Nowadays, because many people use electric shock and other destructive fishing methods to exploit it, this type of fish has seriously declined, so income is also unstable...

The best fish to prepare is still braised anchovy with turmeric. Photo by Thai Hien

Currently in Anh Son, there are about 50 households in fishing villages scattered on the Lam River in the communes of Tam Son, Dinh Son, Phuc Son, Long Son, Lang Son that still pursue the profession of catching eel fish on the Lam River. As a famous specialty, when fresh eel fish are selected, the fish are used to make many delicious dishes such as: eel fish cooked in sour soup, fried eel fish, eel fish braised in soy sauce... but the most special and delicious is certainly still eel fish braised with turmeric. According to the people of Anh Son, eel fish braised with turmeric not only retains the delicious flavor of the fish, turmeric also helps to remove the fishy smell, creates eye-catching color and makes the dish more nutritious.

Although the profession of catching fish and birds is precarious and hard, for those who make a living catching fish on the river in Anh Son district, the motivation for them to stick with the profession is the money they earn from their sweat to help cover their daily living expenses, a life of freedom, and being in harmony with nature and the river. After a tiring day of work, they only hope that the next day's nets will bring in lots of shrimp and fish, that is the joy and motivation for them to follow the profession.