In mid-November, the surface of Thac Ba Lake seems calmer than usual, but for the Working Group of the Waterway Traffic Police Team No. 2 (Traffic Police Department - Lao Cai Provincial Police), that quiet always contains the risk of violations.
Late at night, the patrol canoe approached the dense laundry. From afar, Captain Dao Manh Linh discovered an iron boat waiting quietly to fish on Thac Ba lake.
On the boat, Vi Van N and Ban Thi X are bowing to operate an electric shocker including a wooden battery pack, a blue robot, and a bamboo racket over four meters long. With just a few steps, the electricity spread like an invisible net, the big fish and small fish floated white.
We saw them release rackets down, which could destroy an entire lake in just one hour, said Captain Linh.
Being discovered by the authorities, Mr. N confided: "We know we are wrong but it is too difficult. To get more fish, I also get more money from selling electricity....
That immediate benefit causes severe destruction of the aquatic environment. Thac Ba Lake, which used to be rich in native fish, is increasingly depleted due to such electric shock.
A few days later, the traffic police discovered Nguyen Viet C using a composite plastic boat to generate electricity and catch fish on Thac Ba lake. While running away, Cuong dropped the robot into the lake, leaving about 10kg of fish.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tien Trung - Captain of Waterway Traffic Police Team No. 2 - said: Power outages are an unpredictable danger to the ecosystem of Thac Ba Lake. This method uses high-voltage electricity to paralyze or kill fish, causing them to float onto the water surface and easily catch them.
Mr. Hoang Van Khanh - a traditional fisherman - shared: "The Thac Ba hydroelectric reservoir has a lake surface area of more than 16,000 hectares, which is home to many aquatic species. However, many people are currently using electric shock and folding lamps to deploy fish.
Not to mention, some subjects also used motorbikes to transport large-capacity electric battery bottles to boats anchored at the port and hidden electric wires on eucalyptus trees near the lake to catch aquatic products in the form of destruction and destruction".
Each boat will have at least two people moving everywhere in the deserted lake area and there are many fish, then they turn off the engine, row the boat by hand to pick up the fish.
There are groups of people using large-capacity batteries, using three-phase electricity to pick up fish, causing fish in people's cages to jump out.
"If we have a strong workforce, we feel more secure. Only when there are fish in a lake can people follow the traditional profession to survive," said Mr. Khanh.
Lieutenant Colonel Le Toan Thang - Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department - Lao Cai Provincial Police - said: Currently, the unit is opening a peak control point, continuously patrolling at the ferry terminal and villages along the lake.
"Our point of view is to handle it strictly but still ensure humanity. Many violators are poor and lack knowledge, and must explain to them the consequences. However, if they deliberately re-offend, they will be strictly handled according to regulations, Lieutenant Colonel Thang emphasized.
