Fish season on La Nga river

August - November, the peak of the rainy season is also the time when freshwater fish from upstream and downstream gather in the low-lying areas of La Nga River to eat rice by-products and snails or plankton. From here, many people catch fish to supply the market to improve their income...

The army catches snakehead fish, a specialty of Tanh Linh, Duc Linh, Hoai Duc (Photo: Ngoc Lan)

From natural fish sources

The natural lake of Bien Lac is more than 1,000 hectares wide, with a rich freshwater fish ecosystem of the Tanh Linh area extending to Tra Tan commune. Many types of natural fish such as: catfish, goby, snakehead fish, climbing perch, and treng... have high economic value. In the rainy season, fish species often follow the water of La Nga river to enter Bien Lac lake to breed and live. Mr. Nguyen Bay in Tanh Linh commune, who often fishes in the Bien Lac area, said: Bien Lac has fish all year round, but the most is in the rainy season from June to November. At this time, large fish from 5 to 30 kg in the lower reaches of the Dong Nai river swim upstream into La Nga river to find "calm" water to breed. Bien Lac has a lake surface and a gentle flow from La Nga river, which is a suitable place for fish species to breed and live, so it attracts people to fish here every day.

Fishing nets on La Nga river (Photo: N. Lan)

I still remember more than 15 years ago, when I returned to Duc Linh to write an article about the flood situation. While sitting in a meeting, I heard that people caught a giant catfish weighing more than 70 kg in Bay Mau area (current Nam Thanh commune area) and someone went to the river to cast a net and caught a catfish weighing more than 30 kg. When I arrived, I saw a large crowd of people gathered, everyone wanted to buy a few kg to enjoy, but the person who caught the fish had sold the whole fish to a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City for over 300,000 VND/kg. In the past, in Bien Lac area, catching crocodiles weighing hundreds of kilograms, carried by ox carts on the road was a normal thing. Snakehead fish and catfish weighing more than ten kg were also not uncommon. Recently, I received a phone call from Mr. Cuong in Tanh Linh commune inviting me to eat grilled climbing perch, cooked with sour bamboo shoots with a 11 kg fish. I asked him where the fish came from, and he said that it was caught in Bien Lac lake. There are many here, every year during flood season people catch a few, sometimes catfish, sometimes climbing perch or grouper...

Climbing fish live for many years in flowing water, so their meat is tough and sweet, quite unique. Sitting and chatting with Mr. Cuong, listening to him tell a long story about Bien Lac Lake, there are so many stories that I can't remember them all, but one unforgettable story is that for the past ten years, people living along the La Nga River and Bien Lac Lake have taken advantage of the situation to expand the scale of fish farming in cages. Fish farming from grouper, eel, red-tailed catfish... brings very high profits. Some households raise a lot, earning billions of dong each year. Not only is freshwater fish farming in cages popular, but along the La Nga River, people in the area also take advantage of the fresh air, beautiful scenery and rich freshwater fish resources to invest in opening restaurants. From here, food services were formed and attracted a large number of tourists from all over the place to come here...

Kim fish, a specialty of the upper La Nga river in La Da commune

To specialties and brands

Mr. Nguyen Chat, in Duc Linh commune, who specializes in catching catfish by hook and net on the La Nga River extending to the Ham Thuan - Da Mi hydroelectric lake, said: There are still a lot of fish on the La Nga River because the water flows all year round. In addition, people have reduced the use of electric shock fishing, so the fish have conditions to grow continuously, creating a diverse ecosystem. Mr. Chat said that catfish, loach, eel, and goby are some of the specialty fish in the La Nga River area, so all the restaurants buy whatever they catch. Every day he goes fishing with a net, and at night he goes fishing and catches a few kilos, with an average daily income of 400,000 - 600,000 VND. In particular, there are days when he catches ten kilos of catfish, he "earns" several million VND...

Upstream of La Nga River, where Ham Thuan - Da Mi reservoir is located, the Kim fish is a specialty of La Da region. The fish has a long body about the size of an index finger, the fish meat is white and transparent like the anchovy living in the sea. The fish is easily recognized by its long mouth like 2 pincers, so in addition to the name Kim fish, some places call it Kim fish. The fish lives on the water surface, the main food is plankton and algae, because the fish lives in clean water, the fish meat is almost not fishy, ​​very sweet and has a characteristic aroma that cannot be confused with other fish living in freshwater. The fish reproduces quickly, the peak fishing season is from April to October every year, when there is a lot of rain, there is an abundant amount of food. Mr. Mai Van Minh - Director of Da Mi Tourism Company confided: 4 years ago, Kim fish was just a snack that had no economic value. When the company started operating, I experimented with serving crispy fried mackerel with chili sauce for tourists on the boat to visit Macadamia Island to eat for “pleasure”. Unexpectedly, the tourists praised the dish and ordered it, buying it as gifts for relatives after the trip. Thanks to the large amount of fish consumed, the fishing households in Ham Thuan Lake have more jobs from catching to processing finished fish. Residents on the lake have a stable income, improving their living standards...

In Duc Linh and Tanh Linh areas, when talking about freshwater fish, we are talking about snakehead fish. This season, there are a lot of natural snakehead fish, so in the area there is a whole "army" specializing in catching snakehead fish to supply to processing warehouses to make fish cakes. Snakehead fish in Duc Linh and Tanh Linh are more popular than in other areas because they live in the flowing water of La Nga River, the water is clear so there is little smell of seaweed or mud. On the contrary, the fish meat has a natural sweet taste and is delicious. Natural snakehead fish in this area is not enough to supply the market, so in the past ten years, people have invested in raising them according to the province's agricultural extension process. Although the fish are farmed, thanks to the flowing water of La Nga River, plus the scientific raising process, the quality of farmed fish is still 9/10 compared to natural fish. If someone eats it for the first time, it is very difficult to distinguish between farmed fish and natural fish. Only locals or gourmets know. Catfish cakes in Duc Linh and Tanh Linh communes have been recognized as OCOP products and are being consumed strongly in the domestic market.

The profession of catching fish in the La Nga River or Bien Lac Lake is not as noisy as other professions. Those who fish or cast nets at night still do their work quietly to earn a living. The job is quite hard but helps many households earn an income to improve their lives. That place is offering to life the products bestowed by nature...

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/mua-ca-dong-tren-song-la-nga-388426.html