Fishermen catch green mussels and earn millions every day

After catching green mussels, fishermen transferred the harvested products to shore.

Every day, around 5am, many fishermen in Cam An ward prepare their boats with some tools such as diving goggles, knives, and gloves to row out to sea, about 200m from shore, to dive for green mussels and snails clinging to the reefs along the coast of Hoi An.

Fishermen together carry net bags containing green mussels to sell to traders.

Fisherman Nguyen Dong, in Cam An ward, said that in addition to fishing near shore, he and his fellow local fishermen row basket boats out to sea to dive for green mussels.

Dong fishermen bring the caught mussels to shore.

Fisherman Dong said: “After 3 hours of diving, I caught about 40kg of green mussels, brought them home to clean, and traders came to my house to buy them, or brought them to the market to sell. Each kg of mussels costs between 25,000 and 30,000 VND, and snails cost about 40,000 VND/kg, which brings me about 1 million VND/day.”

Fishermen are catching mussels on the coast of Hoi An.

Fisherman Ho Cong Vinh, in Cam An ward, said: “The season for catching green mussels only lasts from January to May of the lunar calendar, but when there is a strong southerly wind or rough seas, it cannot be exploited. The tools for catching mussels are also simple, including: diving goggles, a sharp knife, a white foam block tied tightly to a mussel bag with a net to float on the water surface, along with a pair of gloves to prevent the green mussels from cutting into his hands. Currently, on average, he catches about 30 kg of green mussels per day.”

Fishermen earn millions after catching green mussels every day

Many fishermen said that green mussels often live on shipwrecks and stone embankments. In recent years, when the construction unit built stone embankments to prevent waves in Cam An beach, green mussels had a favorable living environment and grew very quickly in large numbers.

The green mussels that fishermen caught have been brought ashore and are waiting for traders to come and buy them.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of Cam An Ward People's Committee, knows that many households living near the coastal area, they work as fishermen, in their free time they go diving to catch mussels to sell for extra income. Green mussels also have the scientific name Perna Viridis. They belong to the bivalve mollusk family and are present in all seas around the world. Green mussels look quite similar to clams but are longer and are often used to prepare dishes and are popular with many people.