In An Giang flood season, the river water is slowly turning red, and fishermen have caught delicious freshwater fish.

Making a living at the beginning of the flood season

The early morning rain had just stopped, the Vinh Hoi Dong River was flowing turbulently, carrying with it a few rows of water hyacinths wandering downstream.

At this time, Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, a resident of Vinh Hoi hamlet, Vinh Hoi Dong commune (An Phu district, An Giang province) pushed his boat and spread his net to catch fish to sell at the market.

Mr. Ba shared: “In the past few days, the fish caught were quite good. I used the net to catch 5-7kg of silver carp and silver carp to sell at the morning market, earning more than 200,000 VND/day. It has been raining these days, so the fish have not eaten much, so I only caught a few fish, enough to get by.

All year round, I work hard to earn a living. During the dry season, I have to work hard to earn enough to live. During the flood season, I try to work hard to have enough money to send the children to school, and then take care of the family during Tet. You see, it is now the end of June (lunar calendar), if we work hard, Tet will be right around the corner. If we don’t work hard from now, our family will have a hard time at the end of the year!”

The flood water in An Giang has just "come to a state of trance"

Talking about his profession, Mr. Ba confided that because his family was poor, his education only stopped at the level of knowing how to read and write.

Growing up, he followed his father's river career and has been with it ever since. He also worked as a construction worker in Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City for a few years, but it was not enough to make a living, so he had to return to his hometown to live with the ebb and flow of the tide.

“Thinking carefully, life is more comfortable when I go back to my hometown. Returning to the profession of silversmithing, I don’t have any surplus, but I don’t go hungry. In the countryside, life is simple, and the burden of food and clothing is lighter than in a foreign land. When I catch fish, I sell a lot at the market, and if I catch a little, I still have enough food for my wife and children.

My hometown is poor but there is no shortage of chili and eggplant, no one in a foreign land gives anything to anyone for free. These days, fish appear more often so my family's life is better. People who cast nets, they catch young linh fish, so the fields are even better" - Mr. Ba sincerely said.

Fishermen cast nets and catch fish on the river at the beginning of the flood season in An Giang.

Saying goodbye to the simple fisherman, I walked around Vinh Hoi Dong market and saw that there were not many freshwater fish products. Some traders said that Vinh Hoi Dong market has freshwater fish all year round because they follow the water flow from Cambodia down to the river junction and become a source of livelihood for fishermen.

Due to the rainy days, there are few freshwater fish, but usually there is no shortage. Or if you want to eat delicious fish, you have to go early in the morning, when the fish are brought from the cages to the market by the vendors. It's just that people from far away like me rarely have the opportunity to go to the upstream market early in the morning.

Not only the upstream fishermen, their “colleagues” in the border areas of Tinh Bien and Chau Doc are also ready for the new fishing season. These days, the water in Vinh Te canal is close to the banks. In low places, the water “crawls” into the fields, making the heavy steps of the fishermen. Below the wharf, several sampans lie still and rest after a tiring journey to make a living.

Mr. Tran Van Ut (residing in Vinh Te commune, Chau Doc city, An Giang province) is rowing his boat along the river, attentively casting his net to catch fish for dinner. When asked about the current fish yield, he smiled gently: "The fish are still coming in small quantities, a few kilos a day, not much.

Fortunately, the fish price is high at the beginning of the season, so I can make a living. When the water level in August (lunar calendar) is high, this area is flooded, and the people of the village really enter the fishing season. At that time, I also go on a boat to catch fish from far away. Now I have checked the boat, tested the machine, patched the torn nets, and waited for the season to start. Hopefully this year the flood will be big, so I can make up for last year's loss."

Waiting for the flood

Working hard to lift tree trunks firmly planted on the bank of Tra Su canal, Mr. Le Van Can (residing in Nhon Hung ward, Tinh Bien town, An Giang province) happily answered questions from visitors from afar. He said that he was rebuilding the bridge under the wharf to be very solid, so that the boat could be anchored securely. Every year, when the water under the canal turns red with alluvium, he does this familiar job.

“During the flood season, we go fishing and then return through this wharf, so it must be high and sturdy to withstand several long months. This year, at the end of June, with this water level, I see a little hope for the new fishing season. Because I only cast nets or go fishing, my life is also precarious. I am old, I am happy with how much I earn, as long as I have a meal to eat so my children can worry less” - Mr. Can confided.

In the story of the nearly 70-year-old fisherman, the days when fish were weighed by the bushel by traders are a thing of the past.

Back then, when people had no fish to eat, they made dozens of jars of fish sauce and stacked them along the walkways, or made a few bags of dried fish and put them in the kitchen attic. Looking back, they were all specialties that no one appreciated back then because every house had them. Nowadays, fish are becoming rarer and rarer, so Mr. Can is lucky to be able to make a living from this profession!

Mr. Can, a farmer in Nhon Hung ward, Tinh Bien town (An Giang province) is looking forward to the new flood season.

“I keep the fish I catch for myself, and sell the surplus at the market. At this time, it is difficult to sell a few silver carp or silver carp every day. At the beginning of the season, I spread nets and fish until September and October (lunar calendar), then I switch to setting traps for snakehead fish. I collect about a dozen traps, which also gives me an extra source of income at the end of the season.

Having been attached to this area since I was a child, I have only been working as a hired hand, doing silver work. This job is very hard. You dive all day and all night, but when you drain the boat, you run out of money. At that time, you have to go find fish and crabs for the following days!" - Mr. Can confided.

Although he knows it is hard, Mr. Can and those who work in the silver industry still look forward to the flood season. There are still years when fishermen earn a good living because the floodwaters bring abundant aquatic products. It is just that the floodwaters are now unpredictable, so when the year is good, they are happy, and when the year is bad, they try to dive to have something to eat.

For some fishermen, in addition to diving into the profession, they also raise fish in a "semi-wild" way. Mr. Tran Van Mam, resident of Thoi Son ward (Tinh Bien town, An Giang province) has done this in the past two flood seasons, helping to improve his family's income. "Now I have finished preparing the place to raise fish, in the near future I will buy small fish from the net fishermen, put them in the cages, raise them until October (lunar calendar) then remove the nets.

Thanks to the flood water available, we also buy snails to feed, so the cost is also low. Last year, thanks to this method, my family had an extra source of income for Tet. Hopefully this year the "gods will treat" the fishermen so that we will suffer less, because for the past two seasons, we have been struggling with the situation of making ends meet to get through the flood season" - Mr. Mam sincerely said.

Mr. Mam also said that at this time, he is still driving a motorbike taxi to supplement his family's living expenses, because the fish have not yet come to the fields to lay eggs. Perhaps, it will be more than a month, when the water "jumps away from the shore", that he will put down his traps and get on the boat to find a way to make a living, with the hope of buying new clothes and books for his children to have fun in the new school year.

Although the floodwaters are no longer as generous as before, they are still a source of hope for those who follow the silver-mining profession. For many reasons, they choose to live with their “aunt”, accepting their fate of being poor, with the hope that the next generation will have a better life in the coming days.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mua-nuoc-noi-an-giang-duoi-song-con-nuoc-da-lu-du-chin-do-dan-cau-luoi-da-bat-duoc-ca-dong-ngon-20240801172449613.htm