Before the sun even rises, women of Thach Kim and Thach Bang Communes scramble to try to get their hands on some seafood to sell.
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| Not enough fish at the market |
Located in Loc Ha District, they gather at the beach waiting for fishing boats to come ashore. The boats haven’t been bringing as much back lately, leaving everybody feeling the economic impact.
The lucky traders ones will get a few kilograms of fish or shrimp while the unlucky ones will go home empty handed.
The faces of these women rarely express joy as their only way of living is through fish trading. If they are unable to sell, they are unable to earn.
When the lights of countless fishing boats in the sea of Loc Ha District are turned off, all roads leading to the coast of Thach Kim are often overwhelmed with the sounds of people honking or calling out to each other. At one spot, where only about 10 small ships and boats come ashore every morning, these women traders often have to fight over for the little amount of fish or shrimp that have been brought back by the fishing boats.
At around 5.30 am, the first three boats docked and 5 others also appeared within only 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the fishing trip that morning had not been a success for most, as boat owners appeared rather unhappy. “I’ve only been able to catch a few dozen kilograms of anchovies, a dozen kilograms of shrimp and a few kilograms of squid. I’m sorry, I cannot sell them today. I have to leave some for my acquaintance and the rest for my family to sell at home,” a 50 year-old boat owner said outloud to the waiting crowds while anchoring his boat.
Seeing that another boat has come back to shore, a group of women rush along and quickly grab the shrimp from the boat before the boat owner can even say the price. As soon as the trading was done, the group hurriedly left to go to local morning markets in the area.
Unlike the group mentioned above, another group of women looked on disparagingly as they had not been able to buy even one batch of fish or shrimp. For them, not having seafood to sell at the market means they earned nothing for the day. Some women just left in silence, while others tried to collect all the fish and shrimps scattered around the beach in hopes that it would be enough as an additional source of food for their pigs.
“I come here every morning. If I’m lucky, I’ll have fish to sell and earn some dong to buy rice and betel and if not, I just go home. To be honest, it has become my habit to frequent the market. It’s sad if I have nothing to sell at the market. Sometimes, I still stop by to have a little chat with other women at the market before returning home,” a 75 year-old woman fish trader from Long Hai Commune, Thach Kim Commune sadly shared.
According to her, recently, it has been a tough competition for small traders like herself, as the fish stock is becoming increasingly rare. Some have quit coming altogether, she said.
Pictures of all there is left after an early morning in Thach Kim Beach.
Thanh, one of the lucky few, has been able to get a few kilograms of anchovies.
Not as lucky, a young woman is trying to gather some fish and shrimp left on the beach.
Waiting for the fishing boat to come ashore.
Ready to take fish and shrimp to the market.
Some left happy, even with just a few kilograms of shrimp.
Others go home disappointed.
Nothing in these baskets.
No longer in a hurry.
Some put their disappointment aside and try to collect some fish and shrimp left on the beach.
