Fifty years ago, Bui Van Phong faced a hard choice. The Vietnam War had just ended. Should he stay in his small village? There, he could help his parents make fish sauce. (Fish sauce is a salty condiment used in Vietnamese cooking.) His family had been doing that for hundreds of years. Or should Mr. Bui leave Vietnam for a better life?

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people chose to leave. But Mr. Bui decided to stay.

He took good care of his family’s fish sauce business. Now his son, Bui Van Phu, has taken it over. Fish sauce from the village is famous. It has made history in Vietnam.

But that heritage is in trouble. Giant companies now make fish sauce in factories. Worse, it’s hard to catch enough anchovies to make fish sauce.

Anchovies wriggle through nutrient-rich waters near Vietnam’s shores. But oxygen levels in the water have decreased. Scientists have long feared that this would lead to smaller fish. Large fish need more oxygen. To adjust to the water, they may migrate. Or the next generations of fish may be smaller.

Overfishing makes the problem worse. Industrial fishing companies drag large nets along the seabed. The nets scoop up everything in their path.

Little anchovies are a big deal. They’re food for other fish that people eat, like mackerel. They are also made into fish meal, which is used to feed farmed fish.

Fishers usually catch anchovies between January and March. If they are the right species and size, fish sauce makers mix them gently with sea salt. They place the mixture in terra-cotta barrels. Sometimes they add worms or other ingredients to bring in different flavors. The sauce ferments for as long as 18 months. Finally, it’s strained, bottled, and sold to customers. 

But anchovies are shrinking. Anchovy prices are growing. More and more fish sauce makers are thinking about leaving the business.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. — Matthew 13:47-49