BINH THANH & NHON HAI
Most months of the year the fishing boats arrive at Binh Thanh and Nhon Hai in the south of Vietnam. Every morning from around 4am thousands of people, who make their living from the fish, arrive and await the boats. The atmosphere is generally good natured, spiked with the occassional outburst or argument. Every day follows the same pattern. The boats arrive and the boxes and baskets of fish are transported to the beach in large coracle type boats, traditional in Vietnam.
Awaiting the fish are the women, up to the waist in the sea, brandishing a pair of shoes or flip flops and ready to bag the best fish for the boss on the beach. As the coracle gets close they rush to it and put one of the shoes on a basket of fish. Its bought! When the fish are landed the women will match up the shoe in hand and on the fish and it will be taken to the boss, cash changes hand and the deal is done. Fish sold at sea will be taken directly to the beach to the awaiting porters, all women of course. As the fish are being landed the boats are re-fueled and stocked with food and blocks of ice for a quick turn around. Every minute idle reduces the next catch.
By 11am it’s all over. The boats have sailed, the fish taken away by truck and motorcycle and the food vendors have packed up and gone home. All that remains are the poor with their baskets picking up the scraps of fish that have fallen to the ground.
Tomorrow from 4am it happens all over again, and again and again.
