People catch fish at the foot of the dam at the Tri An reservoir. Video by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan
The catching of fish at southern Vietnam's largest reservoir in the mostly rural Dong Nai Province is massive, indiscriminate and without discernable rules.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the Tri An Hydropower Plant closed the gates that dam its river source after letting water flow into the reservoir uninhibited since late last month. Around 1,000 enthusiastic and motivated people were waiting for the occasional event, which provides the opportunity to grab big profits for the captivity of the lake’s overwhelming amounts of water-dwellers.
Some were fishermen by trade, some farmers, some unemployed, and yet others were odd-job urban workers, et al. They quickly vied for the best locations to catch fish at the site as soon as given permission (and some unflinching “early worm birds” did so confidently and/or brazenly before that, of course).
Several people gathered in grassy areas, where large fish often take refuge. Somewhat unfortunate for the tasty swimmers the water was shallow at their hiding places and they became easy targets of their human being predators.
After an hour of throwing nets, 40-year-old Nguyen An managed to catch two fish, each weighing 7 kg. He then sold them for over VND1 million ($40.98).
"My house is near, so every year I come here to catch fish. This time, the water filled the reservoir for a long time, resulting in many large fish. People want to buy the fresh fish as soon as they are caught," he said.
Hoang Tuan Tien threw nets at the foot of the dam and managed to catch 4 kg of fish (possibly worth up to $50 depending on the variety, the buyer and Tien's level of confidence in his bargaining skills) after only 45 minutes work.
At deeper water levels, people used innertubes to float while they fished. But the deep-water bounty yielded mostly unimpressive smaller fish that fetched non-profitable, inexpensive prices, or nothing at all, from disinterested buyers who come to Tri An because of its reputation for large, heavy "big hauls" of meaty, fatty behemoth fish hard to find elsewhere.
A man brings in an 8 kg catfish, which can sell for VND150,000-200,000 per kilogram, not the exceedingly high price a rarer fish might fetch, because catfish are abundant throughout the thousands of kilometers of Mekong River and Delta spanning several countries. Even though 8 kg is indeed "giant," these tasty delicacies – somewhat related to other catfish in the American South – are not a Tri An specialty.
Ngoc managed to catch a 10 kg catfish, which could sell for VND4 million, enough to keep him living comfortably for weeks or months.
"I go catch fish every year, but this is the only year I've seen such large catfish... The large amount of water discharged allowed for the large catfish to travel here," he said.
Merchants gather near the foot of the dam to buy fish. As certain merchants sell the fish to restaurants, they can be sold at prices that are 100%-200% higher than they normally would be.
Ba Trong, 34, bought a catfish for over VND2 million for a feast with his friends and loved ones.
"The fish here might be expensive, but they are wild so their meat is not flaky, especially for large ones. Whenever the dams are closed, I come here to buy fish," Trong said.
Thuan Nguyen bought 5 kg of fish and grilled them right on the spot to enjoy with a group of 10 good-time buddies.
"It's as fun as a festival. It's also cool here, making it ideal for camping," he said.
An aerial view of people hunting fish at the Tri An fish round up event.
The Tri An hydropower reservoir spans 323 km2 and is located on the Dong Nai River section in Dinh Quan and Vinh Cuu districts. The water is not only used for electricity production, but also for agricultural and daily use. This year, for the sake of flood management, the reservoir began to discharge water on September 28.
