Oyster farming on the Mai Giang River

(Baonghean) -Many times enjoying grilled oysters, steamed oysters, feeling the sweet, crispy, fatty taste mixed on the tip of my tongue made me want to learn about oysters. Through the introduction of a friend working at the Provincial Farmers' Association, I went to hamlets 10 and 11 of Mai Hung commune (Quynh Luu) where the most oysters are raised in the province. Oyster farming on the Mai Giang river brings a prosperous and comfortable life to the fishermen here.

The person who brought the profession to the village

The Mai Giang River meanders from its source, before flowing into the sea through Con creek, it flows through Mai Hung commune for 6km. Because it is located adjacent to the river mouth and the sea mouth, the water of the Mai Giang River has moderate salinity, and the plankton thrives, which is where oyster mollusks live. However, at that time, no one in Mai Hung knew about oyster farming. Mr. Tran Duc Tinh, Chairman of the Commune Farmers' Association, said: "In the past, oysters lived and reproduced on limestone strips concentrated in the middle of the river. During the oyster season (from the 9th lunar month to the end of the 3rd lunar month), fishermen in the village entered the season of... diving into the river. After a long time of exploitation, the oysters were exhausted, there was no longer any environment for them to live, so they followed the plankton into the river and the sea. What a waste! Therefore, the people of Mai Hung were still poor and struggling..."

Around 2000, Mr. Van Duc Nhiem started experimental oyster farming on the Mai Giang River section flowing through Mai Hung Commune. Mr. Nhiem confided: “Back then, after finishing high school, I followed my friends to Vung Tau to make a living. Familiar with the river trade, we worked for owners of shrimp ponds, cage fishing... There, not only oyster exploitation, people also developed oyster farming on the river. That job "one capital, four profits", many river sections made billions. Looking at their business made me envious... In my hometown, there are rivers, seas, and advantages like them, why not follow suit?” And then, when I had earned a little capital and learned quite a bit of experience, Nhiem returned to his hometown and started oyster farming.

Oyster farms on Mai Giang River

He went to find oyster shells, ropes, and set up poles to raise oysters. The villagers were very surprised, not understanding what Nhiem was doing on that stretch of river. Nhiem said: “At first, we just did it as an experiment, not daring to be sure. But that season, we raised 500 strings, earning more than 3 million VND. Seeing the effectiveness, we did more...”. The villagers saw Nhiem getting rich from oysters, so they followed suit. By 2004, there were about dozens of households raising oysters in the village. And the oyster farming profession really developed when the Provincial Farmers' Association had a project called “Supporting the Oyster Profession” for fishermen in Mai Hung commune in 2006. Accordingly, each oyster farming household was supported with 5 million VND to build a farming platform. Initially, only a few households spontaneously raised oysters, but now, hamlets 10 and 11 of Mai Hung commune are called “Oyster Village”.

Oyster farming also creates jobs for many seasonal workers with quite high income. During the harvest season, each oyster farming household must hire 5-6 workers to pry oysters, prying about 3kg of oyster meat each day, paid from 100-150 thousand VND. And oyster farming can take advantage of family labor: men make trellises, build rafts; women and children string oyster shells, pry oysters...

In this village, oysters have been integrated into the lives of the people, whether they are prosperous or poor, all thanks to oysters. Mr. Nhiem said: “My children all grew up with oysters in their education. Their clothes and books depend on the oyster strings, following the ebb and flow of the tides. My villagers still say, without oyster farming, how can we escape poverty?”

"one capital, four profits" profession

In February and March, people in the village buy oyster shells to prepare for the new farming season. They go to Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh to buy them. The price of oyster shells is calculated by the bag. After buying them, they choose the shells, punch holes, and use fishing line to string them together. Bamboo poles, concrete poles, or rafts, meters above the river, tie the oyster shell strings together and drop them into the river. The source of alluvium from the Mai Giang River flows down; the source of saltwater from the Con creek flows in, mixing with the rising and falling tides, creating a lot of algae, creating an ideal breeding ground for oysters. Farmers only need to invest in seeds and put them in cages to release them into the river. After a while, they will have oysters to harvest. The current price of seeds is about 10,000 VND/kg, but at harvest time, the price is more than 25,000 VND/kg. Therefore, oyster farming is considered a "highly profitable" profession.

String oysters, prepare to release seeds

Mr. Dau Huy Du, a veteran oyster farmer, told us about this unique profession: “This profession is also leisurely, because around March every year, people start pouring oyster seeds into the racks to raise. From then until harvest, all you need to do is look after and clean the nets so that the oysters grow quickly.” His family’s oyster farming area is only more than 40m long along the riverbank, he raises 5,000 strings, and during the harvest season, he has to hire 5-6 workers to separate the oysters to get the intestines in time to supply to customers. With the current market price (80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg of intestines), after deducting costs and hiring workers to separate the shells, he earns over 30 million VND.

Currently, Mai Hung commune has more than 80 households raising oysters; the household raises at least 2,000 strings, the largest household raises up to 10,000 strings. The oyster market is large, production is not enough for consumption. In 2012, people in hamlets 10 and 11 earned more than 5 billion VND from oysters.

Although oyster farming has many advantages, there are still some difficulties that local people have not been able to overcome. For example, the period from July to Tet is the time when people harvest oysters. However, this is the time when there is a lot of rain, so the water temperature changes, causing the oysters to die, so many times they have to be harvested early, causing the productivity and quality of oysters to not be as expected.

And although it is a highly profitable profession, it is currently impossible to expand the area, because the length of the river flowing through the commune is only 6km, and to protect the safety of waterway traffic, it is only possible to encroach on the river by 4m. Besides, if the water environment is not actively protected along with exploitation, oysters will also be exterminated. Natural oyster seeds are increasingly scarce, while no competent authority has yet produced artificial oyster seeds. Therefore, to have enough seeds to restock after harvests, oyster farmers here have had to travel to Da Nang and Quang Ngai to buy seeds.

Saying goodbye to the oyster village when the red sun gradually sets towards the sea. The oyster fishermen are still diligently drilling holes, stringing ropes, preparing for the new oyster farming season. The Mai Giang River flows slowly, carrying in it the alluvium and plankton of the river and the sea, creating oysters, bringing the people of Mai Hung a warm and prosperous life...

Article and photos: THANH PHUC