Earn up to 20 million VND/day by catching tiny shrimp, transparent as glass

TPO – If lucky, Quang Ngai fishermen can earn tens of millions of dong each day by catching shrimps as big as chopsticks, with bodies as transparent as glass, and selling them to shrimp farms in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen. This year’s shrimp crop, some people earned 20 million dong in one day. Many shrimp fishermen are very excited to have an additional “god-given” income.

Quang Ngai fishermen catch "baby" lobsters, some people win and earn 20 million VND in one day. Video: Nguyen Ngoc

For many years, as the Lunar New Year approaches, many fishermen along the coast of Quang Ngai take advantage of the opportunity to go out to sea to catch baby lobsters to sell to commercial shrimp farms. This year, there are many baby lobsters, and after just a few hours at sea, fishermen can catch hundreds of baby lobsters to sell to traders. This year, some people earned 20 million VND in one day.

“Baby” lobsters are small, about the size of chopsticks, with transparent bodies like glass. However, the price of baby lobsters can reach up to 150,000 VND/each. For decades, catching baby lobsters has brought a significant income to many coastal fishing households in Quang Ngai.

Thousands of nets of fishermen in Tinh Ky commune are released into coastal waters to catch "baby" lobsters. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Early in the morning, at the beaches of Tinh Ky commune (Quang Ngai city, Quang Ngai province), dozens of fishermen rowed basket boats carrying bottles and jars containing “baby” lobsters to shore. After being exploited, the baby lobsters will be sold to commercial shrimp farms in Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces.

According to fishermen, the lobster hunting season starts from the 10th lunar month of the previous year and lasts until February of the following year. During this time, more than 100 fishermen in Tinh Ky and Tinh Khe communes (Quang Ngai city) go out to sea to catch lobsters.

Although the prolonged cold and rainy weather has caused many difficulties for fishing, in return, the amount of shrimp caught is large, which helps fishermen earn a large income. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

In previous years, fishermen used lamps, nets or traps to catch shrimp. Nowadays, most fishermen only use traps to catch shrimp. The fishing spots are usually reefs located only about 100m from the shore, the main means of fishing are hand-rowed basket boats, small motorboats, etc.

Mr. Duong Duc (residing in Tinh Ky commune, Quang Ngai city) said that after three hours at sea, he caught 80 baby lobsters. Each one was sold for 25,000 VND. Today, he also earned 2 million VND in one morning.

Fishermen pull nets to catch lobster seeds. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

“The fishing season lasts 3-4 months. Every morning, fishermen row their boats out to sea to check the pre-set nets. After pulling up the nets, they check the holes in the wooden bars to catch shrimp. This type of shrimp is tiny and transparent, so it is very difficult to see. As soon as the shrimp are caught, traders come to the beach or to our homes to buy them immediately, which makes us fishermen very excited,” said Mr. Duc.

The net is made from 3 wooden bars with holes attached to a net, tied to a buoy and then dropped into the sea. The sea is rough so the shrimp often drift to the shore and will cling to the net then crawl into the hole in the wooden bar to take shelter. This year, the "baby" lobsters are coming to shore densely so the fishermen have invested in more nets to catch them. Each fisherman has 100 - 300 nets, attached to buoys and dropped into the sea. When the lobster catching season is over, the fishermen will collect the nets.

Mr. Duong Duc was happy after 3 hours at sea to catch 80 lobsters, which he sold for 2 million VND. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Baby lobsters have bodies as transparent as glass. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

Fishermen sell baby lobsters to traders. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Mr. Nguyen Duy Thanh (residing in Tinh Ky commune) was excited, this year the "little" lobsters came ashore so densely that fishermen had a big hit. This is the first year that fishermen can catch several hundred, even thousands of "little" lobsters each day. "I once caught nearly 1,000 in one morning. That day I earned 20 million VND. It is common for fishermen who invest in many nets to earn more than ten million VND in a day," Mr. Thanh shared.

This year, there are many "small" lobsters, so the price has decreased sharply compared to previous years. Since the beginning of the season, the price of "small" lobsters has fluctuated between 20,000 - 25,000 VND/lobster, while in previous years, the price of shrimp was between 80,000 - 150,000 VND/lobster. Although the price of shrimp has decreased, the prolonged cold and rainy weather has caused many difficulties for fishing. However, in return, the number of shrimp caught is large, which helps fishermen have a large income in the days before Tet.

Nguyen Ngoc

Source: https://tienphong.vn/kiem-den-20-trieu-dongngay-nho-bat-con-tom-be-xiu-trong-suot-nhu-thuy-tinh-post1709989.tpo