Photo credit: MK19 – Fisheries and Aquaculture Production in Reservoirs in Lao PDR
Technical review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website)
As known in fishing practices, some fish species are attracted to light during dark nights and hence that are only caught during nights. In Nam Ngum reservoir (Laos), the preparation for night fishing including light sources and fishing gears and before that the fishermen who have the experience and/or prefer night fishing.
Kerosene lamps are the common source of light. During night fishing, the lamps are hung over the water surface on floating rafts to form a big circle. The fishers row from one lamp to another, shielding each one lamp at a time to focus the light at one spot in the water, and start scooping fish concentrated in that spot using hand-lift nets (shown in the photo). Most of the night catch consists of many of clupeids and small pelagic herrings. The hand-lift net (scoop net) is a pyramid-shaped net mounted on a Y-shaped bamboo frame.
The night fishing trip is over once the day light floods. Then, fishermen take their catch back to one of the trade points. The fishing boat is often taken out by another fisherman who fishes during the day making the fishing activity in Nam Ngum reservoir a 24-hour business. While women and men are engaged in day fishing, the night fishing is normally done by men.
