For nearly 10 years now, fishermen in Quy Nhon City, especially in Tran Phu Ward, have been "spontaneous" in their offshore fishing and exploitation, using a profession with a funny name, but with quite high economic efficiency. That is the "tree fish" fishing profession.

A corner of Tran Phu Ward's boat dock

Since 1995 - 1996, some Quy Nhon fishermen, through their practical exploitation and effective fishing, have also "kept an eye" on this profession. But at that time, the conditions of boats and technical equipment... ensuring offshore fishing for long periods at sea did not allow it, so they had to resort to the tactic of "lurking" - meaning that when the weather is calm and the sea is calm, they "rush out" to catch two or three trips and then quickly run back to shore, not daring to stay for long periods, because they are still afraid that offshore fishing will be subject to unpredictable storms and winds, which are not safe!

The method of catching "tree fish" is actually not new, but is completely based on the "version" of the purse seine fishing profession specializing in catching tuna fish such as: chu, bong, bo, melon, o... that two localities in Quy Nhon City, Tran Phu ward and Nhon Ly commune, have been doing for more than 20 years. But the new thing about this profession today is that the fishing boats are built larger; the fishing nets are "expanded" to be higher and longer. Especially, they are equipped with modern technical equipment such as: fish finders, locators, long-range walkie-talkies, multi-function binoculars... to ensure long-term fishing trips at sea. Although it is the same type of offshore fishing, the fishing time in a trip of this profession is shorter. The exploitation time is year-round and does not depend on the season.

In addition to normal fishing, boats doing this job also go around looking for tree roots, pieces of planks, foam boards, damaged barrels... of ships passing by at sea that are no longer used, and are left floating on the sea. Over time, these objects rot, forming pieces of moss, which then give birth to countless oysters, snails, crabs, sea lice, etc., and drift along the ocean currents. Fishermen often call these moss patches "water's edge". Under the shade of these moss patches are countless types of fish such as: pickled fish, sour fish, squash fish, mackerel, clams... gathering to eat moss and other animals. According to the experience of fishermen, fish that "stand" along the "tree" are very effective when caught, sometimes "catching" the whole school. Mr. Tran Trang - a fisherman in Tran Phu ward, who has many years of experience in catching "tree fish" said: Currently in Tran Phu ward, there are more than 80 boats with capacity from 150 to more than 300 CV specializing in this profession and have quite high income. In 2004, any boat that rarely caught "trees" also reached the level of 300 - 400 million VND. His own boat before and after Tet also earned nearly 150 million... He added: "Because we fish far out at sea, hundreds of nautical miles from shore and are very afraid of risks at sea, we often "join together" (cooperate with each other) 2-3 boats to work together. The other day, a boat fishing for tuna met a "tree" and "talked" to call my boat to come fish. I sold more than a hundred million, I gave them 1/3 because they had the merit of meeting the "tree" and calling me to come work. This has become a "custom", a kind of... "unwritten law" of our fishermen".

For nearly 10 years now, fishermen in Quy Nhon City, especially in Tran Phu Ward, have been "spontaneous" in their offshore fishing and exploitation, using a profession with a funny name, but with quite high economic efficiency. That is the "tree fish" fishing profession.

A corner of Tran Phu Ward's boat dock

Since 1995 - 1996, some Quy Nhon fishermen, through their practical exploitation and effective fishing, have also "kept an eye" on this profession. But at that time, the conditions of boats and technical equipment... ensuring offshore fishing for long periods at sea did not allow it, so they had to resort to the tactic of "lurking" - meaning that when the weather is calm and the sea is calm, they "rush out" to catch two or three trips and then quickly run back to shore, not daring to stay for long periods, because they are still afraid that offshore fishing will be subject to unpredictable storms and winds, which are not safe!

The method of catching "tree fish" is actually not new, but is completely based on the "version" of the purse seine fishing profession specializing in catching tuna fish such as: chu, bong, bo, melon, o... that two localities in Quy Nhon City, Tran Phu ward and Nhon Ly commune, have been doing for more than 20 years. But the new thing about this profession today is that the fishing boats are built larger; the fishing nets are "expanded" to be higher and longer. Especially, they are equipped with modern technical equipment such as: fish finders, locators, long-range walkie-talkies, multi-function binoculars... to ensure long-term fishing trips at sea. Although it is the same type of offshore fishing, the fishing time in a trip of this profession is shorter. The exploitation time is year-round and does not depend on the season.

In addition to normal fishing, boats doing this job also go around looking for tree roots, pieces of planks, foam boards, damaged barrels... of ships passing by at sea that are no longer used, and are left floating on the sea. Over time, these objects rot, forming pieces of moss, which then give birth to countless oysters, snails, crabs, sea lice, etc., and drift along the ocean currents. Fishermen often call these moss patches "water's edge". Under the shade of these moss patches are countless types of fish such as: pickled fish, sour fish, squash fish, mackerel, clams... gathering to eat moss and other animals. According to the experience of fishermen, fish that "stand" along the "tree" are very effective when caught, sometimes "catching" the whole school. Mr. Tran Trang - a fisherman in Tran Phu ward, who has many years of experience in catching "tree fish" said: Currently in Tran Phu ward, there are more than 80 boats with capacity from 150 to more than 300 CV specializing in this profession and have quite high income. In 2004, any boat that rarely caught "trees" also reached the level of 300 - 400 million VND. His own boat before and after Tet also earned nearly 150 million... He added: "Because we fish far out at sea, hundreds of nautical miles from shore and are very afraid of risks at sea, we often "join together" (cooperate with each other) 2-3 boats to work together. The other day, a boat fishing for tuna met a "tree" and "talked" to call my boat to come fish. I sold more than a hundred million, I gave them 1/3 because they had the merit of meeting the "tree" and calling me to come work. This has become a "custom", a kind of... "unwritten law" of our fishermen".