The long stretch of beach in Da Nang city has a lot of features. Some of the places feature large hotels with cordoned off swimming areas, some have some places with what I guess is the best surf breaks that this place has to offer and that is where all the surfers convene, and then there is an area pretty far down the beach near an area called Son Tra that doesn't have as many tourists, and there is an old style of fishing that takes place there several times a day.
I have heard about this sort of fishing before, but never actually seen it being done.
I come down here to have a walk rather frequently and I rarely see anyone swimming here. This is likely at least in part because of the fact that the fishermen have kind of taken this spot as their own. The lack of hotels certainly has an impact on it as well.
You actually aren't allowed to have motorbikes on the beach and if you or I tried to do it they would blow whistles at us and make us get out of there. This is not something I would do with a motorbike anyway because have you ever tried to drive a motorbike on sand? It isn't a very pleasant experience.
Since I have never actually participated in it, I don't really know how the process works but I have seen that the blue round thing is a boat of sorts, and someone will drag the end of the net out about as far as it can go and then park it there. Then the fellas sit around for a while and there are little floaty things on the edges of the net that prevent anything that is inside from escaping. The net is also weighted at the bottom so that it drags all the way back to the beach.
There are teams of men, about 4 to a side, that are playing tug-of-war against the ocean and they pull in a few fish. The bounty isn't really that impressive from what I have seen. It must be worthwhile enough for this many people to be involved.
I enjoy seeing traditional fishing methods like this but it is also a bit sad as well. The commercial fishing vessels can be seen in the distance every night and they are likely stripping most of the ocean life from the sea before it even makes it this close to shore so these guys who are working really hard, probably don't stand much of a chance of catching much at all.
This activity is technically illegal and once again, if you we went out there and tried to do it the authorities would make us stop. I think this is one of the ways where the law turns a blind eye because these gentlemen are likely extremely poor and are just trying to get some food. Those nets and the ropes associated with them are very heavy so I can't even imagine that they transport them to and from the beach every day. I have noticed those round boats simply sitting on the shore upside down at points and perhaps they store the equipment under there at night.
If you are in this city one day and are tired of your fun in the sun, it can be quite interesting to watch this process. Plus the guys don't seem to mind. If you are feeling really bold you could maybe even try to help out!