Cua Dai (Great Gate) in Quang Nam Province is an estuary where three rivers, the Thu Bon, Truong Giang and De Vong converge before running into the East Sea. It is alos the palace where the local people go fishing with a rotated net, locally called Ro cho.
Due to the large riverbed with many sand banks and brackish water, Cua Dai abounds with many kinds of shrimp, crab and fish, thus the local people earn their living by fishing.
The fishermen at Cua Dai have different ways of fishing, but the most unique and popular method is fishing with a rotated net, which is locally called Ro cho. Nobody knows when Ro cho was first used, but at present there are hundreds of Ro cho set up around Cua Dai, which creates a picturesque scene in this coastal central region.
A Ro cho is made with a large fishing net, about 80-130m2. Its four corners are fixed by four big bamboo poles planted in the riverbed, and connected to a rotating axis by a network of long ropes. The axis is placed in a watch-tower.
To pull this huge Ro cho, a fisherman sitting in the watch-tower uses his feet to drive the rope ladders of the rotating axis that will lift the Ro cho off the riverbed. Another fisherman rows a small boat to the Ro cho, skilfully gathering shrimp and fish in the net into an exit hole, which is made right at the bottom of the net, then opening the exit hole to pour all the catch into the boat.Ro cho fishermen work all year round, except those days when the tide rises high and the water runs fast. Every year, from April to July of the lunar calendar, Ro cho fishermen are a bustling group of workers.
Fishing with Ro cho is now the main business of hundreds of families at Cua Dai. At sunrise or sunset, the nets are illuminated by the sunlight on the vast water surface, providing an incredible romantic view at the watery area of Cua Dai.
