Shark hunting boats in the central province of Quang Ngai have caught tens of sharks in recent days, earning hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

After nearly one month in the sea, Mr. Tran Thai Son from Tu Nghia district of Quang Ngai province caught over four tons of sharks. Several sharks were up to 400 kilos in weight.

Son said that he used fish as bait. Baits of 0.5kg in weight were baited up to 6cm long fish-hooks. Fish-hooks were released at around 3pm and were checked at 8pm.

Fishermen earn VND1.8 million ($90) for one kilo of shark fin and VND25,000 ($1.2) for one kilo of meat.

Mai Tu, who is the captain of a shark hunting fish, said “The most valuable part of sharks is their fins. Traders purchase fins to export. A set of fin is worth at least VND18-20 million ($900-1,000),” said Tu.

Each shark hunting boat earns at least VND200 million ($10,000) of net profit for each trip on average. Since the lunar New Year, some boats have netted dozens of sharks each.

A local official said that catching sharks is a traditional job of fishermen in Quang Ngai. The province currently has over 10 boats of this kind, with nearly 100 fishermen. These people earn at least VND60,000 ($3,000)/year per person, which is considered high than the common income.

Source: vietnamnet.vn