Building cages and raising crispy carp on Lam River

In early 2018, Mr. Vo Quang Van in hamlet 3, Hung Khanh commune (Hung Nguyen) invested 50 million VND to build 70 m²solid rafts to develop fish farming on Lam River.

Developing fish cage farming on Lam River, passing through Hung Nguyen district. Photo: Thanh Tam

The first batch he bought 120 kg of carp and grass carp to raise using traditional methods. The fish were raised in cages on the Lam River with natural food sources of plankton on the river and were supplemented with grass, wine lees mixed with corn bran and rice bran so they grew quickly. After 9 months of raising, the average weight of each fish reached 3 kg.

In December 2018, Mr. Van harvested 1,800 kg of commercial fish, sold for 180 million VND, minus the cost of seeds, food and cage depreciation, his family still earned nearly 100 million VND.

“In the process of searching for a market for my products, I found that the demand for crispy carp and grass carp is quite high and the price is 2-3 times higher than traditional fish, so this time I tried raising crispy carp. If successful, it will open up a new direction for the development of river fish farming,” said Mr. Vo Quang Van.

To help households raising fish in river cages increase production value, in 2019, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district supported the construction of a model for raising carp and silver carp. Participating in the model, households were instructed on technical processes, supported with 50% of the cost of fish fry, food and medicine to prevent fish diseases.

Crispy carp is currently priced 2-3 times higher than traditional fish. Photo: Thanh Tam

The difference between traditional fish farming and raising carp and grass carp is the food. For carp and grass carp, when the fish reach a weight of 1 kg or more, start feeding the fish with sprouted broad beans after soaking them in water for 24 hours. Broad beans have a protein content of 31%, with 8 essential amino acids and 49% starch content... Therefore, feeding fish with this type of bean helps improve the quality, increase the toughness of the meat, making the fish meat crispy, different from normal carp meat.

Also participating in the model of raising grass carp and common carp in cages on Lam River is Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc in Hamlet 9, Hung Loi Commune, who has 6 fish cages with a total area of ​​180 m2.²Currently, in the cages, Mr. Ngoc is raising thousands of black carp and crispy carp.

At the beginning of the fish farming, they were still raised in the traditional way. When the fish reached 1 kg in weight, Mr. Ngoc started buying broad beans to germinate and feed the fish to make them crispy. Now, after 2 months of feeding them broad beans, the fish have reached 1.5-2 kg/fish.

“I see that this method of farming makes fish grow very quickly and has delicious meat. Fish raised in cages on the river will be tastier than fish raised in earthen ponds, because the water is always flowing and therefore cleaner. If this farming is successful, I will continue to expand the model in the future,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc.

Farmers check the growth process of crispy carp on Lam River. Photo: Thanh Tam

After 2 months of implementation, the model of raising grass carp and common carp in cages on the Lam River in Hung Nguyen has initially shown positive results. In about 3 months, households will harvest and sell.

Ms. Ba Thi Dung - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hung Nguyen district said: "The district has 23 km of Lam River running through it. To exploit the potential for developing specialty fish farming, in 2019 the district supported funding to build two models of raising grass carp and crispy carp in Hung Khanh and Hung Loi communes. If the model is successfully implemented, the district will direct the replication to create jobs and increase income for the people."