At 4 am on a day in May, Hao kicked-start his 24 CV boat and sailed away from the wharf. After 30 minutes, the boat arrived at the location where he set traps to catch cuttlefish about three nautical miles from the mainland.

“Cuttlefish season lasts all year round, but the summer is the peak season, from the third to eighth month of the lunar year,” he said as he watched the tide, wind and weather conditions to determine the locations for cuttlefish traps.

With nearly 30 years of nautical experience, Hao slowed down the boat. Over 100 rectangular cuttlefish traps were stowed on the boat. Each of these cages is more than half a meter wide, 1.2 meters long, surrounded by thin nets, attached with black nylon fibers to create a dark area to trap squid. Inside the cages were cuttlefish eggs and jelly used as bait to lure squid.

“When seeing eggs, cuttlefish will try to get into the cages. The white jelly is fake bait, used instead of cuttlefish eggs to save money,” he explained. 

The man drove the boat while slowly dropping the cuttlefish traps into the sea, at the depth of 5 meters. He dropped more cages in locations he thought there would be a lot of cuttlefish. 

The sea was deep, and the water was swift flowing. He tied a stone weighing about 10 kilograms at the bottom of the cages. At the top of cages, he used a 15-meter long rope tied to a buoy floating on the water.

Many fishermen on the sea also trap cuttlefish, so each cage was marked with specific signs by trappers which helps fishermen find their cages easily.  

Hao dropped all the cages into the sea after two hours. It was dawn as he drove the boat roundabout to find a location to anchor the boat and watch over the cuttlefish traps.

While waiting for cuttlefish to take the bait, Hao sat on the boat side and caught fish. After a while, he caught some fish and cuttlefish and prepared a meal with fresh seafood.

Sea is home

Hao said during his childhood, he went out to the sea with adults. At that time, on wooden boats, he did support works, such as carrying fish and cooking. Later, he became a main crew member. Fifteen years ago, he decided to buy a boat to catch cuttlefish on Nha Trang Bay.

“Each trip lasts a month. As such, for the last few decades, I spent more time on the sea than at home,” he said, adding that he stays at home for several days and then leaves for the open sea.

According to Hao, cuttlefish trapping is an arduous job. Sometimes the money from cuttlefish is not high enough to pay for diesel, but sometimes he can catch a lot of cuttlefish which brings extra money.

After many hours of sailing on the sea, the time to ‘harvest’ came. Hao drove the boat to the locations where he dropped cages several hours before. He smiled when seeing cuttlefish in the cages.

After several hours, more than 100 bamboo cages were pulled one by one onto the boat. Hao felt happy, estimating that he could catch 7 kilograms of cuttlefish. 

In order to keep cuttlefish fresh and sell cuttlefish at high prices, Hao drove the boat to the mainland. He said cuttlefish can be sold at VND170,000-320,000, and after paying for diesel, food and water, he can pocket VND700,000-800,000.

When the afternoon came, he took a deep sleep on the boat, saving energy for the next trip.

“There is much cuttlefish on the sea this season, therefore, I go to the sea every day. I hope that I can catch much cuttlefish to earn big money,” he said.

Xuan Ngoc