Since the 2^nd day of the Tet festival, 6 February, dozens of offshore fishing vessels from Da Nang and other central regional localities berthed bumper-to-bumper at the Tho Quang Fishing wharf after their trips to the national territorial waters with bumper catches of Trichiurus muticus, squid and tiny shrimps. This is seen as a positive sign of a successful year for the city’s fishing industry.

A large number of freshly-caught Trichiurus muticus and squid being on sale at the Tho Quang fishing wharf

In the early morning of the 2^nd day of the 1st lunar month, 6 February, many fishing vessels from Da Nang brought back hundreds of kilos of tiny shrimps after their night-time inshore fishing trips.

On the 3^rd day of the 1^st lunar month, 7 February, dozens of fishing boats from the city brought back a large volume of Trichiurus muticus, black pompret, and squid.

Thanks to the bumper hauls, each boat made a profit of between 30 and 50 million VND, after deducting the expenses of its trips, and crew members were well paid.

Despite having celebrated Tet away from home, the boat’s crew members were very pleased with their first safe and fruitful offshore fishing trip of the 2019 Lunar New Year.

Fisherman Tran Minh Khoa, a crew member of boat DNA 06565 TS said: "On the 2nd day of the Tet festival, we brought home more than 200kg of Trichiurus muticus and 100kg of squid, and, therefore, we earned more than 30 million VND in profit.

Mr Huynh Van Hung, the Head of the Son Tra District People's Committee Office, said that, thanks to the good weather before the Tet, offshore fishing activities were conducted successfully.

Most offshore vessels were very happy with their profitable fishing trips with high-value seafood products in the context of high demand for food for Tet.

The prices of various types of fish have increased remarkably before Tet, higher than previous days, so fishing boat owners gained high profits.

During the Tet holiday, many fishermen went ashore to bring home a large quantity of seafood.

Right after Tet, functional bodies encouraged fishermen to make their next trips to the Hoang Sa waters in the coming days in the current context of favourable weather conditions at sea to make another profitable catches.

Mr Nguyen Do Tam, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said, fishermen who practice near-shore fishing caught a lot of fish and squid during the Tet break, and this is a happy sign at the beginning of the Year of Pig.

As for deep sea fishing vessels, fishermen are busying loading supplies of fuel, ice, food, and other necessities onto their vessels for their first post-Tet trips to Viet Nam’s territorial waters which are scheduled to start on the 10^th day of the 1^st lunar month in cheerful spirits in the hope of bumper catches.

They together hope that the local fishermen would have a year of successful trips in order to help them earn a living and protect the country’s sacred sovereignty over its sea and islands.