Net mending job

Net mending job attracts a lot of local labor in La Gi.

After offshore fishing trips, when returning, all boats usually have torn nets, more or less. Because while fishing, the nets can get stuck on rocks, corals or hit by waves... Therefore, in order to be ready for the next fishing trips, within a few short days, they hire people to patch the nets.

And since then, mending nets has become a livelihood for many people in the La Gi coastal area. Because this job requires perseverance and meticulousness, most of the workers are women. To practice the job, they form groups of 10 to 15 people. Every time the ship returns, the ship owner calls them and they quickly come to mend the nets. The work of the "net menders" usually starts from 7am to 4pm, each person only takes a 30-minute lunch break to eat and then continues working. Depending on the condition of the net, the workers do different jobs such as: tying the edge of the net, mending the net, tying buoys... Normally, to mend a net for a fishing boat, the group of workers has to mend it from 3 to 5 days to finish. The wages for mending the net are calculated by the day, on average, each person will earn 250,000 VND per day.

Net mending workers say that this is an easy job to learn and do, but to become a good worker, to be called on by ship owners regularly, the worker must be sharp-eyed, meticulous, and sharp in each stitch. There is no school to train this job, mainly people who know how to guide those who do not know, the job teaches the job, practice makes perfect.

Making a living by mending nets, Ms. Phan Thi Tuyet Loan in Ward 7, Phuoc Loc, La Gi town shared: “My husband is seriously ill, sometimes he can go to sea, sometimes he can’t, so I have to take care of and shoulder all the work in the family. The neighbors are all sympathetic, when their nets are torn, they call me to mend them, from there I have the opportunity to earn extra income to support my children's education.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong in Ward 2, Binh Tan Ward has also been doing net mending for 20 years. Ms. Huong confided: “This is the job that supports my whole family. Fishermen in Binh Tan Ward go to sea all year round and can live off the “blessings of the sea”, so my mother and I also “live off it”. After each trip at sea, if the net of a ship owner is torn, they will hire me and my children to mend it. That way, every day my family and I have work to do, and we have extra income to make ends meet.”

While sitting meticulously mending nets, Ms. Tran Thi Quyen in Ward 2, Phuoc Loc Ward confided: "Although mending nets is not too hard, this job requires the worker to have a keen eye to find the smallest holes in each net and especially the worker must be quick, skillful, and sharp in each stitch."

For generations, the image of groups of workers sitting and meticulously mending nets has become a unique feature of coastal residents. And this work has created jobs and stable income for hundreds of workers in the La Gi area.

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