Flooded fields, An Giang farmers leisurely row boats to catch fish and shrimp

Flooded fields, farmers excited

According to Giao Thong Newspaper reporters, on the morning of September 17, in some districts such as Thoai Son, An Phu, Tinh Bien... of An Giang province, the water was yellow and flooded all the fields.

During the flood season, farmers go to the fields early to catch fish and shrimp. Photo: Duy An.

For more than two weeks now, every day Mr. Tran Van Ba's family (residing in Nhon Hung commune, Tinh Bien district) has woken up and gone to the fields early in the morning to harvest dớn (a type of fishing tool - PV).

“This year the water level rose earlier than every year, so there were plenty of fish and shrimp, so making a living was quite busy.

Since the flood, my family has earned more than 1 million VND every day from 30 fishing nets. My family is very excited about the flood this year,” Mr. Ba said optimistically.

Besides the closed dikes for three-crop production, the flood-discharged fields in Vinh Hoi Dong, Nhon Hoi, Phu Hoi communes, An Phu district are deeply flooded.

These localities are considered flood centers, most of the people here follow the "ba ca" profession (fishing, netting).

And in the West, flood season is still called the flood season, because the water rises but is calm, and people have adapted to it...

Water has flooded fields in An Giang. Photo: Duy An.

Many farmers said that the flood fields are where a lot of fish and shrimp naturally gather from the fields, following the water flowing into the river branches.

These days, people are busy exploiting and catching aquatic products to earn extra income.

Mrs. Nam Nho (53 years old, living in Nhon Hoi commune, An Phu district) shared: "The water flooded the fields so some fish species naturally followed the water flow into the river branches.

So my family took the boat to fish on the river bordering the border.

The fishing net was prepared in advance.

We only returned home when the water receded. In the past few days, the family has placed more than a dozen nets and spread them evenly, earning about 300,000 VND per day,” Mrs. Nam Nho confided.

Follow the farmers to catch fish and shrimp

At 6am on September 17, we waded through the water following Mr. Nguyen Van Truong (residing in Phu Thuan commune, Thoai Son district, An Giang province) to remove the trap (a tool used to catch fish - PV).

The only tool he brought with him on the boat (made of three flat, beautiful, and sturdy pieces of wood) was a plastic basin to hold the fish.

Before getting on the boat, Mr. Truong pointed to the west (bordering Vinh Khanh commune, Thoai Son district) and said: "Up there is where I placed 10 traps. At this time, the flood water is flooding the fields, hopefully there will be a lot of shrimp and fish."

This season, a farmer can earn more than 1 million VND/day by catching fish and shrimp.

At one point, Mr. Truong stopped the boat, jumped quickly into the water, waded, and slowly pulled the boat to the pond.

He carefully put his hands in the water to remove the trap and heard a splashing sound.

“There are a lot of fish and shrimp,” he said happily when he saw his first “trophy”.

“It is predicted that there will be few fish this year, but when setting traps, we still see more fish than last year. Only shrimp is rare this year.

Setting the trap is also simple, you set it in the afternoon and pick it up the next morning. In general, the income is better than working for someone else," said Mr. Truong.

A bunch of freshly caught giant freshwater prawns.

According to Mr. Truong, the profession of setting traps to catch freshwater fish usually only lasts about a month. Once the fields are tilled, the profession of setting traps to catch freshwater fish is no longer effective.

And then, farmers return to farming, tilling the land, cleaning the fields to prepare the land for planting the winter-spring rice crop - the most important rice crop of the year.

Similarly, Mr. Le Van Cau (residing in Phu Thuan commune, Thoai Son district) packed his nets and personal belongings onto the boat to catch seafood.

His fishing gear is about 100 nets with wide meshes to catch loach, shrimp and prawns. This is a profession he has followed for decades, in both dry and flood seasons.

“When the floodwaters overflow the fields, that’s when I earn a living, earning 500,000-700,000 VND per day. When the floodwaters overflow, I always place the plants near my house, so I save on fuel and travel costs,” said Mr. Cau.

Bustling fish and shrimp market

Returning to Bac Dai hamlet (Nhon Hoi commune, An Phu district, An Giang province), less than 1km from the Cambodian border, the reporter stopped by a crab and snail purchasing warehouse.

Bustling image at a fish and shrimp purchasing warehouse.

Here, dozens of workers carrying, sorting, packing... chatting animatedly create a bustling atmosphere.

On the river, the crab and snail boats bought from people catching in the fields and from Cambodia are parked close together waiting to be brought ashore.

At Vinh Hoi Dong market (An Phu district, An Giang province), from 11am to 2pm every day, the scene of buying and selling fish and shrimp is bustling.

At this time, people from Cambodia use boats to transport shrimp, fish, crabs, snails, etc. to sell. Local people also bring their catch from the fields to the warehouse to sell.

Then the warehouse owner distributes the goods to customers to transport to markets inside and outside the province for consumption.

An official of the People's Committee of Vinh Hoi Dong commune (An Phu district, An Giang province) said that this year's flood season is forecasted to be a beautiful one.

Buying field crabs.

“The flood season in An Giang is not like other places. The water here is gentle, bringing shrimp and fish, abundant products, helping a part of the poor people who live by fishing during the flood season to have more livelihood and income,” this person said.

According to the forecast of the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, in the coming days, due to upstream floods combined with the high tide of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, the water level at the headwaters of the Mekong River will continue to rise rapidly.

Around September 21 to 22, the highest water level at Tan Chau station, Chau Doc is likely to rise above the alarm level by 0.1-0.2m.

The meteorological agency warns of a high risk of flooding in low-lying areas, riverside areas, and areas outside the dykes in the provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, and Long An . Low-lying areas and riverside areas in the lower Mekong Delta provinces should be on guard against landslides and weak dykes.

According to the forecast of the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, the peak flood of the year in the West is likely to appear from October 17 to 21.

From mid-November to late December, water levels at stations will drop rapidly and switch to high tide mode.

Currently, the Mekong River water level is rising rapidly. Water levels at some major stations are as follows: Mukdahan (Thailand) 11.01m, Pakse (Laos) 10.8m, Stung Treng (Cambodia) 9.06m, Phnom Penh Port (Cambodia) 6.15m, Phnom Penh Bassac (Cambodia) 7.4m. Therefore, there will be floods on this river system.

Due to the influence of storm No. 3 and its subsequent circulation, the upstream area has had heavy rain and accumulated a lot of water in recent days.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nuoc-tran-dong-nong-dan-an-giang-thong-tha-boi-xuong-bat-ca-tom-192240917120534915.htm