HA TINH – When the floodwater rose, Mr. Nguyen Tien, 54 years old, lived in Cam Thanh commune, Cam Xuyen district, and dozens of people went out to the fields to release their nets to catch fish.
Two days, wearing a raincoat and a mortar cap, Mr. Tien waded along the banks of the field and the inter-village and inter-commune roads were flooded by 30-50 cm in Dong Bau village, Cam Thanh commune, looking for a favorable position to release his nets. perch, tilapia, snakehead, carp… The net is more than one m high, 100 m long, made of three layers from many small lines, with a mesh of 1.5-3 cm.
“Heavy rain causes many fish species to swim with the water from rivers, lakes, irrigation canals to flooded areas in the area. This season’s cobia has a lot of eggs, is considered a specialty, cooks up a fragrant aroma, the meat is very tender, greasy taste,” said Mr. Tien.
In order for fish to “get caught in the trap”, people often choose the area upstream of floodwater to drop the net in a long straight line or sometimes bend in an arc in the middle of the field. The net when released must be loose, if the fish is stretched, the fish will be less caught.
After two hours, the “hunter” will go to check once, raise the net to see if the fish is caught or not. Fish caught in the net for too long will die, leading to rottenness, not eating well.
“Copper fish often appear at night. If you drop the net from early evening to the next morning, it is easier to hit harder than during the day. However, when releasing, you need to mark the location for easy finding”, Mr. Tien said.
Dropping nets to catch fish is a part-time job of the people of Cam Thanh commune every time it rains and floods. This work is mostly attended by middle-aged men, only doing it for about 2-4 days when the water rises at approximately 50 cm. When the flood recedes, fish will follow the water to swim to canals, irrigation ditches, rivers and lakes to grow.
From October 16 to now, every day Mr. Tien catches about 5 kg with many types of fish such as perch, tilapia, snakehead, carp, carp… each weighing 1-3 kg. Sometimes someone is lucky enough to catch carp weighing 1-2 kg. When removing the fish from the net, it is necessary to grasp the body tightly without struggling, then slowly remove the meshes stuck in the scales and bring the fish out. If you rush to remove it, the net is easily torn, leading to a cut.
The copper fish removed from the net is put into a racket or a plastic bucket. When you get out of the field, you can sell immediately if you meet customers, the price is 20,000-60,000 VND per kg depending on the type. Some others burned rice straw briefly, then brought it to the market in Cam Thanh commune to sell it for 5,000-10,000 VND higher than the unprocessed fish.
“Take advantage of work, in a flood every day, you also earn about 200,000 VND more, have more money to cover some items”, Mr. Tien said.
According to Mr. Tran Van Cong, 49 years old, living in Cam Thanh commune, in addition to the monthly floods, people often cast nets in some ponds and lakes in the area. Nets for catching copper fish are called sharp nets, costing about 300,000 VND per roll, can be used for a year and then replaced, carefully maintained, can be used for two years.
In the flood season, fishing for field fish also has many potential dangers, when sometimes large waves knock over the boat or accidentally stumble into a deep puddle. Authorities advised people to drop nets in shallow areas and near residential areas, and limit boating to areas deeper than 1.5 m to avoid incidents.
In the rural markets of Ha Tinh, people buy copper fish to clean and process many dishes. Perch can be deep-fried with fish sauce, soy sauce; snakehead fish, carp are stocked with turmeric and star fruit; tilapia preliminarily clean the scales and then grind to make balls…
From the morning of October 16 to noon on October 17, heavy rain caused many communes in Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh districts to be flooded and partially divided; People have to use boats to get around.
The Ha Tinh Hydrometeorological Station forecasts that the total rainfall on October 17-18 will be 100-200 mm in the north of the province, 150-250 mm in the south. Particularly in the Ky Anh district, the capacity is over 250 mm. Authorities warn of a very high risk of floods, flash floods, landslides in mountainous areas, and inundation in low-lying areas, riversides, and urban areas. Follow vnexpress