A profession that rolls along with the waves.

Fishing in basket boats has become a traditional occupation in most fishing villages in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City, such as Phuoc Hai, Long Hai, Binh Chau, and Ho Tram. With these round basket boats, generations of fishermen have tirelessly clung to the sea to make a living, rolling along with the waves.

Deep sea, big waves… yet the basket still rolls along.

Early in the morning, waves lapped against the shore of Phuoc Hai beach. The small fishing boats lay motionless on the sand, their rounded hulls exposed. At exactly 4 o'clock, after flipping over the boats and preparing his fishing gear, old fisherman Le Huu Duc pushed his boat out to sea.

Viewed from above, Phuoc Hai fishing village resembles a painting dotted with the circular shapes of basket boats. Photo: D.CX

Having spent nearly 40 years at sea, Mr. Duc used to fish in traditional offshore fishing grounds such as the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands on large-capacity vessels. In his youth, he could reach any fishing ground. “But things changed when I got older. I moved closer to shore to suit my capabilities. So for the past 20 years, I’ve owned a small basket boat to do the job, like nearly 300 other fishermen in Phuoc Hai,” Mr. Duc recounted.

Veteran fisherman Le Huu Duc untangles his nets and rearranges his boat after returning from a fishing trip in a small basket boat. Photo: QUANG VU

This season, Mr. Duc earns a few kilograms of crabs, fish, shrimp, squid, etc., each day. He makes around 300,000 dong, and sometimes a profit of 500,000-700,000 dong per day. On a lucky day, he can even earn a million dong.

As soon as the story ended, the engine of the basket boat sputtered, and Mr. Duc's boat sped off into the distance, leaving a small circle on the still misty sea.

The boats of Mr. Khanh, Mr. Ghe, Mr. My… also slowly moved towards the sea one after another. From the shore, when the boats were just tiny dots against the vast ocean, a new day in Phuoc Hai began.

Fishermen in Phuoc Hai commune harvest herring from basket nets. Photo: QUANG VU

At 8:30 a.m., the first fishing boats docked. The women hurried towards the sea, waiting for the specialized vehicle to tow the boats from the sea to the sandy shore. Quickly putting on her jacket and conical hat, Ms. Tran Thi Sen carefully picked up the fish, shrimp, crabs, and squid caught in the nets of her boat. As she worked, Ms. Sen recounted how, having grown up in a fishing village, she had spent more than half her life connected to the sea. Her husband went out fishing, and she stayed home, tending to the boats when they returned to shore. "The sea is a tough job; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes the nets are full of shrimp and fish, other times you lose everything because of the deep sea and rough waves. But the boat fishing profession provides us with a comfortable life. Although it's hard work, no one thinks about leaving the boats or abandoning the sea," Ms. Sen said.

In the fishing villages of Long Hai, Binh Chau, and Ho Tram, fishing with basket boats has also developed over the past hundreds of years and has become a tool for catching seafood near the shore, providing a stable income for the local people.

At 8 a.m., Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam's basket boat (from Ho Tram commune) docked ashore. Carefully removing each fresh fish from the trawl net, Mr. Tam excitedly shared: "Today's fishing trip was a hit. After 5 hours of fishing at sea, my boat brought in nearly 100 kg of fish, worth about 3 million dong."

Fishermen in Binh Chau commune return from their basket boats after a successful herring catch. Photo: QUANG VU

After pulling the last meter of net out of the sea, Mr. Le Van Ngu (from Binh Chau commune) hurriedly turned his basket boat carrying the fish ashore so his wife could sell them at the early morning market. “With basket net fishing, when you have a good catch, it's very exciting. You cast one net after another without feeling tired at all. The stormy season usually lasts from September to February, which is also the peak season for basket boats. In the summer, basket boats only work well when there are strong southerly winds, following schools of herring,” Mr. Ngu shared.

Basket-making as a tourist attraction.

At Huong Bien beach (Long Hai commune), the boats depart earlier and the route is shorter, so from 7 am onwards, fishing boats returning for the day begin to dock. By 8 am, the entire beach is bustling with dozens of boats coming ashore with fresh fish such as scad, mackerel, herring, crabs, shrimp, etc.

A variety of seafood caught and brought back from the basket boats is collected in the Long Hai sea area. Photo: QUANG VU

Mr. Nguyen Van Giang (from Long Hai commune), with his sun-tanned face typical of a coastal resident, skillfully used his nets to remove herring, and said with a gentle smile: "Herring is fetching a good price this season. Traders are buying it for 40,000 VND/kg, and with that bunch of yellowfin tuna, I'll probably sell it for 700,000 VND. After deducting expenses, I'll have a profit of 500,000 VND."

Basket fishing has become a traditional fishing method in many coastal areas east of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: QUANG VU

Right next to Mr. Giang, Mr. Nguyen Minh Son's basket boat (from Long Hai commune) was also busy unloading fish to sell to tourists. "Today I caught 12kg of scad, mackerel, and other types of fish. The fishing industry is doing much better now thanks to tourism. Tourists like to eat fresh fish, so they often come to the beach to wait for the boat to return and choose what they want to buy. Selling to tourists is quick and easy, without having to take it to the market. The profit is small, but it still brings in 500-600 thousand dong per day," Mr. Giang said.

Dat Do commune also organizes a basket boat racing festival as a beautiful coastal cultural tradition during the annual Nghinh Ong Nam Hai Festival. Photo: VAN ANH

Sitting on the sand after a day of rowing his boat out to sea, fisherman Nguyen Van Ghe (Phuoc Hai commune) said: “I don’t know when Phuoc Hai fishing village first appeared, but many generations have continued the craft of fishing with boats at sea. Initially, fishermen only used hand-rowed boats to cast nets, so they didn’t catch much seafood. Later, they gradually switched to using motorized boats for fishing. Thanks to this progress, human effort is reduced, the boats can travel further, and there are more shrimp and fish.”

According to statistics from the communes of Ho Tram, Binh Chau, Long Hai, Phuoc Hai, etc., there are currently nearly 1,000 basket boats operating and fishing near the shore. The number of basket boats in the coastal fishing villages east of Ho Chi Minh City continues to increase daily, and the types of seafood harvested are also becoming more diverse. Many seafood services and restaurants have sprung up along the Phuoc Hai embankment, attracting a large number of tourists from within and outside the province, bringing increasingly stable income to the local people.

Fishermen from Phuoc Hai commune return after a fishing trip with a bountiful catch. Photo: QUANG VU

The basket boat making profession not only provides food, clothing, and a comfortable life for the families involved, but it is also popular with tourists. “Integrating basket boats into tourism is a very interesting idea in coastal fishing villages. This model, if used to serve tourists, would be very attractive due to its novelty and uniqueness, showcasing the distinctive culture of the coastal region,” said Mr. Le Hong Tu, Director of BT Tour Community Tourism and Event Organization Company.

QUANG VU

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nghe-lan-tron-theo-con-song-post824135.html