Fishing village on the plateau

Tourists enjoy visiting the Se San fishing village.

A difficult time

Looking at the picturesque scenery of the fishing village on the Se San lake, in Hamlet 7, Ia Toi commune, Ia H'Drai district, few people know about the difficult and arduous journeys that the residents here have once endured.

As one of the first residents to set foot on the Se San reservoir, Mr. Nguyen Van Trieu from Hamlet 7, Ia Toi Commune, recounted: "I'm from An Giang province. In 2010, I heard from friends that Kon Tum had a large Se San reservoir. I came here and saw that there were still many valuable aquatic resources, such as: catfish, snakehead fish, striped catfish, carp, and tilapia... From then on, I decided to stay here and work, and then I invited my brothers to come and work with me."

The cage fish farming model is bringing high income to the residents of the Se San fishing village.

The residents of this fishing village come from various regions, such as Ca Mau , An Giang, and Long An... Each person has their own hometown, but they share the common fate of making a living in a foreign land. These families mainly live off fishing on the Se San reservoir.

Mr. Dang Van Thuoc, from Hamlet 7, Ia Toi Commune, recalled: "In the beginning, when we came here, we didn't have any identification papers. We built floating houses and lived a nomadic life on the Se San lake, bordering Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces. It was very difficult. When the Kon Tum provincial authorities inspected us, we would tow our floating houses across to Gia Lai province and vice versa."

The district has supported households in building 15 aquaculture models on the Se San reservoir using funds from the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction. At the same time, it has facilitated the establishment of cooperatives among households to leverage the advantages of the aquatic resources in the Se San reservoir…”

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ia H'Drai District

In 2015, when Ia H'Drai district was established, 29 fishing village households, who had previously been living illegally, received approval from the Kon Tum Provincial People's Committee and were facilitated by the local authorities to obtain long-term temporary residence registration certificates. In 2017, they were granted household registration. Since then, they have become official citizens of Ia Tơi commune, Ia H'Drai district, and the lives of these fishing village households have entered a new chapter. Each household was temporarily allocated 400 square meters of land and received 50 million VND per household to build a house; they benefited from the policies and programs of the Party and State; and their children of school age were able to attend school. As a result, the families' lives have stabilized, and the migration situation of the past has ceased.

An attractive destination for tourists.

Returning to the Se San fishing village, we were truly amazed by the changes. Besides the sturdy houses built on the shore, floating restaurants have sprung up on the lake, catering to tourists. Everything has changed, but the generous and hospitable nature of the people of the Mekong Delta remains intact, evident in the warm handshakes and radiant smiles.

Crossing the waters of the Se San River, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan took us on a tour around the fishing village. He recounted: "By some twist of fate, my wife and I have been living here for over 10 years. With the help of the local government, we now have enough confidence to raise our children and send them to school. Currently, our family runs 6 fish cages, exporting tens of tons of commercial fish each year, earning 30 to 40 million VND."

The Se San fishing village viewed from above.

Currently, the Se San fishing village has 29 households and 103 inhabitants; of which, 6 households are engaged in tourism businesses such as restaurants and sightseeing. Tourists visiting the fishing village can experience fishing, watch how anchovies are caught naturally on the lake, enjoy traditional dishes made from various types of fish, and buy OCOP products such as dried anchovies, anchovy rice paper, and dried snakehead fish. Every year, the fishing village welcomes approximately 2,000 tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ia H'Drai district, said: The district has supported households in building 15 aquaculture models on the Se San reservoir using funds from the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction. At the same time, it has created conditions for households to establish cooperatives to leverage the advantages of the aquatic resources from the Se San reservoir and closely connect aquaculture and fishing activities with the market, improving people's income in a long-term and sustainable way.

The world's most beautiful fishing village in Ha Long Bay is at risk of "gradually sinking into the sea".