Improve seed quality, proactively respond to diseases

According to forecasts, shrimp farming this year is greatly affected by El Nino and the complicated disease situation. The Directorate of Fisheries has issued a schedule for releasing shrimp seeds nationwide to minimize risks, and the quality of seeds needs to be improved.

Careful release

In 2015, the brackish water shrimp farming area in Phu Yen province was about 2,050 hectares; of which 405 hectares were diseased, and more than 55 hectares were lost. Disease prevention activities were implemented synchronously and widely, but diseases in aquaculture were still complicated, with the disease area increasing compared to 2014. In particular, some shrimp farming areas in the province showed symptoms of abnormally slow growth of shrimp, diagnosed with microsporidia. Therefore, to limit diseases in shrimp, in the 2016 shrimp farming season, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phu Yen provided seasonal guidance to localities.

Mr. Nguyen Tri Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department, stated that localities need to announce the 2016 shrimp farming schedule and density to each specific farming area so that shrimp farmers know and apply. At the same time, strengthen the monitoring of farming areas, proactively handle cases of shrimp farming before the schedule and thoroughly treat ponds when disease occurs. It is necessary to carry out shrimp farming according to the schedule, renovate ponds, collect water, select and buy good quality shrimp seeds. At the same time, monitor the weather to have a plan to release shrimp seeds, notify local authorities and specialized agencies when shrimp show unusual signs to have timely handling measures, absolutely do not discharge untreated water or dead shrimp into the environment...

People are still cautious about releasing shrimp.

In Khanh Hoa, the 2016 brackish water shrimp farming season calendar has been issued, but due to unfavorable weather, many localities have not yet started farming. In 2016, the weather was erratic, the El Nino phenomenon lasted for a long time, causing high water temperatures. In 2015, there were no heavy rains or floods, and a large amount of waste accumulated, leading to environmental pollution in many shrimp farming areas. In order to limit shrimp diseases, the provincial agricultural sector has recommended that farmers comply with the season calendar and practice sustainable shrimp farming. The Khanh Hoa Aquaculture Sub-Department has requested localities to establish community-based groups, guiding farmers to follow VietGAP standards. At the same time, farmers are advised to strictly follow the instructions to avoid damage, not to use chemicals or antibiotics banned from use according to regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the 2016 brackish water shrimp farming season, Khanh Hoa raised about 500 hectares of black tiger shrimp and 2,900 hectares of white-leg shrimp, a decrease of more than 100 hectares compared to last year. For the reduced area, farmers tend to switch to raising snails or fish...

Apply advanced models

In Phu Tan district, Ca Mau province, not only industrial shrimp farming, improved extensive farming is also a condition to help people have a good income. Phu Tan has chosen this form of farming for sustainable and stable production; because this type is quite suitable for the capital and technical conditions of farmers. The area of ​​improved extensive shrimp farming in the whole district is more than 16,000 hectares, an increase of 4,000 hectares compared to the same period in 2015. Phu Tan shrimp farmers are also aiming for some more effective shrimp farming models, with higher techniques, such as closed farming, still water shrimp farming, shrimp farming using microorganisms and biological products...

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau noted that its affiliated units need to pay more attention to building a crop calendar to suit the upcoming extreme weather conditions (especially according to tradition, after El Nino comes La Nina). The management of seed quality and agricultural material prices need to be closely inspected and monitored. In addition, Ca Mau will build model high-tech shrimp farming models to replicate, gradually increasing productivity and value on the same area.

Ca Mau is focusing on developing a clean shrimp seed program for the 2016 - 2020 period; striving to provide 20 billion clean shrimp seeds to farmers by 2020; this amount of seeds meets about 80% of the demand. According to this plan, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has consulted on investing in a concentrated shrimp seed production area in Ngoc Hien district; with a production farm in phase 1 investing in a scale of 50 hectares, producing about 7 billion seeds/year; phase 2 is being implemented with 66 hectares, producing about 8 billion seeds/year. When phase 2 is completed, the province's shrimp seed output will basically meet the demand. Currently, Ca Mau's shrimp seed demand is about 19 billion black tiger shrimp and 8.5 billion white-leg shrimp each year.

In Ben Tre, the whole province has 56 hatcheries and 81 aquatic hatchery businesses; of which, 42 are marine shrimp hatcheries, 11 are giant freshwater prawn hatcheries; the total capacity is about 2 billion post/year; only 3 hatcheries of CP, Viet - Uc, Huy Thuan and Hung Duc have quite large capacity (more than 400 million post/year), the rest are mostly small-scale hatcheries, many of which are scattered in the farming area. To meet the demand for hatcheries, the province strives for 30% of the demand for commercial hatcheries for black tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp in 2016; by 2020, black tiger shrimp hatcheries will reach 80 - 90% of the demand for commercial hatcheries.

To ensure the quality of seed supply and meet the needs of farmers, in the immediate future, Ben Tre's aquaculture industry will focus on investing in research on technological equipment, farming processes, and advanced seed production processes; researching and transferring new science and technology on shrimp farming and seed production; improving the quantity and quality of shrimp seeds, and managing imported seeds to ensure the supply of good quality seeds.

According to Vietnam Fisheries