As usual after the traditional Vietnamese Lunar Year (Tet), fishermen are busy preparing enough fuel and essentials to head out to the sea for fishing in the hope of bumper catches of seafood for the whole year.

Fishermen are checking fishing gear, ensuring a smooth start of the year. Photo: CHIEN THANG

As recorded at the Tho Quang fishing wharf, these days, many fishermen from the city and neighboring localities have prepared for post-Tet fishing trips. Aboard the ships, fishermen checked equipment, machinery and fishing gear to ensure smooth journeys at sea. In the minds of fishing boat owners, the first sea voyage of the year must be well-prepared, because if it goes well, it will be lucky for the whole year.

Present on the ship DNa91062 TS, fisherman Tran Van Tien from Quang Nam Province said that since the 10^th day of the first lunar month of 2023, he and other friends have come to Da Nang in preparation for the first fishing trip of the Lunar New Year of Cat. This is an important trip, starting a good year, so fishermen are all excited and look forward to catching a lot of seafood during the coming 15-day trip.

In a similar vein, Mr. Ho Hoi from Nui Thanh District, Quang Nam Province, the owner of the fishing boat QNa92416 TS was urging workers to load nets, ice and other necessities onto the ship whilst waiting for good time for timely disembarkation.

Mr. Hoi said that before the ship set sail, he and other fishermen were guided by the competent forces to sign a commitment not to fish in foreign waters and follow the fishing regulations in accordance with the State's regulations. In addition, his fishing boat was reminded to be fully equipped with cruise monitoring equipment and fishing logs.

Similarly, on the fishing boat DNa91443 TS, Mr. Nguyen Van Ly, a native of Nai Hien Dong Ward, Son Tra District and his friends also cleaned equipment and machinery, checking necessities and bait to prepare for their next fishing trip. Taking advantage of the favourable weather, on February 2, he and 8 crewmen went out to sea to catch fish, mainly grouper and mackerel.

Likewise, Mr. Le Van Ba, a fisherman from Tam Ky City, Quang Nam Province, the owner of a fleet of 2 offshore fishing boats practicing double trawl nets with a capacity of 600CV each, over the past few days, he has been in regular contact with his shipmates to prepare for the upcoming trip. Currently, the preparations have been completed, he is waiting for the so-called "beautiful day" to head out to sea.

According to him, at this time, fish production is usually not much, but he and his fleet still decided to go out to sea with a hope of getting fortune at the beginning of the lunar new year “Waiting for a good day, a good time, we will set sail. Not only me, but all fishermen have expectations, looking forward to a year of favourable weather, a stable fishing ground for fishing”, said Ba.

It is known that in addition to long-term offshore fishing vessels, many fishermen fishing near the shore around Tho Quang fishing wharf areas have gone out to sea and harvested a variety of fish and shrimp. On a boat with only a capacity of more than 100 CV, in a morning of casting nets, Mr. Nguyen Van Ba from Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District and some other fishermen caught 50-100kg of bumalo, about 50kg cuttlefish and a few quintals of ponyfish.

Except for expenses, each fisherman earned millions of VND in one session. Up to now, when the number of bumalo has decreased, taking advantage of the beautiful weather, the group of fishermen switched to catching other seafood.

According to Mr. Nguyen Lai, Deputy Head of the management board of Tho Quang fishing wharf, from the 9^th day of the first lunar month of 2023 until now, the number of ships leaving the port has increased sharply.

On the other hand, due to the gradually stabilising weather, which is favourable for fishing, the ships also took advantage of departure to head out to sea with the desire to welcome the ‘gifts of the sea’ at the beginning of the lunar new year.

Statistics from January 30 to February 2, the number of fishing vessels heading out to sea has reached 164, an average of 40 vessels/day.

However, the number of fishing boats being docked at the port was only 7 and cargo throughput reached only 85 tonnes.

Reporting by VAN HOANG, CHIEN THANG - Translating by A.THU