Binh Thuan In the north wind season, Phan Thiet fishermen go out to sea in basket boats at midnight to cast their nets, returning at dawn, earning about one million VND per trip.
At 6:00 a.m., Mr. Le Van Tu, 45 years old, a fisherman from Ham Tien ward, drove his boat to the Da Ong Dia fishing wharf. The net was full of fish, so he called his relatives to come down to the side wharf to remove them so they could sell them in the morning. Mr. Tu's wife, son, and cousin arrived a few minutes later and busily removed the fish from the net.
As the fish are removed, the traders are waiting to collect them into crates. This trip, the basket owner weighed nearly 50 kilos, most of which were swapped fish. Mr. Tu sold them at the wharf to traders for 35,000 VND per kilo for small fish and 40,000 VND per kilo for large fish. After deducting fuel costs, he earned 1.7 million VND on this trip. "I've been working hard to travel far these past few days. I caught fish and sold them at a good price, so my income is very stable," he said.
Mr. Le Van Tu (red hat) and his relatives remove the net at Da Ong Dia wharf, Phan Thiet city, on the morning of November 29. Photo: Tu Huynh
According to this fisherman, during the South wind season, the sea is calm and he only needs to fish about one nautical mile from shore. Now, it is the North wind season (November to April), so very few schools of fish come ashore, so he and his colleagues have to go further than three nautical miles to find fish. This season, the wind is strong, the waves are big, and we have to go against the waves, so the boats move very slowly to ensure safety. "It takes nearly two hours to get to the fishing ground after leaving at midnight," said Mr. Tu.
Nearby, Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, 28 years old, a fisherman in Phu Hai ward, was also quickly removing fish from his net. In addition to the swap fish, his net also caught many other types of fish such as: ngan, sang, doi... In total, it was more than 20 kg. Although the quantity was small, it was sold for 35-50,000 VND per kg depending on the type. After deducting expenses, he earned more than 700,000 VND.
After removing the fish, Mr. Loi and other basket boatmen at this wharf neatly folded the nets into the basket boats, then returned home to have lunch and rest. At midnight, they woke up again to go out to sea to continue their journey in order to return to shore at dawn to sell the fish to traders.
Freshly caught fish brought to shore in Phan Thiet. Photo: Tu Huynh
Mr. Loi learned to fish with a basket boat from his father. Without much capital to invest, he could only buy a basket boat to fish in nearby waters. A composite basket boat with an engine costs about 60 million VND, plus a net worth nearly 20 million VND, which is his family's daily bread.
According to Mr. Loi, this season the wind at sea is strong, making it much more difficult to go fishing at night than in other seasons. However, fish this season sell for almost double the price of other seasons, so young people often try to earn money to support their families. "Riding a boat out to sea in the middle of the night, the wind is very cold, but you get used to it," said Mr. Loi.
At Ông Địa rock beach, there are about 100 baskets fishing near the shore. During the south wind season, the baskets are very busy, but after the north wind season, many people temporarily stop to do other jobs. Hand-rowed baskets and baskets of the elderly usually stop during this season.
Fishing wharf at Ong Dia Stone Beach, Phan Thiet City. Photo: Tu Huynh
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ba, who specializes in buying net fish in Phan Thiet, said that during the north wind season, the waves are strong and there are few boats going out to fish. The amount of fish coming to the markets is scarce, so the price of fish is higher than in the south wind season. Types of fish such as "trai thuong", "ngan", "sang choi"... sold at the wharf during the south wind season are only about 20,000 VND per kg; but now they are 35,000-40,000 VND. Silver pomfret is normally 40,000-50,000 VND, but now it has increased to 80,000-100,000 VND per kg...
"The fish caught on the same day are fresh, not kept for a long time like the offshore fishing boats, so they sell very well," said Ms. Ba, adding that not only selling at markets, some fish traders in Phan Thiet also pack them in boxes and ship them to Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Da Lat... for customers far away who want to eat fresh fish.
In addition, recently, not only locals, but also tourists when coming to Phan Thiet often come to the wharf to buy boxed net fish to take home. Thanks to that, net fish sold on the spot at the wharfs such as: Rang, Ong Dia rock beach, Mui Ne embankment... are always in high demand.
Fishermen remove nets to sell fish at Ong Dia Rock Beach, Phan Thiet City. Video: Tu Huynh
Tu Huynh
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