Nghe An farmers 'turn' ineffective shrimp ponds into specialty fish ponds
(Baonghean.vn) - Salt-contaminated ponds and complicated shrimp diseases have caused many shrimp farming areas to be left fallow for long periods of time. To avoid wasting ponds, many farmers in Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai town have boldly switched to raising specialty fish.
Bonding with childrenwhiteleg shrimpfor decades, but in the last 3 years, saline water sources, polluted farming environment, and rampant shrimp diseases have caused Mr. Tran Van Hoe's family (Hong Phong hamlet, An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district) to suffer heavy losses. 5 shrimp ponds with an area of 1.5 hectares had to abandon 3 ponds, only 2 ponds remained.
“Illegible ponds are also wasteful, so after learning and consulting some models in other provinces, I realized that raisingyellowfin pompanoin shrimp ponds is quite effective so I ordered breeds from Nha Trang to test. On a pond area of 2,000m2, I released 4,000 yellowfin pomfret. After 6 months of trial farming, the fish now weigh 400-500g/fish, and will be sold by this Tet," Mr. Hoe shared.
Before Mr. Hoe, Mr. Hoang Van Tu and his fellow villagers had experimented with raising the first batch of fish and harvested and sold them to traders. According to calculations, although the batch of fish was experimental, the fish grew well, were disease-free, the investment cost was not too high and brought in a good profit.
“Compared to red snapper, sea bass, and grouper, yellowfin pomfret has many outstanding advantages. While other fish species must weigh over 1 kg to have good quality meat and be sold, yellowfin pomfret only needs to weigh over 0.3 kg/fish to have quality meat that is guaranteed to be sold on the market and is popular with many people,” Mr. Hoe added.
In particular, yellowfin pomfret can be raised with shrimp or intercropped with shrimp in the same pond area. Mr. Ho Van Duy, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Hoa Commune (Quynh Luu) said: "Currently, in the commune, there are 2 pioneer households conducting experimental farming; 1 household has harvested and sold. In addition to the characteristics of being easy to raise, less diseased, less risky, the output of yellowfin pomfret is very good, traders buy directly from the pond at high prices.
According to research, pomfret can be raised together with whiteleg shrimp or intercropped. From the pilot model of 2 households, the locality will evaluate the effectiveness to expand the farming objects to replace ineffective shrimp ponds.
In Quynh Di ward (Hoang Mai town), Mr. Nguyen Hong Cuong is the pioneer in bringing his children to school.grouperinto experimental farming in tarpaulin-lined ponds previously used for shrimp farming.
Mr. Cuong said that in August 2023, he imported 30,000 groupers from Indonesia to test farming in earthen shrimp ponds. Seeing that the fish were suitable for the water environment, the climate and grew well, he imported 1 million grouper fry for breeding. Up to now, after more than 3 months of trial farming, it has been shown that groupers are a suitable breeding subject to replace white-leg shrimp.
“Farmed fish are less susceptible to disease, have a low loss rate, and in particular, the main food is trash fish, so farming costs are saved. Meanwhile, grouper meat has better nutritional quality and a higher selling price (average 220,000 VND/kg, sometimes up to 270-280,000 VND/kg). In particular, the consumption market is wide.
Currently, grouper is exported to the Chinese market and sold to domestic restaurants. With the current price of grouper at 265,000 VND/kg of type 1, farmers make a good profit. Therefore, this is an effective farming species, gradually replacing ineffective shrimp ponds. Currently, 1 million of our grouper fry have been ordered by farmers in the North Central provinces," said Mr. Nguyen Hong Cuong.
Currently, in shrimp farming areas in Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai town, there are quite a lot of abandoned areas. Partly because the current shrimp seed source is not guaranteed, in addition, due to climate change, the sun and rain are erratic, shrimp farmers are always faced with the choice of "gambling with the sky".
In particular, the environment is increasingly unsuitable for normal shrimp development, while high-tech shrimp farming has not yet been widely deployed due to high investment costs.
Therefore, in order not to waste pond area, shrimp farmers must boldly switch to new farming species. For now, grouper and yellowfin pomfret are the two farming species that initially show positive results.
However, people need to pay attention to choosing quality, disease-free breeds; mastering farming techniques and carefully researching the market. Massive investment should not be made; localities need to test and evaluate carefully before expanding on a large scale./.
