The anchovy season in Quang Ngai lasts from February to April. The fish is caught near the shore. Fishermen leave home in the afternoon and return the following day. Part of the fish is sold at markets, while the remainder is used for making fish paste or drying.
Anchovies are often dried from March when the weather starts to be sunny.
Each facility can buy 8-10 tonnes of anchovy to be dried.
The fish is mixed with salt and then put on grills to be steamed for 4-5 minutes before being dried.
Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet from Tinh Ky Commune said that her work with the fish starts at 8 am and ends at 4 pm every day. After being dried for 6-8 hours, the fish is classified and packed. She earns around VND350,000 per day.
Pham Van No, head of an anchovy workshop, said that he buys 10 tonnes of fresh anchovy every day. The facility has hired 20 people for drying the fish.
One kilo of dry anchovy is collected for every three kilos of fresh fish.
Nguyen Hoai Thanh, chairman of Tinh Ky Commune, said that the locality is home to 10 dry anchovy facilities which employ hundreds of people.
Coastal communes have a small area so most of the anchovy workshops are located among residential areas. This has partially affected the environment.
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