• Setting up traps in the U Minh forest.

Mr. Huynh Tan Loi is a renowned craftsman specializing in weaving fishing traps in the U Minh Ha mangrove forest region.

These days, the craft of weaving fish traps to serve people during the flood season is also very busy. Mr. Huynh Tan Loi, from Da Bac commune, who has dedicated his whole life to the craft of whittling bamboo strips to weaving fish traps, said: "Fish traps are tools used to catch fish, usually woven from bamboo or netting. The head has a lure made from old bamboo, placed at the bottom of the water, and the tail of the trap is sealed and protrudes above the water surface for the fish to breathe. Every year I make hundreds of traps for the people in the U Minh Ha forest area. During the flood season, almost every household in the forest area has a few traps to catch fish to improve their meals, while those who specialize in setting traps buy dozens, even hundreds, of traps from me."

In the U Minh forest region, many people make a living by setting traps during the flood season.

In the forest region, the flood season is also the time when products under the forest canopy flourish. Besides farming, people earn a living through various occupations such as fishing with hooks, setting traps, and placing fish traps... In the rice fields and mangrove forests during this season, hundreds of traps are set by farmers, eagerly anticipating catching a lot of fish.

The best places to set fish traps are areas with abundant reeds, moss, grass, and vegetables, which will attract many types of fish, turtles, snakes, etc.

On their land, Mr. Pham Duy Khanh and Mr. Le Van Suol, from Hamlet 10, Da Bac Commune, set up more than 40 fish traps. After a few days, they harvested several tens of kilograms of snakehead fish, striped catfish, tilapia, and even giant water snakes and turtles, earning a few million dong and stabilizing their lives.

Mr. Le Van Suol is happy with the trap-setting season.

After each trip checking his fish traps, dozens of kilograms of freshwater fish bring in several million dong for Mr. Pham Duy Khanh, increasing his income.

Setting traps, a practice that has existed among the local people for nearly a hundred years, has become a cultural feature in the life of the U Minh Ha forest region.

Performed by Huynh Lam

Source: https://baocamau.vn/nghe-lop-o-rung-u-minh-ha-a121141.html