For sustainable development of white leg shrimp farming

(Baonghean) -In recent years, in some coastal localities in the province, white-leg shrimp farming is not only a new direction in transforming the aquaculture structure but also helps "rescue" households raising black tiger shrimp that are failing.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Sang, Hamlet 6, Quynh Lien Commune, Quynh Luu District is one of the white-leg shrimp farming households in Quynh Luu District. From this farming profession, his family has now bought a car and a large property, earning billions of dong each year.

Households that have become rich from raising whiteleg shrimp like Nguyen Ngoc Sang's family are not rare. The profits from this profession have confirmed that raising whiteleg shrimp is a profession that has enriched many households. Mr. Van Duc Cuong, Head of Phu Cuong Aquaculture Cooperative, Mai Hung Commune, Quynh Luu District, said: "Previously, farmers in the district often raised tiger shrimp. But since the effectiveness of raising tiger shrimp has been confirmed and the failures and risks in raising tiger shrimp have increased, most farmers have switched to raising whiteleg shrimp. With many years of experience in shrimp farming, Mr. Cuong did the calculation and added: "In tiger shrimp farming, about 20% of households succeed and 80% of households fail, but in white-leg shrimp farming, only 20% of households fail, while this type of farming is not too complicated and takes as much time to raise as tiger shrimp. With 5,000 m2 of pond, when raising tiger shrimp, the profit is about 150 million VND, raising white-leg shrimp can bring a profit of over 400 million VND. Phu Cuong Aquaculture Cooperative has 40 households participating in raising white-leg shrimp, the effectiveness is confirmed through each farming season and everyone acknowledges it."

Shrimp farming area in Mai Hung commune, Quynh Luu district.



Farmers in Quynh Thanh commune (Quynh Luu) harvest white-leg shrimp.

Also due to the high profits from white-leg shrimp farming, along with the support of the Fisheries Department and localities, farmers have converted ineffective agricultural land and salt-making land to white-leg shrimp farming. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoc, Head of the Nghe An Aquaculture Sub-Department, said: The area for white-leg shrimp farming in Nghe An accounts for 91% of the total shrimp farming area in the province. Many farming areas have now switched to raising 100% white-leg shrimp, such as: Nghi Thai, Nghi Quang (Nghi Loc district); Dien Trung, Dien Kim (Dien Chau district); Mai Hung, Quynh Bang, Quynh Xuan (Quynh Luu district)... Mr. Le Duc Cuong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district, also said: In Quynh Luu, many communes have developed white-leg shrimp farming and this is one of the career conversion directions that brings high efficiency in the locality.

However, aquaculture has potential risks, diseases and many other problems with white-leg shrimp farming. The effectiveness of white-leg shrimp farming is indisputable, the problem is how to make this farming truly develop sustainably, long-term and minimize risks. Mr. Tran Huu Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An, said: This is an issue raised and discussed by the Fisheries sector and coastal localities. However, to solve this problem is not simple, it requires the participation of not only the Fisheries sector but also the functional sectors, local authorities and farming households.

The proposed solution is to do a good job of shrimp seed management, planning, zoning, and monitoring the disease environment to detect and take timely measures. In reality, these issues are not easy to do well in farming areas in the province. Even in the environmental treatment stage, avoiding water pollution, each farming area has its own difficulties and problems. For example, in many shrimp farming areas in Quynh Luu district, there is no system to treat the output of water sources when farming shrimp and other difficulties in managing seeds and diseases. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district, this is a challenge for the industry and the locality in the sustainable development of white-leg shrimp farming.

To overcome the above problems, Nghe An Fisheries Industry and localities need to focus on building sustainable shrimp farming models; implementing solutions on environmental treatment, good management of input breeds, doing good veterinary work on aquatic products..., to develop white-leg shrimp farming sustainably and long-term, minimizing risks.

Nguyen Van Nhat