From early morning, many fishermen in Hai Dong commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province were present at the beach to go on stilts to catch sea crabs.
Mr. Nguyen Sung Suong (a resident of Hai Dong commune, Hai Hau district) said: "Stilt walkers like us wake up early in the morning, go to the sea to prepare fishing gear to go to the sea to hunt shrimp, octopus and small fish. In deep water areas, we have to use stilts to go. Every day, I usually go to the beach from 5am, depending on the tide and waves to have a suitable fishing time. Like today (November 18), the weather is cold so I go later and mainly go at noon."
According to local people, since ancient times, coastal people have created production tools to exploit aquatic resources. From raking clams and scooping shrimp near the shore, people began to plan to go further to catch more shrimp and fish, so they created tools called stilts.
"My "stilt walking" tool consists of a large, long bamboo stick in the back and two equal but smaller bamboo sticks in the front, then the three sticks are joined together to form a Y shape. In this sea area, we fishermen make stilts from bamboo stems, so they are durable and flexible, with sizes ranging from 1 - 3m.
To keep the hamstrings firmly on my legs, I use two rings made of rattan, rope, cloth, or packaging to secure them. These two rings are a little larger than my thighs, enough to fit the hamstrings into my thighs," said Mr. Suong.
To be able to walk on stilts skillfully, fishermen here have to practice for about a month, then gradually increase the height. Only on days with little wind and calm seas can they "walk on stilts".
Every August (sea fishing season) onwards, Mr. Nguyen Van Tan (in Hai Ly commune, Hai Hau district) takes advantage of every day to spend a few hours at sea to earn extra income.
"The work is hard and the income is not high, so my family only does it during the sea fishing season. It's colder these days, so I take advantage of the noon time. This is also a gift from nature, so we exploit and preserve it. In recent years, the stilt fishing profession has gradually disappeared. Most of the people doing this job now are mainly middle-aged or elderly men," Mr. Tan shared.
Thanks to the “go stilt” profession, fishermen here earn from 200,000 VND/day. On days when they catch a good catch of shrimp, they can earn from 500,000 - 700,000 VND.
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