9X gets rich from breeding Nghe An specialty eel

The eel farming area of ​​the "9X" guy Nguyen Trong Luong is located next to the main road near the center of Tan Son commune, Do Luong district. Among dozens of cement tanks, "boss" Luong stands in the middle of the path. In early November 2022, we visited Mr. Luong's model of raising eels for breeding and commercial eels. There were a few guests from Hai Phong province discussing business cooperation and buying young fish from Luong's farm.

Each mud-free eel tank can harvest 300-500 kg of eel meat after 5-6 months. Photo: Hoai Thu

Nguyen Trong Luong quickly untied each bundle of wire for the eels to live in, while introducing the process and methods of raising them, as well as the good sources of income from this specialty of Nghe An countryside. The guests from Hai Phong continuously nodded, seemingly caught up in this young man's passion for getting rich.

Eels in the pond of Mr. Nguyen Trong Luong's family. Photo: Hoai Thu

“These eel tanks have been raised for more than 6 months and can be sold. If raised at the right density, each tank can yield 500-700 kg of finished eel; the average weight is about 200-300g/eel, depending on the level of care and stocking density” - Nguyen Trong Luong said. “So where does the source of breed to invest in more than 41 tanks here come from? - We asked the “9X boss”, and were told “I startedeelI raised them in my hometown and took the eggs to breed them. From a few to many, now I can supply myself with eel seeds and sell them.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Do Luong district (middle) visit Nguyen Trong Luong's eel farming model. Photo: Hoai Thu

The mud-free eel farming model in Nghe An is not rare, many people in many localities have implemented it. However, for households to breed themselves, build their own source of breeds for their own model, and then develop it into a source of goods, Nguyen Trong Luong was the first to boldly implement it and was successful.

With determination and attachment to the specialty species of his homeland, Mr. Luong has used natural eel sources to domesticate and breed to create a source of breeding for production, thereby reducing many investment costs. However, Nguyen Trong Luong also shared that to have a stable source of breeding and produce quality eel meat as it is today, he had to go through many trials.

From 20 eel breeding tanks located in his family's garden, when he had enough seed supply, Nguyen Trong Luong expanded the "second facility" to a family farm along the main road of Tan Son commune. The number was increased by 41 mud-free eel breeding tanks and 20 breeding tanks. Each cement tank is lined with a thick plastic sheet and uses pond water to release about 3,000-4,000 eel fry; after about 6 months of breeding, 5-6 quintals/tank will be harvested. The tanks are released in batches to ensure large wholesale sales, mainly to eel processing facilities in Yen Thanh district.

As for eel fry, they are raised in a separate area. After the eels lay eggs in artificial nests, the eggs will be put into incubation tanks. Eel fry are sold at prices ranging from 1,500 - 3,000 VND/eel depending on weight and breeding time. The amount of fry over 1 kg, the type that has been raised for 3 months is equivalent to a price of about 5,000 VND/eel; raised for 1 month, the price is lower, 1,500 - 2,000 VND/eel.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Luong (left) introduces the technique of breeding eels before putting them into mass farming tanks. Photo: Hoai Thu

The owner of "9X" Nguyen Trong Luong also added that after 4 years of determination to start a business in his hometown Tan Son, along with the support of his family, the attention of the government, and the Farmers' Association of the commune, the business has gradually stabilized. "In the near future, I plan to expand the scale of the breeding tanks, and at the same time experiment with breeding other specialties available in my hometown such as apple snails," said Mr. Luong.