Shrimp farmers protect their assets before the storm season

(Baonghean) - Brackish water shrimp is a high economic value crop for farmers but also carries many potential risks, especially during the rainy and stormy season. Some households in Nghi Thai and Hung Hoa that raise shrimp along the Lam River are looking for ways to protect their assets before the rainy and stormy season..

Hung Hoa farmers enhance shrimp care in face of adverse weather

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong's family has 2 ponds for raising white-leg shrimp with a total area of ​​1 hectare. This year, shrimp farming encountered many difficulties because the first crop had only been stocked for 40 days and shrimp died en masse due to white spot disease. The second crop was favorable, so the shrimp grew well. To avoid the flood, his family harvested 1 week ago with a yield of 1.5 tons, earning more than 200 million VND, after deducting investment costs, the profit was about 100 million VND.

Mr. Tran Van Hien, Phong Hao hamlet, said, “The biggest fear of shrimp farming is the risk of disease. White spot disease often appears in the spring crop, white spot disease is less common in the fall crop, but shrimp are also susceptible to black gill disease and algae disease due to the impact of the environment and weather. This season often has heavy rains, which change the concentration of water surface. Here, households have 2-3 sao of settling ponds to store salt water. When it rains and the salinity in the pond decreases, they must add salt water and use lime powder to fertilize the pond to disinfect and prevent disease in shrimp.

Households line the shore with tarpaulins to prevent landslides caused by storms.

Whiteleg shrimp have a short farming time but have weaker resistance so they are susceptible to diseases. Tiger shrimp have a longer farming time but are stronger so they are more resistant this season. Therefore, my family has been raising tiger shrimp for this season, and so far they have only been raised for 2 months and need to raise them for another 2 months before they can be harvested. Every day I go to the pond to check and take care of the shrimp to handle any unfavorable weather conditions.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ha's household in Phong Hao hamlet, Hung Hoa commune, has 1 hectare of pond. This year's first crop of shrimp was killed by white spot disease in large numbers, all the effort and capital invested have not been harvested. Currently, his family has been raising shrimp for the second crop for nearly 2 months. The recent impact of storm No. 3 caused heavy rains, changing the water environment, causing the shrimp to be shocked, eat less, grow slowly and show signs of illness. He is very worried because now it is the rainy season, but the shrimp will not be harvested for more than a month.

Shrimp farming is like gambling with the sky. If the shrimp are not affected by diseases and the weather is favorable, the profits are very high. However, shrimp farming is also very risky, especially the risks from weather and diseases.

Mr. Duong Xuan Tham - Head of the Hung Hoa Commune Agriculture Department said: Currently, Hung Hoa has 90 hectares of shrimp farming for the second crop, mainly white-leg shrimp and tiger shrimp. Tiger shrimp takes 4 months to harvest, white-leg shrimp is faster, about 2-3 months to harvest. With the current market price reaching about 150 million VND/ha, after deducting costs, farmers have a profit of 60-80 million VND/ha of shrimp.

To cope with the storm, many households harvested shrimp earlier than expected. Some other households proactively built concrete pond banks or bought tarpaulins to protect the banks of shrimp ponds, avoiding soil erosion during heavy rains. Households also proactively stored saltwater in settling pond systems to supplement the ponds when it rained heavily, reducing the salinity of the ponds. Shrimp farmers this season also prepare lime powder to fertilize the ponds when there is heavy rain to prevent diseases caused by changes in the water environment. Antibiotics must also be fully prepared.

Thanh Tam