Nghe An fishermen excitedly welcome 'sea luck' at the beginning of the year

Recorded on February 16 (the 7th day of Lunar New Year), at Quynh Lap fishing port, dozens of fishing boats crowded to dock after the first "open sea" trips of the year to catch seafood, bringing back fresh food to supply the market.

For fishermen, the first sea trip of the year has an extremely important meaning, containing many wishes and aspirations for a year of good luck, favorable weather, and a boat full of fish and shrimp.

Quynh Lap commune fishermen's boat returns after "opening the sea" trip with dozens of tons of anchovies. Photo: Thanh Thuy

Returning from a fishing trip at sea, fisherman Phan Van Tuy, owner of fishing boat NA-99678-TS, excitedly shared that today was the first "opening" trip of the new year. The boat set sail on the 5th day of Tet, catching more than 30 tons of anchovies, with traders purchasing them at a price of more than 13,000 VND/kg, earning nearly 400 million VND. In the first days of the year, the number of boats going out to sea was still small, so anchovies were purchased by local drying facilities at quite high prices.

Fisherman Nguyen Phuc Hanh, owner of fishing boat NA-90155-TS happily said that this year the weather was favorable, so from the 4th day of Tet, his family's boat set sail. On the first trip, he caught more than 20 tons of anchovies and some shrimp and squid. The successful trip made his fellow fishermen excited, because they had a considerable amount of extra income after the Tet holiday.

Fishermen transport fish ashore. Photo: Thanh Thuy

In addition to large-capacity offshore fishing vessels, since the second day of Tet, many small-capacity local vessels have exploited sea shrimp in the nearshore areas. The fishing trips usually start from the evening until dawn the next day, but have brought joy to many fishing families at the beginning of the new year. Compared to the time before Tet, the output of sea shrimp has decreased, but each overnight vessel can still exploit about 1 ton of shrimp.

Quynh Phuong Ward fishermen's boats continuously catch large catches of herring. Photo: Thanh Thuy

Not only in Quynh Lap commune but also in other coastal communes and wards such as Quynh Phuong, Quynh Di... fishermen are also excited after the first "sea trips" of the year, mainly bringing back herring, mantis shrimp, and crab. At Quynh Phuong fishing port, dozens of tons of herring were caught by local fishermen near the shore after 1-2 days of casting nets. On average, each boat caught 1-2 tons/trip, some boats reached 5 tons. Herrings were stuck to the mesh of the net, sparkling in the early morning sunlight, making many fishermen happy because they had a bumper day.

Fresh catches of herring caught near shore. Photo: Thanh Thuy

According to information from the People's Committee of Quynh Phuong Ward, in the past 2 days, local small-capacity boats fishing near shore have continuously caught large batches of herring, with the entire ward's herring output reaching about 100 tons.

Fishermen "tired hands" removing herring. Photo: Thanh Thuy

The number of fishing vessels in Hoang Mai town is currently over 1,000, of which over 400 vessels operate offshore, with occupations such as purse seines, trawls, grab nets, gill nets... the total output in 2023 is estimated at over 59,410 tons. Therefore, the "open sea" trips at the beginning of the year not only help fishermen have more income but also have the meaning of starting a new fishing season with many expectations and confidence in victory.

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