Making a living in Xuan Dai Bay

Women sit and rake at the mouth of the river flowing into Xuan Dai Bay. Photo: MANH LE TRAM

People living along the bay earn their living by chiseling oysters, digging for clams, and scooping them up. This work starts early in the morning, arriving at the place where they sit in the black mud, then using a basket to rake down the mud and sand to find and catch them.

The work of the patient

Every day, people around the area go to the Binh Ba River mouth, Phu Vinh alluvial land, Xuan Dai ward (Song Cau town) to earn a living by doing all kinds of jobs: raking, prying oysters, and digging for clams. Bending over and hunching in the water from morning to noon, then into the evening, this manual work, if done diligently, will bring in income every day.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (70 years old) in Xuan Dai ward, sitting and raking at the mouth of Binh Ba river flowing into Xuan Dai bay, said: This job starts at dawn, to the place where I sit and soak in the water, then use a basket to dig down under the sand layer, looking for and catching the fish. One day I bent my back to rake and caught no more than 3kg, traders bought it for 20,000 VND/kg. "Every day I try to rake to earn money, my limbs are numb. Last night, I caught a cold and had to buy some medicine to take, this morning I will continue raking," Ms. Hong said.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dong (55 years old), also from Xuan Dai ward, was digging and sharing: This job requires being submerged in water all day, and when you get home, your arms and legs are exhausted. Men with “long strength and broad shoulders” use a pole with a basket attached to find fish to dig in deep water. On a day when they dig well, they can get 8-10kg all day.

When the floodwaters from Xuan Dai Bay flood the alluvial plains of Phu Vinh village (Xuan Dai ward), oysters begin to “rafter” (form). The small ones are as big as a grain of sand or a chopstick, then gradually grow larger and stick thickly on the rocky shore. After the water recedes, people use iron tools to chisel out the oysters from the rocks, bring them to the alluvial plains, and then sit and pry the oysters. The oyster shells are as hard as rocks, so prying them open is considered a “skin-scratching” job. To pry open the hard oyster shells, people have to use a lip pick (a bent iron stick with a sharp tip) to “peck” into the shell to pry open the oyster shells to take out the insides for sale.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Danh (61 years old), who lives near the alluvial ground of Phu Vinh village, said: I have made a living by digging oysters since I was a girl. If I work hard in the sun and water day after day, month after month, I can earn money to support my life. This job is dangerous because you have to make a living according to the tide, and it is easy to fall because the rocks are slippery.

In the morning, many women have to soak in the black muddy creek flowing from Lo Voi bridge, Xuan Tho 2 commune to Xuan Dai bay, the water is up to their chins to rake for clams. The job of raking clams, in the dry season the water is clear, looking down you can see the "tricks" (small holes where clams crawl under the mud) to rake for clams. However, many people rake the water making it murky, looking down at the bottom is "dark and hazy", so people just use their hands to grope under the mud and rake, taking their luck, and being happy with whatever they get.

Ms. Tran Thi Hanh in Xuan Phuong commune confided: The job of raking clams requires a lot of back pain, standing up and sitting down. The income is not high, each day working diligently raking earns 100,000-150,000 VND. A couple (2 people) earns about 200,000-300,000 VND, but that is the main income that women in coastal areas earn diligently every day.

Specialties from natural resources

According to people living along Xuan Dai Bay, in the past, they only raked clams to serve family meals or sold them cheaply. However, recently, when clams spawned in the wild became a specialty, many traders came to buy them to supply to restaurants. As for the clams, they pry them to get the meat to make specialty fish sauce. At restaurants in Song Cau Town, they offer all kinds of fish sauce, from fish sauce, shrimp sauce, shrimp sauce and intestine sauce, of which fish sauce has a delicious flavor, making you want to pick up another chopstick after eating one.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, a restaurant owner in Xuan Dai ward, said: After the shell is removed, the fresh white meat is taken, and salted according to a traditional method. Over time, the fish becomes fish sauce, which is brown, fragrant, and strangely attractive. Recently, fish sauce has gone from the kitchen of a poor family to a luxurious banquet table. Dipping a piece of boiled meat into fish sauce, adding a few slices of sour star fruit or raw vegetables, people feel like they are eating a whole countryside. Fish sauce is also delicious when served with rice, or dipped in banh xeo. Oysters are beyond reproach. The natural oysters are gutted and sold out as soon as they are available. My restaurant sells to passenger vans and trucks. Many people like to eat fish sauce, others like to eat oyster porridge, clams...

Xuan Dai Bay has clams, mussels, oysters, natural specialties, which are the source of life for people living along the bay. Recently, in addition to lobsters, these seafoods have become specialties of Song Cau Town, helping many people living around the bay to have jobs to earn a living, bringing income to their families.
Mr. Bui Van Trung in Xuan Yen ward, Song Cau town

Previously, the main people who made a living around the bay were women, children or the elderly. Recently, many young people have also taken the opportunity to dig oysters and clams to earn extra income. Young people with strength go to deep water areas to dig large clams and clams, going from early morning until noon to have lunch, then going from early afternoon to the evening. Mr. Bui Van Trung in Xuan Yen ward said: Every day I drive a motorboat to Xuan Dai bay to earn a living "killing two birds with one stone", digging oysters and diving to catch clams to sell. "Xuan Dai bay has all kinds of clams, mussels, oysters, natural specialties, which are the source of life for people living along the bay. Recently, in addition to lobsters, these seafoods have become specialties of Song Cau town, helping many people living around the bay to have jobs to earn a living, bringing income to their families", Mr. Trung said.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202505/muu-sinh-o-vinh-xuan-dai-b3d3806/