Fishermen stay at sea during Tet

(Baoquangngai.vn) - The Lunar New Year 2025 is approaching, however, many fishermen in the province are still eagerly preparing for offshore trips during Tet.

From December 20, the working atmosphere at fishing ports and boat anchorages in the province began to become busy and bustling. Boats returned to the port to sell their products in a cheerful and excited atmosphere. Fishermen also hurriedly loaded fuel, supplies, food, etc. to go out to sea during Tet with the hope of having their holds full of shrimp and fish.

Excited to go to sea

On the afternoon of January 19 (December 20) at Tinh Hoa boat anchorage port ( Quang Ngai city), dozens of fishing boats were bustling in and out. While carefully changing the new red flag with a yellow star, the ship owner Huynh Van Dinh, in Pho An commune (Duc Pho town) shared that usually, the demand for consumption and the price of seafood after Tet increases, so tuna fishing boats and purse seine boats will start going to sea from December 16, to return to sell their products before January 10. Going to sea during Tet, in addition to diesel, ice, food, and provisions to ensure food for 11 brothers, this trip I brought the "flavor" of Tet, which is a couple of banh tet cakes, a pair of banh chung cakes, pickled onions, watermelon seeds and canned beer for the brothers to celebrate Tet together at sea.

At exactly 2 p.m. on January 19, Mr. Dinh's ship departed, heading straight to Truong Sa sea area with the expectation of "calm seas, full of fortune" from his family and relatives. "Welcoming New Year's Eve at sea is a very sacred and proud feeling. Before New Year's Eve, we set up a tray of food to worship, praying for each sea trip to be safe and for a good seafood harvest. After the worship ceremony, we contacted our family and relatives to wish them a Happy New Year via Icom, then gathered to eat and drink," Mr. Dinh expressed before the ship left port.

The fishing boat of fisherman Huynh Van Dinh, in Pho An commune (Duc Pho town) prepares to leave port on the afternoon of January 19, to go out to sea during Tet.

Fisherman A Hoanh, in An Phu commune (Quang Ngai city), sent his boat out to sea for a trip during Tet on the afternoon of January 21 (December 22). Mr. Hoanh shared that for fishermen, "the fishing boat is home, the sea is homeland", so for many years now, his boat has often gone out to sea during Tet to practice fishing. Because this is a "special" trip, everyone has prepared carefully, from necessities to serving the Lunar New Year to stocking up on food, fresh water, medicine... My 10 fellow fishermen and I have worked hard, hoping for a peaceful new year and a bountiful catch of fish and squid.

According to the experience of many fishermen, this is the time when it is easy to exploit many types of seafood with high prices, such as: ocean tuna, sailfish... Therefore, the ships that go out to sea during Tet are mostly fishing with gillnets, dragnets and hooks of ship owners in Quang Ngai City, Duc Pho Town and Binh Son District.

Fishermen hurriedly loaded up their bags and went out to sea.

Fisherman Kieu Trong, in Pho Quang ward (Duc Pho town) said, my boat is fishing, operating mainly in Truong Sa fishing grounds. The 20-day trip across the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024 lasted 20 days, my boat caught more than 10 tons of tuna, mackerel, and hairtail fish... The selling price after Tet increased, so after deducting expenses, each crew member received about 15 million VND, so everyone was excited. This year, we continue to go out to sea, hoping to "get lucky and get a good price". "The trip across Tet has many special and interesting things. Especially in the first days of the new year, fishermen meet Coast Guard and Fisheries Surveillance ships on duty at sea to visit, give gifts and wish each other the best", Mr. Trong confided.

Accompanying fishermen

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, December is the main season for the northern fish crop in 2024 - 2025; this is also the period when aquatic products are consumed strongly and have high prices. Therefore, every Lunar New Year, the whole province has more than 100 fishing boats, with over 1,000 fishermen going offshore to exploit seafood throughout the Tet holiday.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Duc Binh said that in recent years, fishermen in the province have actively gone offshore to both develop the economy and contribute to affirming the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. Especially during the Lunar New Year, many fishermen in the province have put aside their joy with family and relatives to go offshore to fish in all sea areas of the Fatherland.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has directed the Provincial Fishing Port Management Board to organize and guide ships to enter and exit the port quickly and conveniently; at the same time, actively support and guide fishermen and businesses in implementing and resolving procedures for confirming and certifying the origin of exploited seafood in accordance with regulations. The good news is that fishermen have fully complied with the regulations on docking and leaving the port as well as turning on the 24/24 journey monitoring device.

Despite many difficulties, the fishing industry still creates income and stabilizes the lives of thousands of fishermen and coastal residents.

Fisherman Ngo Thoi, in Pho An commune (Duc Pho town) said that despite the attention, support and favorable conditions from the government and functional forces during the Tet holiday, we always followed the regulations, especially turning on the journey monitoring device. Because this device helps fishermen contact and notify the functional agencies for support and handling when unexpected risks and incidents occur.

In order to promptly encourage and support fishermen to stay at sea during Tet and exploit seafood, the province also directed relevant departments, branches, agencies, units and localities to organize visits and give gifts to fishermen, especially those in difficult circumstances. At the same time, closely monitor and grasp weather developments and seafood exploitation situations of fishermen in the sea areas, to promptly support and help fishermen feel secure in safe and effective production.

Article and photos: MY HOA

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Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/kinh-te/202501/ngu-dan-bam-bien-xuyen-tet-fb9515d/