What kind of creature is the krill that floats so densely on the surface that people in one area of ​​Ca Mau province are harvesting tons of it, earning tens of millions of dong per day?

People in Khanh Binh Tay commune, Tran Van Thoi district (Ca Mau province) go to the sea to collect krill when these crustaceans are surfacing in large numbers.

Ms. Thu excitedly said: "From morning till afternoon today, we've probably made about 100 baskets of shrimp paste, and this last trip is for selling fresh shrimp paste because there won't be enough sun to dry it. Since the beginning of April in the lunar calendar, our family has gone out on four fishing trips, yielding about 2 tons of dried shrimp paste."

Due to heavy rain and rough seas, fishermen are afraid to go out to sea. Those who make shrimp paste have to monitor the weather, because if they take the shrimp out to dry and it suddenly rains, the shrimp paste is ruined, and all their hard work is lost.”

On average, 4 kg of fresh shrimp paste will yield 1 kg of dried shrimp paste. Currently, the price of dried shrimp paste is 40-45 thousand VND/kg, while fresh shrimp paste costs 8-10 thousand VND/kg.

During this period of sunshine, people in the Da Bac coastal area go out to sea to harvest krill. Each fishing household can get from one to several tons of fresh krill, depending on the number of boats and their capacity, bringing in from several million to tens of millions of dong per day.

The krill season here lasts until around the 8th lunar month. During this time, the krill are abundant, everyone is happy and bustling, creating a lively and vibrant atmosphere throughout this western coastal region.

For households with little or no land for farming, the shrimp season is the main source of income, the most profitable season of the year for them.

From early morning, many boats, large and small, loaded with krill, docked at the wharf. Even households with smaller boats and fewer boats managed to harvest around 1 ton of fresh krill each day.

Fresh and naturally dried shrimp paste is used as a gift and in the preparation of many delicious and nutritious dishes. Many households invest in high, well-ventilated drying racks to keep the shrimp paste clean and fragrant.