The arduous job of harvesting sea shrimp.

Fishermen in North Central Vietnam harvest the spring crop.

During this time, fishermen in coastal villages in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces are entering the spring harvest season for small shrimp.

Typically, there are two main clam harvesting seasons each year: the Southern season (also known as the Chiêm season) in June and July of the lunar calendar; and the Northern season (also known as the Mùa season) starting from the end of August of this year until January of the following year.

Video: The arduous job of harvesting sea shrimp.

These days, the sea in Sam Son and Quang Xuong ( Thanh Hoa province) is rough with big waves, making it very difficult and even dangerous for fishermen to go out to sea to fish.

Fisherman Le Xuan Tiep from Quang Hai commune (Quang Xuong district) shared that if the weather is calm, fishermen who go out to sea at 3-4 am can return to shore around 8-9 am because they fish in inshore areas. However, these days the sea is rough, preventing them from coming close to shore, so fishermen have to go out to sea to fish. Even though they go out to sea at 3-4 am, they only return to shore around 11:30 or 12:30 am, wasting a lot of effort and fuel.

Around 11 a.m., pedestrians and motorcyclists began flocking to the estuary in Hamlet 9 (Quang Hai Commune, Quang Xuong District). They went to the sea to welcome the returning rafts. Some women sat under the shade of casuarina trees, gazing out to sea, while others quickly spread large tarpaulins on the open ground to prepare for drying the clams.

Under the shade of casuarina trees, the women recounted that the job of catching krill is like making salt; the hotter the sun, the more they have to "rush out of the house," and "sunshine means victory, lack of sunshine means defeat." On days with no sun or "unpredictable weather," the krill caught must be immediately sold to traders, resulting in lower prices. Meanwhile, catching krill on sunny days allows them to dry it themselves, thus fetching a better price and avoiding dependence on others. Therefore, even if it means "exposing themselves to the sun alongside the krill," they have to accept it.

Currently, at the beginning of the season, the kumquats are still small but fetch a high price. Fresh kumquats are priced between 12,000 and 14,000 VND/kg, while dried kumquats can fetch 65,000 to 68,000 VND/kg.

Around noon, rafts lined up to come ashore. The sound of engines, waves, and people echoed throughout the area. Although the sea was windy, the atmosphere felt stifling. Everyone was drenched in sweat, their faces flushed red.

Due to rough seas, bringing the rafts ashore was extremely difficult. Even with the help of a tugboat, the rafts were often swept back out to sea by the waves after being pulled ashore. Many people had to pitch in to help "guide" them to shore.

As soon as the rafts were pulled ashore, the clams were quickly carried by strong men to the drying area. There, women and the elderly were waiting. They immediately used baskets to spread and scatter the clams onto the tarpaulin. One woman said, "If we don't dry them quickly, the clams won't dry in time, and if there's a thunderstorm in the afternoon, all the day's work will be wasted. If the clams aren't dried enough in the sun or get soaked, they'll only be good for livestock and poultry to eat; the selling price won't even cover the effort of drying them."