Fishermen exploit fish in the red water season
Bustling on the river
The afternoon gradually falls! The Hau River is dyed red with alluvium, boats and canoes casting nets drifting with the waves. For a long time, the profession of "fishing for silver" has been closely associated with the lives of many fishermen drifting on the river. Every time the red tide flows from upstream, the Hau River becomes more bustling than ever. The sound of the engine running, the sound of the sledges splashing with lemon juice, the voices calling each other make the whole river bustling. Rowing a round boat out to the Hau River to cast nets, Mr. Tran Van Hau (62 years old), a veteran fisherman specializing in fishing, said that at this time, fish and shrimp begin their migration upstream. When the tide floods the fields, they reproduce strongly, eat plankton, and then grow up in the wild.
Understanding this rule, fishermen take advantage of the opportunity to cast nets and catch fish and shrimp. Mr. Hau said that during the red water season, the main fish sources on the river are scad, ca ket, tra fish, snakehead fish, basa fish, ca sat, and silver carp... When the sun has just passed overhead, the water in the river flows slowly, Mr. Hau spreads his net on the river to catch fish. After a few hours, he pulls the net and harvests a lot of toad fish, scad, and phen fish. On lucky days, he catches big basa and snakehead fish, earning a decent income. "This job is hard but fun. I go to the river every day to cast my net. Right now, every afternoon I catch more than 5kg of various types of fish, earning about 500,000 VND after deducting the cost of gasoline and oil" - Mr. Hau expressed.
Passing Ong Ho Islet (My Hoa Hung Commune), we wandered up to the island. Surprisingly, on both sides of the islet, there are hundreds of rafts of fishermen raising all kinds of fish. This season, fishermen take advantage of buying fish fry to release into the rafts for raising. I met Mr. Khanh feeding the red tilapia fish, splashing white water. He smiled brightly. During the flood season, everyone takes advantage of investing capital to raise fish. During the flood season, the amount of bait fish is abundant, the fish grow very quickly. When the source of freshwater fish is exhausted, it is also the time when fishermen sell fish in rafts to earn extra income. "During the flood season, fishermen are busy repairing rafts to raise fish, earning extra income. In a year, fishermen are most successful in raising fish during the flood season. Each crop, my family earns about 100 million VND" - Mr. Khanh boasted.
Fishermen's income
While talking to Khanh, we saw people behind the raft using nets to catch fish for a living. On the sampan, Tam stuck the "huge" net deep into the water. After a few minutes, he used all his strength to pull the net up. The fish caught in the net jumped around, looking very attractive. Tam said that in the red water, fish and shrimp often hide behind the rafts to eat leftover food from fishermen. Understanding this characteristic, fishermen bring nets to the river to catch fish in their free time. "Usually, I mainly catch carp (sandfish), large silver carp. On a lucky day, I catch more than 6kg of carp (sandfish), weigh them in buckets for customers at a price of 100,000 VND/kg, earning more than 500,000 VND, supporting a bunch of children to study" - Tam explained.
At noon, if you have the opportunity to stop by Long Xuyen market, you will see boats and canoes cutting through the water and noisily approaching the river wharf. Then, they quickly start the water-draining machine in the boat's hold to catch fish and weigh them for the traders. For a long time, this market wharf has been known to the people as a place where countless river fish are gathered. Every day, fishermen bring fish to the market to sell to customers. During the red water season, many fishermen bring fish to weigh for the traders. One day, I met Mr. Muoi Be (60 years old) bailing water in the boat's hold. When the water level just dropped, the fish and shrimps jumped loudly. When asked, I learned that he had just removed a net from the sandbank on the Hau River.
Unloading the palm trees is one of the healthy fishing methods that has been passed down from the time of our ancestors when they reclaimed the land until now. The method is very simple, fishermen just need to cut many branches of tamarind, bamboo, cajuput trees... in the alluvial plain along the river, then pile them around for the fish to take shelter. After that, people build a camp to keep the palm trees because they are afraid of people using electricity to disturb them. To attract more fish, fishermen roast bran mixed with fish sauce residue, throw it into the palm trees. The fish outside "catch the scent" and will go inside the palm trees to eat the bait, then stay there. "Seeing the fish come up to eat a lot, we asked the brothers in the village to spread nets around the unloading palm trees to catch fish. During the red water season, many fish come into the palm trees, I can catch about a ton of various types of fish" - Mr. Muoi Be said.
During the flood season, walking around Long Xuyen market, the shops specializing in selling fishing gear for catching fish and shrimp during the flood season are also bustling. They sell at reasonable prices, without overcharging even a single dong. Thanks to that, the shops selling fishing gear here are very reputable. Therefore, their goods are bought by fishermen very much. Every year, when the flood season comes, people take advantage of the tide to make a living.
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/ron-rang-mua-nuoc-son-a423545.html
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