Unique move to hunt multi-legged species running as fast as the wind

Civets (Ocypodidae) are crustaceans that live in brackish water. The appearance of the fish is quite similar to a crab, but on the shell, there are many veins, and the legs are hairy, especially the ability to run very fast if there is danger. In recent years, the price of fish has been stable at around 50,000 VND (2$)/kg, so people in Chau Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An often catch large quantities to import for traders (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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Unlike catching “shooting” by hand, with low productivity as before, now people in Chau Nhan commune often set traps to collect large quantities, with less effort (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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“Traps” for hunting foxes often make use of used plastic bottles. According to Ms. Tran Thi Hong (50 years old, residing in Phu Xuan hamlet, Chau Nhan commune), the use of plastic bottles to hunt fish is “learned” from the hunters in Thanh Hoa when this group of people come here to practice. . Scrap plastic bottles, after being washed, are cut off the upper part, leaving only the body tube, about 15cm long. “The advantage of this type of pipe is its height, which can hold 10-15 fish. When placed at a 45-degree angle from the shore, the fish can’t crawl out, especially the thick pipe wall, and the outside temperature. Whether it’s hot or cold, it won’t make the civets find a way to crawl out,” Ms. Hong introduced (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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Many households choose ready-made plastic pipes (used to sell sugarcane juice on the sidewalk) to hunt foxes. This type is costly, but in return can be stacked in piles and put in sacks, less cumbersome. Each cup usually only holds 5-7 fishes, more than can crawl out. On the other hand, the shell of the cup is thin, if it is hot, it will affect the health of the fish before it can be collected (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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However, the secret to hunting foxes (Ocypodidae) lies in the type of bait to lure the fish out of the burrow. Each household will have its own secret in processing fish bait. Mr. Vo Van Que, a household with a large number of fish traps in Phu Xuan hamlet, uses industrial bran mixed with water to form a paste, then smashes duck eggs into it and mixes it with the above mixture as bait. (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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Mr. Que used his hand to take some bait, rub it evenly on the sides of the cup, about 5cm from the mouth. This method does not cost bait, but it is easy to lure the foxes that are well hidden in the burrow. When crawling with the smell of food, the fish will fall completely into the cup (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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Meanwhile, Ms. Tran Thi Hong’s bait is more sophisticated. Ms. Hong uses fragrant roasted rice bran, pounded apricots (dried sea buckthorn or dried shrimp), mixed with water. The indispensable thing in Mrs. Hong’s hunting bait is shrimp paste. Shrimp paste, after being mixed with rice bran and rings, will form a very fragrant mixture, attracting foxes to crawl out of the cave (Photo: H. Thu).

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Hong’s indispensable tool, used to take the bait and sweep it into a layer in a plastic pipe. According to this woman, the bait is as deep in the tube as possible, in addition to luring the fish out of the cave, it is also a reserve food to feed the fish while waiting to empty the pipe (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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After preparing the pipe and bait, people will go to set traps. Usually traps will be placed in the early morning, when the human face is not yet visible, can also be placed in the afternoon when the tide recedes, exposing the burrow and the fish will crawl out to feed. People will use their feet or hoes to form a solid “ledge” and put a pipe that already has bait in it (Photo: Hoang Lam).

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The traps are placed in front of the cave entrance, the scent from the bait will make the fish crawl out. Usually, after setting traps, people will go home to do other work, about 2-3 hours later they will harvest. Fishing takes place all year round, but after the flood season is more frequent and fatter.

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Traps are placed along roads or ditches, about 3 feet apart. Compared with manual hunting such as shooting or fishing, racquets as before, hunting fish with traps proved to be much more effective and productive (Photo: H.Thu).

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The foxes got into the trap and couldn’t get out. Currently, the price of fish is stable at around 50,000 VND/kg. Each hunting session, people can harvest from 5-10kg of fish, pocketing from 250,000-500,000 VND. “Actually, each fishing session is only about 3 hours, so the income from the fish is much higher than other jobs, but I still have time to work in the fields, gardens, livestock…” Ms. Tran Thi Hong said (Photo: H.Thu).