Incredible Giant Catches - Tons of Eels, Shrimp and Rare Fish Caught on Modern Boats

In the middle of the vast ocean, where waves and harsh weather constantly challenge people, modern fishing boats still stick to the sea day and night, carrying the hopes and aspirations of hundreds of fishermen for a living. On giant boats equipped with advanced technology, the journey to hunt for anchovies, one of the fish with high economic value, becomes a race not only with nature but also with time and output. Anchovies, with their long bodies, shiny skin and fatty white meat, have long been the target of offshore fishing fleets. Although not as famous as ocean tuna or Alaskan salmon, anchovies are favored by Asian markets, especially Japan, China and Vietnam, for their rich flavor and high nutritional content. On modern fishing boats, each trip to sea is no longer filled with emotional net casting as before. Every process, from detecting fish passages, dropping nets, pulling fish up, to sorting and preserving, is operated by a system of automatic machines. Sonar sensors, radars that detect movement, and remote surveillance cameras, the machines not only reduce manual labor for fishermen but also increase efficiency many times over traditional fishing methods. Large-capacity fish-collecting devices can collect dozens of tons of fish in less than an hour, thanks to high-pressure suction nozzles and automatic conveyor systems that bring fish into cold storage. Fishermen no longer have to spend hours in the sun and wind pulling each net laden with fish by hand. Instead, they monitor the system from their cabins, which are cool and air-conditioned, and only intervene when necessary, although modern technology helps a lot. Acumen, experience at sea, and solidarity among crew members are still the key factors determining success. Each trip usually lasts from 10 to 30 days. Depending on the season and the density of fish offshore, they live, work and eat right on the boat, in small but fully equipped cabins, with beds, kitchens, generators, sanitary equipment and even satellite internet connections to communicate with the mainland. Although technology has developed to optimize the fishing process, fishing is still one of the most dangerous and difficult jobs. The sea is never peaceful for long. Sudden storms, waves tens of meters high, or cold weather down to below zero degrees are always lurking and can sink the entire boat if not careful. In such conditions, each ton of anchovies brought onto the boat is not only the product of modern machinery, but also the result of courage, perseverance and good coordination between the crew. After being sucked up from the deep sea, the fish are immediately put into an automatic classification system using color and size sensors. Large, export-standard anchovies will be transferred to the processing line, cleaned, deboned and vacuum-packed right on the ship. Deep freeze tanks at minus 40 degrees Celsius will preserve the fish in the freshest condition until the ship docks. Smaller fish will be sold to the domestic market or used as feed for seafood processing plants. Currently, anchovy fishing enterprises are mainly joint ventures with foreign countries or domestic enterprises that invest heavily in high-capacity ships. As dawn breaks over the horizon, the sea surface shimmers with a shimmering silver color, and giant eel and sea eel fishing boats quietly part the waves and leave the port, beginning a challenging journey lasting dozens of days on the ocean, not as noisy or filled with engine smoke as other large-scale fishing boats. Eel and sea eel fishing boats operate silently but effectively thanks to modern technology and traditional techniques upgraded by each generation of fishermen. In particular, the barrel trap method, a unique fishing method based on the biological habits of eels and sea eels, has now been automated, becoming a strategic weapon in the hunt for fat sea dragons that are extremely valuable on the international market. Unlike fish that move in schools, eels and sea eels are solitary creatures, preferring deep waters, muddy sand bottoms and coral reefs, where they hide in caves or crawl into cracks on the seabed. Because of their lifestyle, catching them requires patience and strategy rather than speed or power. The barrel traps, usually made of stainless steel or specialized hard plastic, designed in a long cylindrical shape, with one-way mesh doors and small vents, are placed densely by the hundreds along the water currents and bottom layers at depths of 100 to 400 meters. On board, the entire trap system is numbered, programmed with GPS locations and connected to a central control panel, allowing the captain to monitor and control them remotely. Each trap setting is a meticulous process, requiring the correct calculation of tide times, currents and even moonlight, as eels and moray eels are often active at night or when the light is low. The fishermen on board work continuously, in shifts of six hours each, to ensure that the traps are checked and harvested on schedule. When the first traps are pulled from the seabed, joy is evident on everyone's faces. Each eel is as big as an adult's arm, nearly a meter long, smooth and wriggling strongly, taken out of the trap by hand or by suction equipment. Sometimes in one night, a ship can harvest tons of eels if it encounters the right migration or food concentration point. Particularly large eels, up to two meters long, are very valuable and are often separated right on the ship for preliminary processing before preservation. After being collected, the eels and eels will be put into tanks containing cool seawater, with an aeration system to help them live for a few days to keep them fresh before being processed. On the ship, a closed processing line is operated continuously, from cleaning the fish, sorting by size, to preliminary processing such as cutting, skinning, and bone removal, all are mainly done by machines. Requiring only human supervision and adjustment, qualified fish will be vacuum packed, labeled with a barcode to trace their origin, and put into deep freeze storage to maintain their freshness throughout the thousands of nautical miles journey back to the mainland. Those that are too small or slightly injured will be released back to the sea according to the policy of protecting aquatic resources. All of these processes are monitored by cameras and automatic sensor systems, ensuring that there are no errors or fraud in the classification and recording of output. Each such sea trip can last from 15 to 20 days, depending on output, weather, and density of marine life. Although tired from working in a cramped space, lacking natural light and air, the fishermen on the boat always maintain an optimistic and cheerful spirit. They consider each other as brothers and sisters, eating together, working together, sharing each slice of braised fish, each bowl of hot rice amidst the stormy waves of the open sea. Many people have been attached to the profession for more than 10 years. Considering the boat as their home, the sea as their second homeland, stories about big catches or encounters with strange fish and rare sea creatures are always told with pride and excitement during every shared meal. The economic value of eels and sea eels is the main reason why this profession is attractive. Despite its hardships, a qualified eel can be sold for between 15 and 25 United States dollars per kilogram depending on the type and size. Japanese sea eels, anago, or American eels, conger eels, are popular at high-end sushi restaurants and can cost up to 50 United States dollars per kilogram. Sea eels, especially moray eels or deepwater eels, are also processed into many specialty dishes such as grilled eel, eel soup. In the cold waters of the North Pacific, where the waves are as high as hills and raw day and night, there are modern fishing fleets plowing out to sea, collecting hundreds of tons of shrimp every day with giant trawl nets, a fishing technology that is considered the harvesting machine of the ocean. Before dawn, the ships have quietly set off, carrying dozens of sailors, engineers, machinery, fuel, fresh water and the hope of a fruitful trip. The ocean is never easy on humans, but with courage and modern technology, today's fishermen can reach far, mastering the valuable seafood resources that nature has bestowed. Shrimp, especially small lobsters, white leg shrimp, red shrimp, live concentrated on the bottom, moving in large schools, especially active in warm water seasons. To catch them on an industrial scale, modern fishing boats use giant bottom trawls, hundreds of meters long, with mouths wide enough to fit a bus. The nets are lowered deep into the seabed, usually at depths of 100 to 500 meters, depending on the location of the shrimp stream. Both sides of the mouth of the net are attached to iron doors weighing several tons called otter boards, which play the role of keeping the net open when the tugboat runs above. The entire net system is controlled by a positioning device, sonar sensors, radar and seabed cameras, helping fishermen identify the shrimp schools, choose the right time to lower the net, avoiding wasting time and fuel when the shrimp school appears. It only takes a few minutes for the entire mass of creatures to be attracted and trapped in the net. The boat begins to slow down, maintaining a steady speed of about 2 to 3 nautical miles per hour so that the net can sweep across the seabed, collecting the shrimp into a giant net bag at the end of the tail. Each net can last from 2 to 5 hours, depending on the seabed terrain and shrimp density. When the net is full, a signal will be sent to the central system, signaling the crew to prepare to collect the net. That is when the pace on the ship becomes urgent. Everyone is in position, the high-capacity winches, the steel cables as big as a human arm, roll and make a whistling sound. Each meter of heavy net is pulled up from the water surface, slowly poured into the main hold, where the classification, cleaning, and preliminary processing system is installed right on the ship. Each time the net is opened, a shrimp rain falls onto the deck. Hundreds of tons of bright red, shiny shrimp, still jumping, mixed with a few small bottom fish, starfish, seaweed, all are classified by machines using an automatic conveyor belt. The qualified shrimps of the right size, without broken whiskers or bruises, are transferred directly to the cold seawater washing line, then passed through a surface dryer, vacuum packed and quickly cooled in a deep cold storage. The second-class shrimps or those with slight scratches will be put into separate ice boxes and transported to the port for frozen processing or industrial export. The rest, non-target species, are taken out through the live discharge system, ensuring that the marine ecosystem is not affected. On board, workers work in six-hour shifts. Every six hours, a team goes to the deck, checks the equipment, cleans the nets, operates the conveyor belt, clears the hold and prepares for the next haul. The working atmosphere is tense but exciting, because in just 24 hours, a ship can carry out four to five hauls, collecting from 150 to 300 tons of shrimp, depending on the sea area and time. On big days, the amount of shrimp is so much that the entire auxiliary compartment must be mobilized. The freezing must be increased, and the ship must be redirected to port earlier than expected. The captain and engineers on board play an important role as the brain, constantly monitoring ocean current charts, heat maps, shrimp migration flows, and communicating with other ships in the same fleet to adjust fishing strategies accordingly. Modern technology has turned fishing boats into floating factories on the ocean. Not only fishing, but also processing, packaging, storing, and ready to export to any country in just a few days. Thanks to the closed process and strict quality control, shrimp caught by trawling in the waters of Alaska, Canada, Japan, the US, and Vietnam always meet high standards, and are popular in demanding markets such as Japan, Korea, Europe, and the US. Wild shrimp has a rich sweet flavor, firm meat, and is more nutritious than farmed shrimp, the main ingredient for sashimi. Steamed shrimp, grilled shrimp with garlic butter and However, to achieve that result, it is a trade-off of sweat, effort and even a bet with nature. The trips last dozens of days, thousands of nautical miles away from the mainland. No phone signal, no internet, only the sea breeze, the sound of the engine and resilience. The sea is not always gentle. There are days of big storms, high waves crashing continuously, the boat has to stop the net, temporarily anchor and wait for the waves to calm down. But sometimes, in the middle of a storm, a catch of hundreds of tons of shrimp helps make up for a month of waiting. For fishermen, the sea is their career, their life, their sweat and their future, and only love for the job and a persistent spirit can help them continue to go to write the most vivid stories in the vast ocean.