Chapter 1572

Ye Yaodong, seeing the sorting table already piled high with cargo, directed the experienced workers to control the release of the fishing nets, gradually unloading the fish into the large fish boxes on the boat.

The fish were then smoothly conveyed via the chute to the sorting table, ensuring the fish bodies were not overly squeezed or damaged.

The workers beside the sorting table, with clear division of labor, efficiently performed rapid sorting, separating different types of fish for individual processing.

For fish requiring further processing, they were moved to the corresponding processing areas; some deep-sea fish needed immediate bleeding and evisceration before being sent to the quick-freeze hold.

The Spanish mackerel were also sorted by specification and size into different crates, then transported via the chute to the fishing boat's freezing hold.

Other miscellaneous fish were sent to the crushed-ice hold, while low-value goods were swept together with seaweed and debris, then dumped back into the sea.

Once a bag of cargo was lowered, a dedicated person would use a long pole with a hook to catch the bottom towing ring of the fish-collecting bag, continuously hoisting the cargo inside the net bag up.

Ye Yaodong paced back and forth, directing the hoisting, unloading, and conveying.

Counting from start to finish, there were actually about twenty-eight and a half bags; calculating it, one haul came to just over 140,000 jin!

The workers responsible for hooking the fish-collecting bags and hoisting the cargo also counted, and were extremely excited.

"Good heavens, twenty-eight and a half bags! We actually hoisted up twenty-eight and a half bags! This haul is incredible."

"What?"

Everyone who heard was shocked.

After the shock, they all sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

"Twenty-eight bags! We hoisted up twenty-eight bags! Damn, that's incredible."

"Damn, twenty-eight bags? Holy crap!"

"How many jin is that again?"

"About close to 140,000 jin..."

"Over 140,000 jin? Holy crap, one haul is over 140,000 jin, is this even possible?"

"Oh my god..."

While everyone was shocked, they didn't forget to sort the cargo; they just argued louder and more excitedly.

"What about the other boats?"

"Wow, then the other boats must be just as good?"

"Oh my goodness..."

Ye Yaodong's face was also full of joy; this haul was extraordinary.

Previously, in the near-sea waters, the most they ever dragged up in one haul was 110,000 jin of hairfin croaker; back then, it was pure luck, catching a whole net full of hairfin croaker.

This was also the haul with the most cargo he had ever had; in Zhoushan, there had never been a haul of 110,000 jin either, at most a dozen bags, not exceeding 100,000 jin. This was already much more than back home, where there were more boats and fishing on the sea surface was more intense.

Back home, he had also gone fishing for a while with Uncle Zhao Zhao Chengzhou, the man who sold him his first boat; the most they ever got was ten bags, usually staying around five or six bags.

Just now, the workers had only glanced at the seabed and spoken based on normal expectations, saying a dozen bags, fifty or sixty thousand jin, but he had said it was more, and sure enough.

Actually, the fifty or sixty thousand jin the workers mentioned orally was a solid fifty or sixty thousand jin, after removing the miscellaneous fish and impurities.

They basically spoke this way now; stating how many ten-thousand jin meant exactly that much cargo was kept, while stating how many bags referred to the rough weight.

"This haul broke the record! Amazing! After sorting, we'll still have about 100,000 jin left."

"Ah, what a pity. If the boat could process the fish on board, we wouldn't have to dump them..."

"Then what a huge boat that would have to be?"

"Haha, we're rich, we're rich, one haul made us rich..."

Ye Yaodong actually felt quite sorry for the cargo dumped into the sea, but in these years it truly wasn't worth much; transporting it back would waste fuel. In recent years, he couldn't even count how much he had poured back into the sea.

Only when the near-sea resources were exhausted did people gradually start wanting these; it wouldn't be until after the millennium that they could gradually fetch a price.

Even if he felt sorry now, he could only pick out the valuable parts; the rest, even if they could be taken back for processing, wasn't worth it. After all, there was only one fresh-fish collection boat, and its capacity was limited; even if they collected everything, it wouldn't fit.

Hoisting up twenty-eight bags of cargo in one haul was also an exciting event; in history, there had never been a haul with so much before.

Ye Yaodong happily shouted, "Hurry up and sort..."

Just as everyone was happy, Old Xiao suddenly shouted from the wheelhouse, "Something's wrong, Dongzi."

Ye Yaodong wiped the smile from his face, his brows furrowing, and hurried up, giving instructions to the others before leaving.

"Handle your cargo, and gather the fishing gear first."

"Hey, what happened?"

"It probably isn't our boat..."

"Then it must be one of the other boats..."

"Don't know what happened..."

Everyone had only been happy for a moment, but suddenly heard of the incident; now they became somewhat worried, starting to worry about the other boats.

Ye Yaodong quickly went up.

Old Xiao, breathing heavily, said directly, "Boat Number 5's net is snagged! The steel cable is about to break! What should we do? Should we just abandon the fishing net?"

With Ye Yaodong present, such a big matter naturally required his consultation; a fishing net cost several thousand yuan, and in these years, several thousand was no small sum, equivalent to a whole boat.

If he were not here, they would have to discuss among their few boats to sacrifice the cart to save the general.

"Just now?" Ye Yaodong asked while entering the bridge.

"Yes, I called you immediately upon receiving the message; a decision must be made quickly."

From the other end of the shortwave radio came an urgent call: "Old Xiao, Old Xiao, what does Ah Dong say?"

"I'm here! Stop the boat first, release the winch! Report the net position instrument data!"

The former was to prevent the steel cable from breaking and injuring people or damaging the hull; the latter was to confirm the snagging location and water depth.

The side of Boat Number 5 reported in a panic, "The water depth suddenly changed from 300 meters to 110 meters; there are underwater reefs below! The net body might have been cut by the reefs!"

Ye Yaodong's heart tightened immediately; he grabbed the binoculars and looked. He saw that Boat Number 3 was not far from him, its hull clearly tilted, the winch steel cable stretched straight, emitting a piercing "creak-creak" sound, while amidst the churning waves on the sea surface, the trawl net could be vaguely seen firmly stuck by something.

"Have Boats Number 2, 3, and 4 started hauling in their nets?"

"Boat No. 2 is hauling up the net!"

"Boat No. 3 hasn't finished unloading yet; about half remains!"

"Boat No. 4 has just finished hauling in the net and cargo."

Ye Yaodong immediately issued orders: "Boat No. 4, launch the small boat to check the net condition! Boats No. 2 and No. 3, haul in the nets as quickly as possible."

"Received!" several captains replied in unison.

Over ten minutes later, boats No. 2 and No. 3 successively reported that they had finished hauling in the nets.

"Boats No. 2 and No. 3, approach from both sides and use hook poles to help pull the net!"

"Received."

Ye Yaodong also stepped out of the cabin and pointed his telescope toward the distance.

Old Xiao, walking beside him, asked: "Just now we were excited about the abundance of fish here, but I never expected it to be exactly as you said; the bottom is dangerous."

"Parts of the seabed here are steep and densely covered with reefs; trawling nets are prone to snagging and damage even with detection. It's possible that one second the depth is 300 meters, and the next it's only 100 meters; no one can predict that."

That was why he had planned to cast the net once and leave, not to linger here or continue operations in this area, yet he hadn't expected that even a single trawl wouldn't work.

He had been arrogant, thinking that with his experience, a capsizing wouldn't happen.

He hadn't expected that while his own boat was fine, the others had encountered accidents.

Sigh, in fishing operations, net-snagging accidents account for about 30% of losses for deep-sea fishing vessels; this can't be blamed on anyone and is indeed a normal occurrence, especially since he already knew the risks in this area were relatively high.

Sudden changes in ocean currents easily cause nets to drift, and some areas even have sonar detection blind spots.

He had been impulsive; just having entered the deep sea and sailed for so long, seeing the warm current convergence in the Kuroshio tributary area, he couldn't resist wanting to try casting a net first.

Now he could only try his best to make amends.

Old Xiao comforted him: "Try first to see if we can save the fishing net; do your best. This haul is already impressive, nearly double that of nearshore fishing grounds. The other boats' catches certainly won't be poor either; even with losses, we shouldn't lose money."

"Let's try first; you also steer the boat over to take a look."

"Okay."

Getting closer, he could clearly see the deckhands using long hooks to try and pry the fishing net.

The workers on their own boat's deck also saw clearly what the situation was.

The workers below pointed ahead and whispered among themselves, each staring anxiously at the front with worried faces.

At this moment, Boat No. 4 reported: "Underwater reefs are interlaced; the net body has been torn open with a large hole, and part of the lead line is stuck in the reef crevices."

Terrible!

Ye Yaodong furrowed his brows; the tide began to change direction, the hull swayed as pushed by the current, and the pressure on the steel cables grew greater and greater.

Old Xiao said tensely: "No! If we keep hauling the net, it will break!"

He knew that dragging on further might cause the steel cables to snap, sweeping across the deck and causing casualties, or the hull to lose balance and capsize in the current.

They couldn't drag on any longer. Ye Yaodong, with a stern face, said: "Boats No. 2 and No. 3, stop hauling the net. Boat No. 4's small boat, return! Boat No. 5, activate the emergency release device! Abandon the net!"

"Received."

A moment later, "Bang!" a muffled sound.

The hydraulic cutter severed the steel cable in the middle; the entire trawl net instantly sank to the seabed. A net worth several thousand was gone just like that.

A suffocating atmosphere spread across the decks of the several boats; Boat No. 5 was especially silent.

Defeated before the first battle.

Ye Yaodong also fell silent for a while before saying: "It was my impulsiveness. Here, where currents converge, it is inherently dangerous, prone to sudden current shifts, and sonar cannot detect many areas at the bottom. We should have followed the original plan and fished at the destination."

"This is an accident; no one wanted it. Although the risks here are high, the gains are also great. This haul alone yielded a full 25 bags, more than ever before..."

"Our haul was also nearly 26 bags; we were just extremely excited..."

"We also have 25 and a half bags. The resources here at the current convergence are truly abundant."

"It was my mistake; I didn't detect carefully enough, causing heavy losses to the fishing vessels..."

Ye Yaodong sighed: "Let it be. It can't be blamed on anyone; things at sea always carry risks. Fortunately, only the net was lost; this can all be earned back, so it's fine. As long as no one is hurt, that's what matters."

"Just after setting out, such heavy losses, I..."

"No need to say more. Let it be, let's move on. First, report the losses."

Boat No. 5: "The net is completely damaged; the winch gears are damaged. Originally, the net had caught nearly ten thousand jin of snapper and ten thousand jin of Spanish mackerel, plus a good amount of skipjack tuna; it's all gone to waste."

"As long as no one is hurt, that's what matters. The terrain under the Kuroshio is complex, and there are places sonar cannot detect. Let it be. Your boat will follow along with the fresh-fish carrier for now; wait until we reach the destination to load cargo and return together."

He had originally been somewhat worried; that single fresh-fish carrier round trip would likely take a week, and with their current hauls being so large, they couldn't wait a week before running out of storage capacity.

Although the losses were heavy in this situation, the concerns in his heart were now gone; he didn't even know what to say.

"After docking, re-ordering nets will take at least a month..."

For their large nets, customizing one takes time, often four or five hundred meters; they aren't something you can buy directly off the shelf.

"It's fine. Go back and explain the situation to my father; let him order a new one. In the meantime, your boat will operate like the fresh-fish carrier, taking turns to go out and collect cargo."

"Originally, I was a bit worried that one fresh-fish carrier couldn't handle the cargo from five boats, since the round trip takes five or six days. Now, with two boats rotating, sending one out every two days, we can ensure the cargo is accommodated and transported back."

The captains of the several boats all breathed a sigh of relief; having a plan was good. They feared that such heavy losses right after setting out would shake everyone's confidence, and they would face fines and bear responsibility.

Just now, before the cargo was even brought up, hearing that a boat had encountered an accident, everyone was too preoccupied with joy to think of this layer: perhaps one fresh-fish carrier couldn't handle the cargo from so many boats over so many days.

With these words, everyone's hearts were set at ease again.

However, morale was inevitably struck.

There was nothing to be done; the weather is unpredictable, and accidents are normal.

Old Xiao asked: "Then shall we continue forward along the original route?"

"Yes. Sort the fish cargo, sort the fish cargo. The boats continue as usual; the fresh-fish carrier and Boat No. 5 will continue to follow."

"Received."

Just as the fleet prepared to continue, a cry suddenly came from the VHF radio from Boat No. 3: "Dongzi! The sonar shows a huge school of fish to the southeast!"

"Head southeast, and use the sonar to scan the seabed conditions in advance. Boat No. 5 can't drag the net, so move to the front to lead the charge, scan the seabed terrain ahead with the sonar, report at all times, do not deploy the net yet, just track."

The southeast direction was also their direction of travel, perfectly on their route; they could chase the school of fish away from this section of the suddenly shifting current.

"Received."

Several boats all started moving.

And as soon as his fishing boat began to move, the screen simultaneously detected a massive school of fish migrating southeast.

Ye Yaodong gazed at the churning sea in the distance, squinting his eyes; the sea was just like that, having just snatched his net, it now offered a new opportunity.

He had originally decided not to deploy nets in this area, thinking to head straight for the destination, but he had run into an enormous school of fish, which was something one could encounter but not seek out.

However, this area was indeed unsafe; for safety's sake, he would naturally chase the fish school first to leave this sea area.

"It's cuttlefish, detected, a huge batch of cuttlefish is heading southeast."

Ye Yaodong issued another order, "Do not deploy the net yet, continue sailing forward to track, wait for my order to deploy the net, Boat No. 5, go ahead and scan in front first."

"Received."

The workers below were still discussing the recent incident; although he hadn't gone down to explain, everyone who should have seen it had seen it.

He asked Old Xiao to go down to the deck to direct the sorting and arrangement of the catch, and to prepare for maintenance work, while he himself focused on the images scanned by the fish finder.

Guiding the fishing boat forward based on the detected school of fish images, he also listened to the reports coming through the VHF radio.

Until an hour later, having left the Black Current tributary, the sonar detected that the seabed was completely normal.

He also pressed the alarm button on the helm; a short blast of the whistle echoed through the entire fleet, and the workers instantly knew they were about to deploy the net, immediately beginning to prepare the gear.

At the same time, he issued orders to the other fishing boats, "Prepare to deploy the net, use the sonar to scan in advance first; this time, the fishing boats must ensure absolute safety."

Only after everything on the deck was ready did he issue another command.

"Deploy the net."

The hydraulic crane at the stern immediately began to move...

Having learned from the lesson just now, everyone was extra careful this time.

Ye Yaodong also picked up a telescope to observe the distribution of the several boats and the net deployment, listening to reports at all times.

But he did not forget to monitor the net position indicator, watching the fishing net slowly sink to the predetermined depth, while also keeping an eye on the instrument panel for real-time monitoring, and maintaining the net opening height at the target school of fish.

This school of fish was somewhat different from the one detected previously; not only was it denser, but it was also all of the same species.

He guessed that the current had gathered these cuttlefish together, resulting in such a huge base and such a vast coverage area.

It was currently the spawning season for cuttlefish, and also the season with the richest cuttlefish harvest in the East China Sea.

Cuttlefish were originally one of the four major economic fish species of the East China Sea.

"This large patch of cuttlefish school is distributed a bit widely..."

"The batch is quite large; I'm detecting them densely packed everywhere..."

"It's the same here."

"It seems this net might be full of cuttlefish."

The benefit of encountering a school of fish is that the entire haul consists of the same type of catch, rather than coming up with a messy mix of everything.

The previous net had also detected a school of fish, but it was a small school; they dragged while moving forward and encountered other goods, so they had everything.

However, he had been dealing with emergencies continuously and then encountered a school of fish, so he hadn't gone below to see how the catch from the previous net had been processed.

After he adjusted the fishing boat's operational speed to 3 knots, Old Xiao knew they had entered the operation phase; after finishing the work on the deck, he came up as well.

He asked, "How is the sorting of the catch going?"

"Still sorting; the volume is too large, it won't be finished quickly. I think we need to arrange for four or five more people on the boat next time, otherwise we won't finish sorting the catch in time; the manpower is a bit insufficient."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "Understood, I have a clear idea in mind. I'll go take a look; you keep an eye on things here."

"Ah, good. Have the other boats deployed their nets?"

"Just reported back; they said they've all been deployed."

"We must be extremely careful this time."

"I've already instructed them."

"Then go eat first; I just checked, the meal is ready."

Ye Yaodong nodded and went down first to check the condition of the catch.

The conveyor belt was still transporting the fish catch, and the workers around the sorting station were using both hands to sort simultaneously.

The slaughter and processing table was piled with entrails, and fish blood covered the entire processing table.

A worker used a knife to scrape a batch of freshly cut entrails into the sea; at that moment, a flock of seabirds dove down to snatch the entrails.

Ye Yaodong watched the amberjack being bled and instructed, "Bleed them as quickly as possible; otherwise, if the time is too long, the fish meat will turn sour."

"Understood, but we can only bleed and gut them in time if they are sorted and brought over from that side."

The person opposite replied, "Can't sort them over in time... everyone is busy..."

"Do your best."

He now understood what Old Xiao had meant by needing to increase the manpower.

They couldn't sort fast enough; there was too much catch, and they couldn't bleed it in time; if the time was too long, it would be a loss.

This was still during the day, when everyone had rested, and all hands were mobilized; if it were night, with everyone taking turns on duty and resting, they might not be able to keep up at all.

He pondered that once this net was hauled up, he would reassign and transfer the personnel from Boat No. 5; after all, the people on board weren't dragging a net right now, and sitting idle was just sitting idle.

He would make a temporary emergency adjustment first; after returning, he would ask his father to transfer a few more logistics personnel to the boat.

Fortunately, he had arranged for extra replacement personnel.

After checking the situation on the deck, he carried the catch into the cold storage hold.

Inside the cold storage hold, various types of fish catch were stacked in layers, neatly piled on shelves by species.

To ensure good air circulation and freezing effects, they would activate the freezing system to rapidly lower the temperature to a suitable storage temperature.

Pity he lacks freezing equipment; fish caught in Korea taste better than ours precisely because they have a quick-freeze preservation technique.

Otherwise, the blue-spotted Spanish mackerel should have been quick-frozen.

However, his thousand-ton fishing vessel was equipped with one.

The Spanish mackerel lay spread across the top stainless-steel layer; the middle layer held sorted sea bream; the lower layer contained baskets of squid and cuttlefish, their tentacles curled into bizarre spirals by the cold; the bottommost layer was covered in crushed ice mixed with salt to prevent hardening, holding various shrimp.

The cold storage hold required not only temperature control but also humidity control; after storing the catch, the chief engineer inspected it every two hours and used sawdust to absorb condensation.

Otherwise, excessive frost buildup causing a short circuit would spoil half the hold's cargo, making it rot and stink.

Low-temperature white mist from the cold storage hold drifted over his frost-covered eyebrows; he glanced around, then headed to the live-water hold.

Due to the emergency handling earlier, he did not know if any precious catch had been brought up.

Taking a look now, the workers nearby told him they had caught twenty or thirty groupers, half still alive, each weighing three to five Jin in weight, currently being kept in the live-water hold.

The circulating seawater system must use the bottom pump to continuously inject fresh seawater; only then can the catch remain fresh and alive, as live groupers are worth far more than dead ones.

Ye Yaodong checked every storage compartment; visually estimating, about thirty to forty thousand Jin had just been sorted, and there was still work to do; indeed, there was a shortage of hands.

Previously, near the coast, fifteen men per vessel were sufficient; now it seems going to the deep sea is not enough; the crew must be increased to around twenty to twenty-five men.

Anyway, treat this trip as gaining experience and testing the waters; once tested, the next trip will know how to arrange things.

The era is different, so the catch is naturally different; naturally, the required labor also differs; these adjustments can only be made after putting oneself in the situation.

Only after finishing another patrol on the deck did he go up to ask Old Xiao.

"Did other fishing vessels mention a shortage of hands?"

"Yes, Vessel No. 2 just mentioned it, and several other vessels mentioned it too; no one expected such a large haul from one net."

"Hmm, wait until this net's catch is hauled up later, then reallocate the personnel from Vessel No. 5."

Don't wait recently; it's mentally taxing, and it might all happen in the early morning hours.

? (End of this chapter)