Nghe An: More than 1.2 billion shrimp seeds for new crop

(Baonghean) - Although the first shrimp season will not begin until early March, up to now, shrimp farming areas in the province have basically completed preparations, and some ponds have begun releasing shrimp.

As one of 20 households in Dien Trung commune (Dien Chau) that raised shrimp in the third crop last year, Mr. Nguyen Huu Sy's family in hamlet 4 is currently preparing to harvest shrimp to start the main crop of the year. With 400,000 shrimp fry in 3,000 m2 of pond, Mr. Sy is expecting to harvest about 5.5 tons of finished shrimp this winter.

“The current selling price is 160,000 VND/kg if retail, 130,000 VND/kg wholesale by truck. In about a week, we will harvest everything, then process, wash, and dry the pond so that from March 10 to 20, we can release the first crop of shrimp. In recent years, the shrimp breed has been basically stable and there is no shortage. Last winter, I released shrimp breed from Viet Uc Company because their shrimp breed is more cold-resistant. This crop, we plan to continue ordering shrimp breed from Viet Uc...”, Mr. Sy said.

Checking the development of shrimp larvae at Viet Uc Company, Quynh Minh Commune, Quynh Luu District. Photo: Phu Huong

Also in Dien Trung commune, Mr. Ngo Xuan Dai's family is one of the pioneers in shrimp farming in the commune's lagoon. In 2000 and 2001, his family started raising shrimp with the tiger prawn breed, but after a while, when raising tiger prawns was no longer effective, he decided to switch to raising white-leg shrimp. Currently, on the 4-hectare shrimp pond of Mr. Dai's family, they are urgently spreading tarpaulin to line the bottom of the pond and excavating soil to renovate the pond. Unlike previous years, his family's 12 shrimp ponds are no longer entirely used for shrimp farming, but half of them are used as settling ponds.

Starting to renovate the shrimp pond since the 12th lunar month of 2016, up to now, Mr. Ngo Xuan Dai has invested nearly 1 billion VND to equip a 5mm thick nylon tarpaulin system to line the entire bottom of the pond, prevent mud from entering and absolutely limit pathogens from outside the mud into the pond. He is also hiring 16 more workers to work continuously, planning to release 4 million shrimp after the Qingming festival, because according to him, the weather is currently in the transitional period, not favorable for animals that are sensitive to weather changes like shrimp.

People of Quynh Bang commune (Quynh Luu) release shrimp seeds. Photo: Pham Bang

Dien Trung commune has 86 shrimp farming households, with a total area of ​​55 hectares. Every year, the whole commune has about 20 households participating in the third crop of shrimp farming with a total area of ​​over 25 hectares, up to now, 7 households have started harvesting. Most of the remaining area has been and is renovating ponds and preparing from March 10 to 20 to focus on shrimp farming, a few areas have started to be stocked.

According to Mr. Dau Ngoc Hoa - Director of VietGAP Livestock Cooperative in Dien Trung commune, this year the weather is favorable, with more sunshine than last year, so since January people have focused on renovating and treating ponds; within the next 20 days, it will be completely finished so that in early March they can focus on releasing shrimp, the season lasts from March 10 and can be extended to May 10, after harvesting, they will continue to process, wash and dry the bottom within 1 month to release the next crop.

“In recent years, Dien Trung has made a strong change in shrimp farming according to standard, clean processes. All 86 shrimp farming households have invested in filter wells instead of using water taken directly from the river. Notably, if previously the pond area was used up for shrimp farming, from 2016 to now, there have been 34 hectares of shrimp farming areas with settling ponds, with an average area of ​​1/3, even some households use up to 1/2 of the pond area for settling ponds. 70% of the ponds are plastered with concrete, many households use 3-4 mm thick tarpaulins to line the bottom and walls of the ponds, helping to prevent water loss, waste, and dirty water from entering the ponds to prevent pathogens from affecting the farming environment,” said Mr. Dau Ngoc Hoa.

In the first shrimp crop this year, Quynh Luu released 465 hectares, of which the commune with the most is Quynh Bang with 196 hectares, the remaining Quynh Thanh with 78 hectares, An Hoa with 46 hectares... According to a quick summary of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, by February 20, the whole district had released about 20 hectares of shrimp, the remaining areas and ponds have basically been renovated and treated, people have started to release sporadically, and in March, the mass release season will begin.

With an area of ​​465 hectares of shrimp, Quynh Luu needs about 5 million shrimp seeds, mainly taken from local facilities and partly imported from southern provinces. Up to now, the locality has worked with local nursery and seed supply units to prioritize enough quality seed sources for the people.

People of Dien Trung commune (Dien Chau) release shrimp in the first crop of 2017. Photo: Hong Hanh

Building on that success, this year, in most farming areas since December 2016, farmers have simultaneously converted to apply the process, 60% have increased the area of ​​settling ponds to contain water to a ratio of 50 - 50 compared to before, only leaving 15 - 20% of the area as settling ponds, not applying a fixed farming pond but rotating to store and proactively source clean water that has been treated, using biological products.

According to Mr. Ta Quang Sang, Head of Aquaculture Department, Department of Fisheries, from February 20th, the first shrimp release schedule will begin, and so far, it has been released in some areas in Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc... The schedule is still long, but this year, people should especially note not to release shrimp in June because this year there are two Junes, and the hot weather will affect the growth and development of shrimp. In the plan, the nursery facilities in the area have registered to supply over 1.2 billion shrimp, meeting the needs of the people.

The aquaculture sector and localities have worked and requested units to have solutions to provide enough seeds for mass breeding. However, in the direction of the sector, it is still recommended and propagated so that each farming area and each household can balance, release, and interrupt the crop to proactively source seeds and consume them when harvesting. Seed management is also promoted, broodstock shrimp require complete records, proof of origin, and quality assurance. In cases where seeds enter the area without being nursed, the agricultural sector will coordinate with local authorities and the police to handle and expel them in accordance with the provisions of the Veterinary Law.

Phu Huong