Encountering the Boat Owner with a Harvest of 120 Tons of Golden Trevally

(QT) - In the early days of the Year of the Pig 2019, a piece of good news emerged from Xuan Tien , a coastal village in Gio Việt commune, Gio Linh district. The owner of the fishing boat with registration number 410 CV QT 93939 TS, Mr. Lê Văn Viện (40 years old), successfully caught a harvest of 120 tons of golden trevally. This marked the second time Quảng Trị fishermen have achieved such a significant catch. I visited Xuân Tiến to hear Mr. Viện share the memorable details of his fishing trip with his fellow fishermen.

This Lunar New Year, blessed with beautiful weather, Mr. Viện and 11 other boats set sail to the sea area of Cồn Cỏ island for dredging. During this first offshore trip of the year, they successfully caught 3.7 tons of anchovy. The next morning, Mr. Viện's boat docked at Cửa Việt port, selling the anchovy to traders for 45 million VND. Afterward, they refueled and prepared supplies for the next offshore trip

At 4:00 PM on the 4th day of the Lunar New Year, Mr. Viện's fishing boat was operating in the fishing grounds of Cồn Cỏ, approximately 16.5 nautical miles from the shore. That evening, on the fish finder device screen, Mr. Viện noticed various schools of fish of different sizes, so they continued to monitor it. By 7:30 PM on the 5th day, Mr. Viện confirmed it was a massive school of golden trevally on the move. A few days earlier, in the same area, Mr. Viện's brother-in-law had caught 12 tons of golden trevally. "At that moment, my fellow fishermen and I continued to track the school and prepared for the decisive catch. We had to wait for the right moment to release the net because the golden trevally moves very fast, and their numbers are large. If not careful, it's challenging to capture the entire school," recounted Mr. Vien

Around 8:00 PM on the 6th day of the Lunar New Year, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen decided to cast the net. Skillfully maneuvering the boat in a circle of about 800 meters, they released a net nearly 800 meters long into the sea. The key was not to disturb the school of fish. Subsequently, experienced fishermen meticulously pulled the net onto the boat. At this moment, the fish finder device screen indicated that the school of golden trevally was neatly trapped in the net. "Initially, we estimated about 30 tons of fish. Unexpectedly, as we pulled the net up, more and more fish surfaced. When almost all the fish came up, we estimated about 100 tons of fish in the net. Knowing it was impossible to bring all these fish to the shore, I called another 8-9 nearby boats, including those from Cửa Việt port, to transport ice and fresh water and help bring the fish ashore," shared Mr. Viện.

Due to the large size of the golden trevally, ranging from the smallest at 3 kg to the largest at 13 kg, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen had to swim the fish into baskets and then use nets to catch each one. Nearly a day and two nights without rest, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen successfully brought 120 tons of golden trevally to Cửa Việt port. "Throughout one day and two nights, we only took a moment to eat a few bites, no seconds of rest to catch the fish onto the boat, transport them ashore. At night, I had to turn on all the LED lights on the boat to illuminate and facilitate the fish-catching process," Mr. Viện shared.

Upon reaching the shore, Mr. Viện revealed that the catch of golden trevally was about 120 tons. Initially, the fish were sold to traders at a price of 60,000 VND/kg. However, due to the large quantity, traders later pressured the price down to 40,000 VND/kg. Therefore, the total amount that Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen earned from this fishing trip was approximately 5 billion VND.

When I met him, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen were actively repairing nets, preparing for the next offshore voyage. When asked about the factors that contributed to the success of this large-scale fishing trip, Mr. Viện and the experienced fishermen acknowledged the need to combine elements such as luck, thorough preparation, years of sea experience, and the use of modern technology, such as the fish finder device, to catch such a significant school of fish.

Born in the coastal village of Xuân Tiến, Mr. Viện has been working in the fishing industry on both small boats and larger boats for over 20 years. His fellow fishermen are also experienced individuals with years of expertise, the youngest of whom has been at sea for over a decade. Therefore, during the recent fishing expedition, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen were confident and calm in facing various situations. They carefully planned before casting and pulling the net to ensure a complete catch of the large school of fish.

Seated inside the wooden-hulled boat with a capacity of 410 CV, currently moored at the port, Mr. Viện and his fellow fishermen told me that thanks to the fish finder device, which cost 300 million VND and was recently purchased by Mr. Viện, they were able to locate, track, and catch this school of golden trevally. "In the past, before having the fish finder device, people also caught golden trevally, but only in small quantities. Now, with the fish finder device, the process of catching seafood is more convenient. If we are equipped with a scanning device for boats fishing further from the shore, we can catch even more efficiently," expressed Mr. Viện.

Additionally, Mr. Viện mentioned that the recent catch of golden trevally earned approximately 5 billion VND. After deducting expenses for fuel, ice, necessities, crew wages, and transportation costs for other boats, Mr. Viện obtained around 2.5 billion VND. With this amount, he plans to invest in purchasing additional fishing gear, making repairs, and equipping machinery on the boat to continue offshore fishing in more distant and extended fishing grounds.