The effectiveness of the first cage fish farming cooperative on Lam River

Because his house is close to the Lam River, Mr. Pham Van Nguyen in Block 1B, Anh Son Town, took the opportunity to build a fish cage right on the river. Mr. Nguyen said: His family has been fishing for decades. Realizing that cage fish farming is highly effective and takes advantage of the free time of farming, in 2016, his family decided to invest 40 million VND to build a fish cage raft.

Taking advantage of the Lam River's water surface area, in recent years many households in Anh Son district have invested in developing cage fish farming. Photo: Thai Hien

Joining the fish farming cooperative, with the help of other households in the group sharing experiences in care and disease prevention, Mr. Nguyen's fish have grown very quickly. Currently, Mr. Nguyen mainly raises grass carp, if releasing fingerlings weighing 0.2 - 0.3 kg/fish, after only one year they will reach 5 kg/fish. Thanks to being fed natural food, caged fish here are favored by consumers. Sold at 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, each year a cage of fish gives him an income of about 50 million VND.

The family of Mrs. Pham Thi Dan in Block 1B, Anh Son town is also a member of the fish cage farming cooperative in Block 1B, town. This is the second year her family has raised fish in cages. Due to lack of investment capital, her family only raises 1 cage with 200 fish, mainly grass carp. When registering to join the fish cage farming group on Lam River, her family was supported with 2.5 million VND to build a cage. Every month, the group participates in activities once, rotating among the households in the group, exchanging experiences on how to choose fish breeds, how to feed fish, how to choose fish food and how to prevent diseases so that the fish do not get sick and grow quickly.

Thanks to support in farming knowledge, the fish of households in the cooperative group have developed well, bringing high economic efficiency. Photo: Thai Hien

Mr. Tran Van Huy - Head of the cooperative group raising fish in cages on Lam River said: Realizing that cage fish farming has potential, in early 2017, the Farmers' Association of Anh Son town mobilized people to raise fish in cages along Lam River to establish a cooperative group. When joining the group, each family will be supported with 2.5 million VND for cage construction. Up to now, the group has 8 households participating, each household raises 1 cage of grass carp with the number ranging from 200 - 500 fish.

The establishment of the cooperative has helped households raising fish in cages to have close connections with each other. Once a month, the group meets to share farming experiences and calculate and choose which type of fish to raise that is suitable for the care conditions and living environment.

In addition, the cooperative has agreed to link households in the group to sign contracts from input services to get breeds at reputable facilities, ensuring quality; applying the correct breeding process to ensure food safety conditions.

All households raising fish in cages in the group take advantage of the riverbank, home gardens growing grass and bananas to feed the fish, so the quality of the fish is very guaranteed, and the output is stable. In 2017, the fish output of households in the cooperative group sold 3-4 tons of fish to the market, bringing a significant income to the families. From the effectiveness of the cage fish farming cooperative model, in the coming time, the area will expand to include 4 more households participating in the group.

In Anh Son district, households not only raise fish on Lam River but also on dams and lakes such as plastic cage fish farming models in Duc Son, Lang Son, Thach Son, Tao Son, Tam Son. Thereby, contributing to increasing fish output in the area in 2017, reaching 1,337 tons, reaching 84.61% of the plan, up 2.27% over the same period.

Currently, in addition to focusing on training in aquaculture knowledge, helping farmers make the most of their local strengths, developing aquaculture in a sustainable and effective way, Anh Son district also promotes, encourages, and supports people with funding for building cages according to the zoning mechanism. In the past 5 years, the district has supported people with over 100 million VND.