Traditional fishermen on fishing boats from some provinces in central Vietnam got a bumper catch during the first days of the Year of the Horse.

Dozens of fishing boats in Son Tinh and Binh Son districts of Quang Ngai province had an abundant harvest of anchovy worth hundreds of millions of dong.

“We’re surprised by the large amount of fish that we caught in the first trip. Everybody is happy”, said fisherman Le Van Vu, owner of a fishing boat that caught nearly 10 tons of anchovy.

Vo Van Ngay, captain of the fishing boat BĐ 98563, arrived at the Tho Quang port in Binh Dinh province on Feb. 3 with 7 tons of fish that was sold out a day later.

“We had a good catch so all of us hope to get good fish catch in the future” – Ngay told Tuoi Tre while he and other crew members were mending fishing nets to prepare for their first trip in the early Lunar New Year.

After anchoring his 450CV fishing boat in Quang Ngai’s Ly Son Island, fisherman Bui Van Bon hailing from An Hai commune looked cheerful and happy.

“We will make offerings for the God of the Sea and sailed to Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago for catching fish. We work under favorable weather conditions because the sea is calm during the first days of the Lunar New Year” – Bon told Tuoi Tre.

Nearly 200 fishing boats of fishermen in Ly Son have ventured into fishing grounds in Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel), hoping for a good harvest, according to Nguyen Quoc Chinh, head of An Hai fisheries trade union.

On February 4, many fishing vessels at Tho Quang port based in Da Nang city busily prepared for their first offshore trip. Do Van Anh, captain of the fishing boat QNg 98907, said they would head for the fishing ground in Hoang Sa on the early morning of Feb. 5.

“The weather this year is very good so we hope for a bumper catch ahead” – Anh said.