Nghe An farmers move fish to avoid storm

Before the storm, Mr. Nguyen Van Diep used concrete to shore up the pond to prevent landslides, causing fish loss. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Diep's family (Hamlet 1, Nghi Hoa, Nghi Loc) has nearly 2 hectares of fish pond. Currently, there are about 2 tons of fish ready for sale and about 5 tons will be harvested on the occasion of Lunar New Year. When there is informationThe storm will make landfall in the North Central region., causing heavy to very heavy rain, so he pulled up nets around the pond area; paved concrete along the pond banks so that fish would not escape when it rained heavily and the pond water rose.

Mr. Nguyen Van Diep said: “Normally, like every year, we would have harvested and sold some of the large fish in the pond before the storm season. But this year, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, fish are difficult to sell. Currently, 2 tons of fish have not been sold yet. When the storm comes, we have reinforced the pond and spread nets around the banks. But if it rains heavily, it will be very worrying.”

On the shore, he spread a net 2-3 meters high to prevent the water from rising, making it difficult for fish to escape. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In the flood of September 2020, he lost 5 tons of fish, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage. Learning from experience, this year, he has prepared an empty pond in Nghi Phuong, on higher ground, far from the Cam River so that when the water rises, he will have a plan to catch all the fish at Nghi Hoa farm, transport them by truck to Nghi Phuong to preserve the quantity.

Decades of experienceshrimp and fish cage farmingSo Mr. Le Anh Tuan (Hamlet 3, Khanh Hop Commune) promptly harvested and sold all 1.5 tons of shrimp before the storm came. "Compared to previous years, the price of shrimp is lower and the shrimp has not reached the desired size. However, harvesting and selling "running away from the storm" should accept the loss rather than letting the storm come and lose everything." As for 6,000m2 of cages for raising sea bass, grouper, pompano, red snapper... to ensure safety when the storm comes, he had workers reinforce the cages, add barrels and plastic cans as buoys, and catch fish from the large pond into the cages to minimize damage.

Shrimp and fish farming households in coastal cages are urgently strengthening their cages to minimize damage caused by storms and rain. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Van, an expert from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district, said: “The whole district has nearly 2,000 aquaculture households with an area of ​​over 1,200 hectares. To ensure the safety of aquaculture products during the rainy and stormy season, the district has sent an official dispatch to communes and towns urging aquaculture farmers to proactively respond to storms and floods. Accordingly, it is necessary to encourage people to harvest aquaculture products when they reach commercial size; reinforce and repair pond banks and drainage culverts; prepare nets, nets, boats, etc. to be proactive when unexpected situations arise.”

Many households accept to "sell off" fish even though the price is not yet good to avoid damage caused by storms. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Before the storms hit, farmers in Nghi Quang, Nghi Thiet, Nghi Tien (Nghi Loc) and Nghi Tan, Nghi Thuy (Cua Lo) were also urgently harvesting and selling the amount of fish that had reached the weight in cages and rafts. Farmers said that they had difficulty in finding a market due to the Covid-19 pandemic, low fish prices and difficulty in selling, but they still had to accept "dumping" to recover the capital they had spent because in the last months of the year, there were consecutive storms, if they could not harvest in time, they would face the risk of losing everything.

Many households catch fish from ponds and cages and transport them to ponds in high, safe areas or shrimp ponds to avoid storms. Photo: Thanh Phuc

For the remaining fish that have not been sold yet, households have welded steel frames, replaced the nets and prepared response plans. Many experienced households have prepared empty ponds or used tarpaulin ponds to raise shrimp.fish from cages outside the creek into the pond to avoid natural disasters.Mr. Le The Anh, owner of a sea bass cage in Nghi Tan (Cua Lo town) said: "When there was information that storm No. 8 was about to make landfall, followed by storm No. 9 which could directly affect Nghe An, I bought more anchor ropes and nets to reinforce the cages, avoiding strong impacts from big waves. If it rains heavily, there will be a plan to transport fish from the cages to a safe place."

Fish cage farmers have reinforced their cages to minimize damage caused by storms and rain. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to forecasts, from September 2021 to the end of 2021, there will be about 7-9 storms and tropical depressions active in the East Sea, of which about 1-2 will directly affect the mainland of the North Central region. On rivers in the North Central region, there is a possibility of 1-3 medium and large floods. To proactively respond to the developments of storms, floods, stabilize aquaculture, and minimize damage to producers, Nghe An Fisheries Sub-Department has issued an official dispatch guiding production, hatchery and aquaculture facilities in the area to implement the following plans: Harvesting farmed aquatic products when they reach commercial size; Strengthening and repairing pond banks, water supply and drainage culverts to ensure they are able to withstand heavy rains and floods...