The bustling season of snakehead fish in the upstream areas.

In August, the Mekong River, swirling with reddish-brown silt, is the time when fishermen in the upstream commune of Nhon Hoi are busy harvesting and trading snakehead fish during the flood season.

There are countless snakehead fish in the upstream area. Photo: THANH CHINH

Numerous boats and canoes carrying fish.

This weekend, we returned to the remote border region to witness firsthand the fishermen harvesting snakehead fish during the flood season. At midday, the border was scorching hot. Standing on the concrete bridge connecting the two banks of the Nhon Hoi River, we gazed out towards the border, where the fields were currently covered in water. Originating from a tributary of the Mekong River bordering Cambodia, the Nhon Hoi River receives a very strong influx of water. From here, the water flows along the Chau Doc branch of the river, then through the Hau River downstream. Every day, large, sturdy boats and barges slowly cut through the water, carrying snakehead fish from the border downstream to Chau Doc market for weighing and delivery to traders.

This season, the motorboats of Cambodian fishermen roar to life, cutting through the water with a loud splash, carrying live anchovies to be weighed and sold to traders along the riverbank in Nhon Hoi commune. Opposite Bac Dai market is a bustling riverbank always filled with buyers and sellers of anchovies. Quickly scooping up large fish with nets, the Cambodian fishermen laboriously carry the live anchovies to a floating raft to be weighed and sold to fish wholesalers. This season, anchovies are not yet abundant downstream. If you visit Nhon Hoi at midday, you will be amazed by the current abundance of anchovies.

These days, the snakehead fish are growing bigger with the rising water, now larger than a chopstick. While in Nhon Hoi commune, live snakehead fish cost 20,000-30,000 VND/kg, in markets in Long Xuyen and Binh Khanh wards, the price is around 150,000 VND/kg. In recent years, during the flood season, people in neighboring Cambodia have also used fishing gear like traps to catch snakehead fish in the fields. Therefore, the supply of young snakehead fish drifting downstream has decreased significantly. The small boats of the Cambodian people, equipped with oxygen aerators, are seen vigorously scooping up young snakehead fish. As soon as the fish arrive at the dock, Ms. Vo Thi Suong (44 years old) communicates in Cambodian to purchase the fish.

Ms. Suong said that her fish market buys 5-6 tons of snakehead fish daily. During the snakehead fish migration, when people set up traps and fish vigorously, Ms. Suong buys up to 8-9 tons of fish. “For the past 20 days or so, I’ve been buying a lot of snakehead fish. Every day, more than 20 people from Cambodia come across the border in their boats carrying snakehead fish to sell,” Ms. Suong confided, then explained that she has been in the snakehead fish trading business for over 25 years. This border region has abundant aquatic resources. Thanks to fish and shrimp, many households here are supported. Every year, her fish market provides employment for more than 20 people, with an income of 200,000-300,000 VND per day.

Snakehead fish are distributed in major markets.

Currently, cleaned snakehead fish are priced at 80,000 VND/kg and are purchased by traders from many places for retail sale in rural markets. Ms. Suong said that besides weighing the fish for traders within the province, the cleaned fish are packed in styrofoam boxes with ice and then shipped by truck to large markets in Ho Chi Minh City, thus providing her with a comfortable income at the beginning of the flood season. Entering the 8th lunar month, the snakehead fish grow larger, and she buys them, cuts off the heads, and weighs them for fish sauce production facilities. By September, many types of fish such as catfish, trevally, eel, climbing perch, and crabs are harvested in large quantities, giving Ms. Suong additional income from selling these fish.

At midday, the fish market of Mr. Tran Van Chuot (47 years old) is bustling with people bringing fish from the border fields to resell. Every day, Mr. Chuot's market buys over 5 tons of small fish. From this source, Mr. Chuot distributes the fish to small traders. In addition, Mr. Chuot hires people to clean the fish for sale everywhere. Each day, Mr. Chuot's market attracts more than 10 workers, including scooping, weighing, and cleaning the fish. Mrs. Tran Thi La (62 years old) busily carries a pile of small fish, quickly squeezing the belly of each one before delivering them to buyers. Mrs. La expressed that thanks to the flood, she earns over 200,000 dong a day working for the market owner, enough to support her family. Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (46 years old) smiled shyly, saying that at the beginning of the flood season, she worked for the market owner, earning a decent amount of money to support her two children's education.

Watching the locals busily scooping up fish at noon, we were surprised to see people from many places coming here to buy young Linh fish to release into the Nhon Hoi River. For a long time, people have had the habit of buying carp, tilapia, and other fish to release on the 15th day of the lunar month. But recently, knowing that people upstream sell live Linh fish, they have come here to buy them for release. Ms. Suong said that since the beginning of the flood season, she estimates that people have bought and released more than 10 tons of young Linh fish. She sells the fish for 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg, and people release hundreds of kilograms at a time.

This season, going upstream to see the snakehead fish is a feast for the eyes. There are so many fish that we can't eat them all, so we have to make fish sauce or release them into the wild. It's strange, the upstream region, though not wealthy, is blessed with such abundant resources from nature during the flood season.

THANH CHINH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/ron-rang-mua-ca-linh-o-dau-nguon-a425906.html