Strange story: Raising fish on... a boat

Cage fish farming village in Van Tri village, Hai Phong commune, Quang Tri

Not afraid of rain and floods

During the severe floods at the end of 2020, many fish farming households in Hai Phong commune (Hai Lang district, Quang Tri) appeared to be "calm as a cucumber" even when the water from upstream was pouring in. It turns out that, in contrast to aquaculture and seafood farming households that often lose everything after heavy rains and floods, these households were raising fish on... boats, so they were not worried.

In fact, for nearly 10 years now, peoplefreshwater fish farmingOn the river in Hai Phong commune, people have gradually invested capital in a new cage model, shaped like a boat. This “boat cage” model has shown many benefits: less loss of young fish, fish grow well, are less susceptible to disease and especially do not drift away during the rainy season…

The model of boat cages for raising eels and climbing fish in Hai Phong commune, Hai Lang district has brought many benefits. Photo: Thanh Loc

Mr. Pham Van Mot, one of the peoplecage fish farmingA local long-time boat owner said the “boat cage” is about 6 meters long, 2 meters wide, with a pointed nose and small holes punched into the body of the cage, shaped like a boat. When put into farming, the nose of the cage faces the river source and is firmly fixed in the middle of the river.

“The advantage of this aluminum boat cage is that it is quite cool, so it helps the fish grow well, has few diseases, the durability of the boat cage can last for decades and especially the fish do not drift away during heavy rains and floods. Through several farming seasons, I have seen that this type of cage has many advantages and I feel very secure,” Mr. Mot added.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Dong, a land and agricultural officer of Hai Phong commune, also assessed that with an average cost of 15 million VND to build a boat cage, this special method of fish farming is very effective, suitable for short, steep and fast-flowing rivers in the rainy season such as O Lau and O Giang rivers, ensuring high safety, helping farmers limit risks. "Therefore, in the coming time, for households who need to convert cages, the locality will try to create favorable conditions to support from available capital sources to help people feel secure in farming," said Mr. Dong.

"Home" of eels, climbing fish...

According to Mr. Bui Xuan Giang, Chairman of Hai Phong Commune People's Committee, up to now, the whole commune has about 90 fish cages, mainly concentrated in Cau Ha and Van Tri villages. Even on the O Lau and O Giang rivers, "fish cage hamlets" have been formed. "Through many farming seasons, local people have realized that these types of fish cages are always highly effective and sustainable, and are most suitable for raising eels and climbing fish. Up to 2/3 of the existing cages are raising eels," Mr. Giang informed.

Rowing a boat to take us to see the "fish cage village" in Van Tri village, Mr. Mot boasted that thanks to raising eels and climbing perch, his family's economic life has gradually improved. His family is raising 2 eel cages (200 fry, the value of the fry is about 20 million VND/cage) and 1 climbing perch cage (about 500 fry). "For eels, it will take about 2 years to harvest and the average profit is about 100 million VND/cage. Climbing perch has a lower value and a shorter harvest time, only about 3-4 months/batch", Mr. Mot shared.

Mr. Pham Van Tin, another fish farmer in a boat cage on the O Giang River, also excitedly said that he had just harvested the first batch of eels with an average weight of 3-4 kg/fish, with some reaching up to 6 kg. "The current local price of eels is over 500,000 VND/kg, so the rough calculation of the income from selling eels this time has helped my family earn more than 120 million VND," said Mr. Tin.

In 2020, Quang Tri and many provincescentral regionhas just experienced a continuous flood, causing heavy damage in many areas, including aquaculture. Therefore, the model of "fish farming on boats" with outstanding advantages that can "fight floods" like in Hai Phong is worth paying attention to and replicating in suitable conditions.