Bustling business in flood season

Fishermen and traders buy and sell fish and shrimp during flood season. Photo: THANH CHINH

Crowded around the fish bowl

Running along the asphalt road along Thoai Ha canal, we occasionally saw people sitting on the side of the road with basins of fresh fish. Just past the suspension bridge, we came across a fish village located in Thoai Son commune. The fishermen here are very kind, selling without overcharging.

Although it is not a market, the amount of freshwater fish that fishermen bring home to sell is still strongly supported by many people. “Early in the morning, the fish sauce here is very busy. People sell all the fish within a few hours. At noon, people go to check the nets, unload the nets and continue to bring fish back to sell at noon, which is done in a few dozen minutes,” said Ms. Tran Thi Chi, a fish seller.

Recently, when the two spillways of Tha La and Tra Su released floodwaters, receiving a huge amount of water from Vinh Te canal, the neighboring fields were flooded, and everyone in the area was happy because they had a good harvest from the fish and shrimp in the fields.

Mr. Le Van Thai (49 years old) whose house is located on Tha La canal said: “If there is water, there will be fish. Every year, thanks to these two canals leading flood water into the fields, fishermen have less suffering. When the water covers the fields, I spread my nets and catch a lot of perch. Every night, I spread 10 nets (each net is 200m long) and catch about 10kg of perch. Currently, traders weigh the nets at 40,000 VND/kg, I earn nearly 300,000 VND”.

Currently, the fish resources that fishermen exploit in the fields are mainly perch, snakehead fish, linh fish, chop fish, crabs, snails... Previously, during the flood season, aquatic resources were very abundant, prices were very cheap. Now, many people fish incessantly, nature is no longer generous. Therefore, freshwater fish are sold at high prices, fishermen and small traders have a comfortable income during the off-season. In the past, few people ate chop fish, so much was caught in the net that fishermen cut off their heads to make fish sauce, but now this fish is sold by traders for 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg.

“Nowadays, the number of goby fish in the rice fields is decreasing. Before, each time I cast the net, I harvested more than 10kg. The goby fish, the size of a thumb, is delicious in any dish,” said Nguyen Van Hao, a fisherman who specializes in casting nets in the rice fields.

Rendezvous on the field

In the hot noon, going up to the border area, we saw many sampans cutting water and rushing through the canals of Nhon Hoi commune to bring fish to the traders to weigh. This canal carries water from the Phu Hoi river branch with its red alluvium, carrying an abundant amount of aquatic products.

Coincidentally, during the flood season, fishermen and traders have the opportunity to meet. Nowadays, taking advantage of business opportunities, many traders drive their boats straight to the fields and then wait for fishermen to bring fish back to weigh them on the spot. After decades of working as a fish trader in the fields, Mrs. Ho Thi Noi (57 years old) has become accustomed to a life of rice from the market and water from the river.

Every afternoon, she urged her children to run the boat to the fields to weigh the fish for the fishermen. She sat on the boat’s deck watching the fishermen scoop the fish onto the scales, then her children sorted out the fish, big and small, in the hold. The dolphins, loach, gourd, toothed octopus, silver carp… swimming in the water of Mrs. Noi’s boat looked mesmerizing.

Looking far away on the field, each fisherman brings back delicious fish that he has just caught to be weighed continuously. The quantity of delicious fish is large, the price is also cheaper. “Eel, silver carp, tren... fluctuates from 120,000 - 130,000 VND/kg. I buy from people at a high price to motivate them to make a living in the field,” said Ms. Noi.

Indeed, although the border area is not rich, in return, nature generously gives people a large amount of seafood during the flood season. “There is rice above and fish below! There are many big and small fish! Many times, we cannot eat all the fish so we have to dry them and store them in fish sauce to sell throughout the year,” Mrs. Noi giggled. Listening to Mrs. Noi boast about the endless source of specialties, we felt the generosity of nature giving poor people along the border a “bag of fish”. For generations, thanks to the abundant source of seafood, jobs have been created for the majority of people who make a living by the tide.

Mrs. Noi recalls with emotion that in the past, whenever the floodwaters were high, she would buy a lot of fish and shrimp. On days when the tide was right, she could weigh tons of delicious fish of all kinds. With many years of experience in the profession, Mrs. Noi was known by many fishermen. Thanks to that, she bought many types of fish every day. “Back then, when the tide was high, there were a lot of snakehead fish and 3-fingered catfish. I bought this type of fish and then delivered it to the facility to dry and sell for Tet, at a price of 300,000 - 400,000 VND/kg,” Mrs. Noi said.

On a dry sunny afternoon, on the flooded fields, the rumbling sound of machines from people unloading fishing nets and continuing to bring fish back to sell at the afternoon market creates a bustling business atmosphere during the flood season.

THANH CHINH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/ron-rang-lam-an-mua-lu-a462668.html