The seaweed harvesting season usually runs from March to July according to the lunar calendar. During this time, fishermen in Thai An village, Vinh Hai commune, continuously go out to sea in order to have a bountiful harvest.

The boats and barges are ready to go out and harvest seaweed.

From the coast, it takes about two hours by boat to reach the seaweed harvesting area. Fishermen use compressed oxygen tanks to dive to depths of 0.5 to 7 meters to cut the seaweed. Another person on the small boat uses a pole with a hook to gather the seaweed into piles floating on the surface of the sea and transfer them to the boat.

Transfer the seaweed ashore.

Each seaweed harvesting trip usually takes 3-5 hours. After the boat is full of seaweed, the fishermen dock and dry it along the coastline. The seaweed must be dried before selling, so the hotter the weather, the easier the harvesting. The drying time is usually a full day. The dried seaweed is then packed into bags, waiting for traders to come and buy it for distribution to neighboring provinces and throughout the country.

Dried seaweed is packaged in bags.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lum from Thai An village, Vinh Hai commune (wearing a yellow jacket) is drying seaweed.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lum (Thai An village, Vinh Hai commune) happily shared: “On average, my family harvests more than 300 kg of seaweed per day. With prices ranging from 5,500 to 10,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, we earn more than 500,000 to 700,000 VND per day.”

According to Comrade Nguyen Thanh My, Secretary of the Party Committee of Vinh Hai commune, in addition to dozens of boats belonging to local residents, many people from other localities also come to harvest seaweed in the commune's waters. This phenomenon occurs because seaweed has nutritional value, and at the same time, the price of processed dried seaweed is high, so everyone focuses on harvesting it. However, this is only the natural seaweed harvesting season for 4 months of the year, and besides that, people have to do other work to make a living.

Reporters from the People's Army Newspaper Online captured some images in the sea area of ​​Thai An village during the seaweed harvesting season.

Fishermen paddle their small boats out to the barges to harvest seaweed.

Fishermen transfer seaweed ashore.
Seaweed is dried in the sun and wind.
High prices for seaweed bring added joy to fishermen.
Drying and turning the seaweed.
Drying seaweed requires women to be healthy and able to withstand the intense sun.

Transfer the sacks to the traders who will come and pick them up.
The boats returned laden with seaweed.
The clip shows boats and barges ready to set sail to harvest seaweed.

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VU DUY HIEN (compiled)