In the early morning of 29 January (the 5^th day of the 1^st lunar month), many fishing boats in Da Nang and neighbouring localities berthed bumper-to-bumper at the Tho Quang Fishing Wharf after their offshore fishing trips to the Hoang Sa fishing grounds.

They together brought back tonnes of different types of fish, and earned between hundreds of millions of VND and one billion VND each.

Fisherman Tran Van Binh said he and his crewmates aboard the fishing vessel BD 96814 TS from Binh Dinh Province celebrated Tet Festival at the sea because they went offshore fishing. He added, during their offshore fishing trip, they brought back 4.5 tonnes of fish, mainly plaice and horse mackerel.

Mr Huynh Quoc Trung, the owner of fishing boat QNg 98918 TS from Quang Ngai Province, remarked he and his crewmembers caught over 19 tonnes of tuna and mackerel, and earned 1.2 billion VND from their catches, after their 10-day offshore fishing trips to the Hoang Sa waters.

In addition, many fishing vessels from Da Nang brought back hundreds of kilos of tiny shrimps after their night-time inshore fishing trips. Thanks to the high value of small shrimps, each of the fishing boats has earned millions of VND every night.

Earlier on the 4^th day of the 1^st lunar month, many of the fishermen in Da Nang were busy heading out to sea for their first offshore fishing trips of the new lunar year.

By HOANG HIEP - Translated by MAI DUNG