"Capital" of fresh fish
Nam Cuom Stream originates from many branches deep in the core area of Pu Huong Nature Reserve. The towering Pu Huong range (translated as big mountain) is the common name and symbol of a large, long area, bordering the districts of Quy Hop, Quy Chau and Tuong Duong ( Nghe An ).
Cuom Stream, the section flowing through Dien Lam Commune (Quy Chau District, Nghe An Province) is tens of kilometers long. From ancient times until now, this stream has been considered a habitat for catfish as well as many other types of fish. The stream is also a source of water for daily life, production, and a place to provide food to nourish the people here.
Walking along Nam Cuom stream on a late afternoon in July 2023, I happened to meet the people of Cuom village going to the stream to cool off. Mr. Loc Van Canh, a resident of Cuom village, recounted that Cuom village is the last village of the commune, bordering the buffer zone of Pu Huong Nature Reserve. Previously, the economic life of the people mainly relied on catching mackerel and many other types of fish in Nam Cuom stream, exploiting wood as well as collecting forest products. Mr. Canh then told me about their eating habits, movements, birth cycles, and dishes made from mackerel - a specialty fish in Dien Lam land.
“The mackerel has two egg bars on both sides of its body, the eggs are as small as millet seeds. The fish lay one batch a year in the spring from February to March of the lunar calendar, each time they lay eggs, thousands of them hatch. The fish grow quickly, at 6 months old they are the size of a thumb. If well protected, the fish can grow to over half a kilo each. The mackerel only eats algae and moss, so they are very clean. Their lower jaw is hard and sharp, so when they eat, the fish only needs to glide close to the rocks under the flowing water, biting hard, causing the stream rocks to have many small white marks. The mackerel also has the characteristic of being in areas with fast-flowing water. If it is sunny, you will see schools of fish looking for food, circling around, sparkling with silver light…” – Mr. Canh, talking about the mackerel.
Thai people are famous for their delicious preparation of cool fish, which can be mentioned as a crispy grilled dish with salt and chili sauce mac khen - that is, white salt, green chili and mac khen (wild pepper) roasted until fragrant and then crushed. In addition, they also prepare wild vegetable soup such as rau giún with cool fish left intact, this dish has a very distinctive sweet and bitter taste. In addition, Thai people also often prepare the traditional dish "ho moc" or "ho ca nap" of the people in the highland districts. "ho moc" and "ho ca nap" of cool fish are specialties that are only available on traditional holidays and New Year's of the highland people here.
However, in previous years, due to overfishing by using “extermination” methods such as electric shock or dynamite, the fish in Nam Cuom stream have almost been depleted, and the ecosystem has become unbalanced. People in the village who want to go down to the stream to find fish as well as some other types of fish have also found it very difficult…
Special tour
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Chairman of Dien Lam Commune People's Committee said that, facing the risk of depletion of aquatic resources, especially cool fish in recent years, the Party Committee and the government are very "impatient" and worried. Meanwhile, some communes in Tuong Duong district have built models and projects to conserve cool fish and other types of fish. Their models and projects have been very successful in helping to restore and conserve specialty fish and have also brought many other benefits such as generating income for the village, contributing to biodiversity conservation, protecting the balance of the ecosystem, protecting the environment and can also aim to do... community ecotourism .
Hearing that information, Lang Van Dong Commune Party Committee Secretary, Commune People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Dung, along with a delegation of commune officials and a number of village Party Cell Secretaries, village chiefs, deputy village chiefs... paid a visit to the project to preserve cool fish in the border commune of Tam Hop (Tuong Duong district).
“The model of preserving cool fish in Tam Hop commune has been implemented for many years and has now achieved certain results. When the working group from Dien Lam commune visited, we were very surprised by their model. They have done it quite methodically and seriously, so it is right that it is effective. Cool fish in particular and other aquatic species have developed very quickly, the Cha Lap stream where they implemented the project is very clear and peaceful. Currently, they are also aiming for experiential tourism from the available local landscapes. We think their model is good, it is worth researching and learning...” – Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, excitedly told about the visit to the model in Tam Hop.
Without hesitation, the commune leaders immediately directed the professional staff to start writing the project. By November 2022, the People's Council of Dien Lam commune approved the project to conserve and develop the aquatic resources of Mat Nam Cuom stream fish in association with community ecotourism in Dien Lam commune.
Accordingly, the Project strictly prohibits the exploitation of aquatic resources using toxic chemicals, explosives, electric shocks and other destructive means. Outsiders fishing in Dien Lam commune will be expelled from the area. For households in the commune, aquatic resources belong to the entire population. Any illegal fishing such as using electric shocks or explosives will have their equipment confiscated and administrative penalties imposed. In addition, the villages will establish aquatic resource protection areas for each specific stream section. All of the above areas will be posted with signs to inform the people.
"Dream" of doing ecotourism
Mr. Lu Van Hue - Secretary of the Party Cell of Cuom village recounted that in addition to the overexploitation of fish resources by the local people, for a long time, people from outside the locality also flooded into the area to catch fish. All kinds of fishing equipment, nets, handcuffs, even electric shocks, everyone hunted for themselves. Although the project was born, initially people's awareness was still limited, the mindset of spontaneous exploitation was still high. At first, when the project was implemented, many people did not understand and opposed it. After efforts to propagate, persuade, and even impose strong sanctions, people's awareness gradually changed.
After nearly 1 year of implementing the project, local people have now self-monitored and chased away people from other localities who came to fish. The schools of catfish and other fish species have returned to the Nam Cượm stream to reproduce. Along the Nam Cượm stream, the sections where fishing is prohibited have developed very quickly, with each square meter of water surface estimated to have dozens of fish. Not only catfish but also other species of fish such as sly fish, pop, stream loach, etc. have also revived, living and occupying many caves and rocky nooks along the stream banks.
At noon, standing on the suspension bridge of Cuom village looking down at the stream, under the clear stream water, schools of cool, cunning fish are swimming upstream like shuttles flipping over to eat moss and rocks, their white bellies facing up, sparkling silver in the clear water, looking very joyful and interesting.
Mr. Lo Van Xoan, who has a grocery store and house right next to the Nam Cuom stream, happily said: “Since the fish were conserved and fishing was banned, the stream has had many fish again. At noon and in the afternoon, I often sit on the bank and watch the schools of fish swimming around, which is very pleasing to the eye. The commune's fish conservation project is truly a correct policy, and all of us agree and support it.”
Talking to us on the suspension bridge of the village, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Chairman of Dien Lam commune looked at the school of fish swimming around excitedly, said: Here, the cool fish and other types of fish are increasingly abundant, in the late afternoon many people in the village come here to play and watch the fish. On beautiful days, people in neighboring communes, especially young people often travel dozens of kilometers just to "travel" to watch the cool fish on the Nam Cuom stream.
“We are waiting for the fish to grow bigger and more numerous. After that, we will study a stream with beautiful terrain, about 500-600m long, to build some rest huts and provide some food services to attract visitors from other places to come and experience tourism. The model of preserving and developing aquatic resources of Mat Nam Cuom stream fish associated with community ecotourism in Dien Lam commune hopes to change the face of this poor commune” – Mr. Lang Van Dong – Secretary of the Party Committee of Dien Lam commune, spoke about the bold idea of his commune in the near future.
Looking at the gentle Nam Cượm stream flowing, the harsh sunlight of July in the Western Nghe An region seems to make the stream even more clear and poetic. Schools of cool fish swimming happily in the stream bed fascinate visitors from afar. And, we will return to Nam Cượm stream to witness the positive changes, the new joys as the ideas and wishes of the government and people in this poor highland commune.
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