Going offshore to fish in the hot season, Nghe An fishermen hit the jackpot with seafood

On the morning of June 30, the ship arrived at Lach Quen wharf in the joy of a good shrimp and fish season. Photo: Viet Hung

After many days of fishing at sea, on the morning of June 30, the first boats returned to shore, bringing with them the joy of a good seafood season. Under the scorching sun, fishermen were still diligently working.

At Lach Quen port, Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu), fishing boat NA 965.68 owned by fisherman Ho The Tuan is approaching the shore, the crew on board is struggling to transport fish from the hold onto the ship to winch down to the wharf to import for traders.

Ship owner Ho The Tuan said that within 15 days of fishing at sea, the ship exploited more than 20 tons of fish and squid of all kinds with a total revenue of more than 700 million VND. After deducting expenses, the remaining revenue was about 400 million VND, each crew member received from 12 to 15 million VND/person.

Despite the hot weather, fishermen are still working hard loading fish onto their boats. Photo: Viet Hung

Fisherman Nguyen Van Manh in Tien Thuy commune shared that this season is quite hard to go to sea because of the hot weather. When catching fish, regardless of the sun or rain, the fishermen still work regularly. When returning to shore, the most urgent job is to bring the fish ashore to sell to traders. Do not leave it on the boat for too long as it will affect its value.

Not as lucky as fisherman Ho The Tuan's boat, this trip, fisherman Ho Van Manh's fishing boat earned about 250 million VND. However, compared to previous trips, this trip was more profitable, with fishermen earning 7-8 million VND/person.

Each bag of fish is pulled up from the hold of the ship, the fishermen work hard to bring each batch of fish down to shore to sell to traders. After this trip, the fishermen rest for a week and then continue to go out to sea. Photo: Viet Hung

According to fishermen, this season, fishing boats with 4-pole fishing nets all caught anchovies, squid, and needlefish, of which the most valuable is still squid. According to fishermen, because they fish far from shore, when the squid is pulled up, the large ones will be processed and dried on the boat; and the small squid will be boiled on the boat and then frozen to sell to maintain freshness and value.

Anchovies are the most purchased by traders because this is the seafood used in the fish sauce processing industry. The price of fresh fish at the wharf is 11,000 VND/kg. Photo: Viet Hung

After the Covid-19 pandemic passed, seafood caught by Nghe An fishermen was purchased more by traders, and prices also increased. Thanks to that, fishermen were encouraged to go out to sea.

By the end of June 2020, the total output of Quynh Luu district reached 29,000 tons, an increase of 0.79% over the same period.