In the recent years, together with various kinds of tourist activities rapidly developing on Cat Ba, catching cuttle-fish has become an increasingly popular amusement for tourists, and is part of the special culture of the island.
When we arrived at Cat Ba wharf, it was sunset and there was a small, cool breeze blowing. The boat we hired-the Hoang Gia 02 belonging to a Hai Phong city tourism company--was already waiting for us at the dock. After the members of our group climbed aboard, the boat started on its way, cutting a path through the waves, slowly advancing toward Lan Ha bay, leaving the noise and traffic of the city behind.
It was autumn, so after the boat left the wharf we were surrounded by darkness, masking the idyllic beauty of Cat Ba that we had seen on previous trips. However, this was replaced by another intriguing scene which appeared before our eyes. In the distance, the lights of hundreds tourist boats were twinkling against the surface of the sea water, making Cat Ba look like a festival of luminous flower garlands coloured lanterns. These images stretched all the way to Lan Ha bay where our boat stopped after an hour's journey, and docked alongside several other tourist boats, bearing groups of tourists with fishing-rods in hand, peering through the blazing lights to spy the cuttle-fish they were hoping to catch. Sometimes, a shriek would echo across the water, from a would-be fisherman who had felt the tug of a cuttle-fish on the line. This broke the silence of the night with a tumult of noise.
Many people in our group saw this scene and were filled with eagerness to take up a fishing rod, and as soon as the boat stopped, we all quickly dashed to the boat house to find one. I found mine in the corner of the boat house. It was a simple rod, made of bamboo, over a metre in length. The fishing line was tied to the top of the rod and had an unusual hook at the end of it, coated with some sort of luminescent material. We all walked to a light where people were congregating and started to fish. Thanks to the bright lights, I could clearly see a school of cuttle-fish swimming around and around under the pure waters. One man in our delegation who was experienced in fishing told me to drop the line and then pull on it lightly at intervals. “When the cuttle-fish swallows the bait you will feel the weight. Then you slowly pull on the line to carry the fish out of the water,” said the man.
Following these instructions seemed to be a simple enough matter. However, while doing it myself, I felt uncertain. According to one of the tour company's experienced boatmen, cuttle-fish often uses their antennae to latch on to the bait. When you feel a tug, you slowly pull the fishing-line out of the water together with fish, being sure that the fishing-line is always tightly stretched. To ensure your catch doesn't escape, you can use a kind of racket to scoop up the fish while you pull is up to the water surface. “There are many cuttle-fish down there. However, it is not easy to catch one if you have no experience. You should drop the line into the half-light. It is place where cuttle-fish often pass by to seek bait. If you do that, you will definitely catch at least one,” said one of the boat's staff.
I did as I was told, and after a long time, requiring a bit of patience, I was able to catch some fish. Almost everyone in our group caught some also. The catch was gathered together and quickly processed. Some were boiled with spices, some were grilled. After that, our group, the boatmen and the company staff happily clustered around to enjoy a small feast. By the time we finished, it was late at night and everyone was getting a bit tired, so we got back aboard, the boat weighed anchor, and carried us back to the mainland, bring an end to our interesting cuttle-fish fishing tour.
