Fishing nets at Cai River mouth

Going to the beach at this time, you will see the whole Tran Phu street bustling with people going to the beach early and people going to exercise. It is a rhythm of life full of energy, so in the distance, when the sunlight is still starting to rise above the water, the first golden rays of the day are thrown and sparkled beautifully. There is a profession that can be called a living right at the mouth of Cai River, Nha Trang. The profession of fishing with the waves.

In the past, Tran Phu Street ended at Xom Con, now Yersin Park. After moving Xom Con to Hon Ro, right at the mouth of Cai River was Tran Phu Bridge, creating favorable conditions for traffic connecting Tran Phu Street and Pham Van Dong Street. To prevent the eddy of Cai River water flowing into the sea, especially on rainy and flood days, and to ensure that the coast is not eroded, a sloping embankment was created with squares for the sea water to drain down, and outside the sea there were large concrete blocks and boulders to block big waves. After more than 20 years of formation, in March of the solar calendar, this area became a destination for everyone when green moss appeared, clinging to the embankment, clinging to the concrete pillars and random rocks blocking the waves. That green moss season, the gentle sea waves hit the shore, launching graceful waves, creating a very attractive landscape.

In the morning in Nha Trang, on that mossy terrace, there are people quietly making a living with the profession they came up with after discovering the laws of nature. That is the fishing profession right at the river mouth, where the rocks are protruding and where the green moss clings.

Early in the morning, the fishermen have started their work. That is, waking up to prepare their tools including: flashlights, diving goggles, fish baskets and indispensable 3-layer sharp nets. The 3-layer sharp net is an important and indispensable product in fishing, considered a professional tool that operates on the principle of filtering according to the water level to catch aquatic products. They are made from thin, silk-like nets woven together to form a cage that can trap fish and shrimp inside. Surely when swimming in the sea, you sometimes see people setting nets right on the shore from afternoon to evening to catch fish, but here they set nets at dawn and in a rather unique location, the river mouth.

According to the law, the mouth of Cai River is the place where water drains into the sea, this is a brackish water stream, with many plankton which is a source of food for fish. Here, there are waves that create a lot of oxygen, also suitable for fish species. Besides, in the moss season, moss is also a source of food for fish, and catching them with nets is a unique job. However, few people choose to set nets right on the rocks because they are afraid of tearing the net and being dangerous.

At night, with only the lights from the park and Tran Phu bridge shining, the net-setter, who was familiar with the fishing ground, followed the path along the stone embankment, chose a place to put his equipment and prepared his net. The standard 100m net with a buoy above and a weight below cannot drift because one end is held by a rock, the other end is a pre-installed wooden stake. This sea area is only 1.5m deep, just enough for the net to touch the seabed, just enough to form an invisible screen for the fish to find food to get caught in. The net-set work lasted 30 minutes or more, with only a flashlight on the head to observe.

After casting the net, the netters usually walk around to exercise or sip a cup of coffee while watching the night sea. The night sea is still swaying and illuminated by the lights. At around 5:30 am, the nets are collected or maybe a little later. The work of collecting the nets starts from the outside in. The nets are collected one by one until they are all in hand, at dawn.

On that mossy platform, fishermen sit and set their nets. The mossy platform is very green and the morning is very gentle. I see many fish in the net, including very large groupers, pompano and many other types of fish. Occasionally, a crab also strays into the net, creating diversity in the catch of a morning of casting nets right at the mouth of the Cai River.