When the "sea fortune" gradually dwindles...

At this time every year, the sea area of ​​Duc Minh commune (Mo Duc) is bustling with boats and ships going out to sea to exploit rice snails. However, this year, the atmosphere here is quite quiet. The amount of snails this year is much lower than in previous years, causing many fishermen to choose other seafaring jobs to make a living.

Duc Minh sea area is considered the "capital" of rice snails, but this year, exploitation activities here are quite quiet.

Sitting and rearranging fishing gear after a trip out to sea, fisherman Vo Van Tinh in Duc Minh commune shared that although it has been nearly 2 months since the main fishing season, this year's snail output is too low. Each trip out to sea, each boat can only rake in a few dozen kilos of snails, while last year, each trip could harvest from 500 to 700 kilos of snails. Not only has the output decreased sharply, but this year's snails are also smaller than in previous years. That's why we fishermen don't go out to sea to fish.

Every year, rice snails appear densely, but this year the amount of rice snails in the sea of ​​Duc Minh commune is very small.

Rice snails, also known as ruoc snails or le snails, are considered a "sea gift" that nature has bestowed upon fishermen in the coastal areas of Quang Ngai in general and fishermen in the coastal areas of Mo Duc in particular. In particular, the sea area of ​​Duc Minh commune is known as the "capital" of rice snails in Mo Duc district.

The rice snail season lasts from the beginning of January to the end of the third lunar month every year. During the snail season, hundreds of fishermen in coastal communes of Mo Duc district switch from catching squid, fish, etc. to raking snails because the income from snails is higher. The work of raking snails usually starts early in the morning, and by about 11-12 noon, fishermen will bring snails ashore to sell to traders.

Even during the rice snail season, fishermen still stick to fishing to make a living.

“Every year, after deducting expenses, fishermen can earn from 1.5 to 3 million VND/person/day during the snail season. This year, although the price of snails is up to 30,000 VND/kg, because there are so few snails, the income from the snail raking job is not high. This year's snail season can be considered a failure,” said fisherman Tran Thanh Son in Duc Minh commune.

According to many fishermen, along with the impacts of climate change, one of the reasons for the sharp decline in the number of snails this year is overexploitation. In previous years, during the fishing season, the number of snail-dredging boats in the Mo Duc sea area reached nearly a hundred, with hundreds of local and foreign fishermen participating, and the exploitation force was very large. Each day, the amount of snails exploited could be up to tens of tons and transported to provinces and cities for consumption.

It is worth mentioning that, with the method of mining using iron nets scraping close to the seabed, not only large snails but also small snails are harvested. This has reduced the snails' ability to reproduce, causing the output to decrease more and more.

Overexploitation is one of the reasons for the sharp decline in rice snail production.

To maintain and develop the snail resource sustainably, fishermen need to apply reasonable exploitation measures, combined with the protection and regeneration of aquatic resources, instead of exploiting in a 'everyone for themselves' manner as in the past. Local authorities and relevant agencies also need to step in to manage and supervise exploitation activities, to ensure that this 'sea fortune' will not be exhausted, helping fishermen have a stable life and sustainable development.

Article and photos: LINH DAN

Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/kinh-te/bien-kinh-te-bien/202504/khi-loc-bien-voi-dan-5a24a8d/