For more than 10 days now, fishermen in Chi Cong commune, Phan Ri Cua district, have been overjoyed with a bumper crab harvest…
Around 6-7 a.m., the atmosphere at the ferry terminal (Phan Ri Cua town) is bustling as fishing boats return after a night's catch. Along the terminal area, many women, who are traders, are waiting to help weigh and sort seafood. Baskets of fresh crabs are slowly brought ashore, mixed with various types of snails, fish, etc. Unable to hide his joy, Mr. Nguyen Minh (Hai Tan neighborhood) shared: "These past few days there have been so many crabs, each boat earning several million dong a day. In the morning, the boats come in, I sell to traders, and around 2 p.m. I go back to sea. This year there are more crabs than in previous years, but the price is a bit low…" Speaking about the quantity of crabs caught, fisherman Le Ngoc Thanh, who has over 10 years of experience in the profession in Phan Ri Cua town, openly admitted: "In the past few days, every boat has had a good catch of crabs. This season, fishermen use traps, while in the northerly months they use nets more often. On a good day, some boats can harvest 20-40 kg; on a bad day, it's only about ten kilograms. It's rare for a boat to return from sea without catching any crabs. Therefore, the fishermen are very excited."
At Chi Cong market, the atmosphere is even more bustling as dozens of people gather to sort crabs after collecting them from fishing boats. According to Ms. Dung, a local buyer: “Every day I collect several hundred kilograms, sometimes even a ton, of various types of crabs such as green crabs, moon crabs, red crabs... I supply grade 1 crabs to restaurants and eateries, while grade 2-3 crabs are sold to markets throughout the province. Smaller crabs are given to processing companies to make crab floss… The price of crabs ranges from tens to hundreds of thousands of dong per kilogram depending on size. Compared to previous years, this year's crab production is quite high, mainly green crabs (also called blue crabs) and red crabs with firm meat, distributed to many places inside and outside the province. The price is cheaper than in previous years, but most of the boats specializing in catching crabs earn an average of several million dong per day.” To get a good price for the crabs, fishermen must tie the claws with rubber bands as soon as they pull up the traps to prevent the crabs from breaking their claws or legs, which would lower the selling price. After one or two trips, fishermen must clean the traps to remove mud and repair any tears so that the next fishing trip will be more successful.
Most boats and rafts used for crab trapping have been successful in recent days, so many have switched to this fishing method, earning a decent income. Each trap is over ten meters long but can be folded neatly, hence the name "folding trap." The front of the trap is the entrance for marine life to enter, while the back is where fish, snails, and crabs get trapped. Traps are usually placed in coral reef areas, lowered to the seabed at a depth of 8-10 meters. After just one night, the trap is pulled up using a pulley system, allowing for the harvesting of various types of seafood from the sealed end. However, according to veteran fishermen, this folding trap method is highly destructive to the environment, sparing no marine life, large or small, due to the small mesh size and shallow water depth.
According to veteran fishermen in the Tuy Phong coastal area, the crab fishing season usually starts from November to February of the following year, meaning that during the season when the water is murky and the waves are strong, more crabs get caught in the nets. According to the fishermen, the recent storms probably affected the crabs' habitat, so in recent days, they can "hunt" for crabs just a few nautical miles from shore. Although the price isn't as high as in previous years, crabs are still a seafood that provides a decent income for many local fishermen. Taking advantage of the still abundant crab supply, most fishermen who fish near the shore are rushing out to sea, hoping to catch a large quantity, sell it at a good price, and have enough money to cover their children's school supplies as the new school year approaches.
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