Nghe An farmers build net houses to protect shrimp from heat
To cope with the harsh hot weather, the most effective way to raise shrimp is to invest in net houses. This solution has been applied by many farmers in Nghe An.
Build a greenhouse to cope with the heat
In the dayshotRecently, in some key shrimp farming areas of Quynh Luu such as Quynh Bang, Quynh Luong, Quynh Yen... we saw very few open-air shrimp farming ponds, only occasionally did we see a few shrimp ponds with water fans operating. Local people said that due to the recent mass shrimp death epidemic, shrimp farmers have not released shrimp fry yet, while the weather is extremely hot.
Mr. Ho Nghia Quy in Dong Tam hamlet, Quynh Bang commune said that he is attached to the profession.shrimp farmingfor more than 20 years now, so have quite a lot of experience. Before, although the weather was also hot, the water source was less polluted, so shrimp farming was safe, less disease, shrimp farming was quite profitable.
However, the water source outside the canals is polluted, making shrimp farming unstable and causing continuous epidemics. For example, in the main shrimp crop of 2024, the family released a pond with an area of 0.4 ha, but after a few days, all the shrimp died, and they still do not dare to release the fry again.
Shrimp farming in the main season often encounters extremely hot weather. Although Mr. Quy has applied solutions to prevent heat for shrimp, such as regulating the water level in the pond to keep the water from getting hot, increasing water fans, and using biological products to decompose organic matter and limit algae growth, it is not effective because the climate is increasingly harsh, with sudden sun and rain, shrimp are susceptible to heat shock.
Pointing to the relatively new net house, Mr. Quy said that now, to raise shrimp safely, there is no other way but to build a net house. In early 2023, his family invested 150 million VND to build a 250m wide net house.2to raise shrimp. In the house covered by blue net, sunlight does not shine directly on the water surface, the temperature feels much cooler than outside.
In the greenhouse, Mr. Quy also built many cement tanks and invested in installing a high-tech shrimp farming system, raising shrimp in many stages. Currently, the new batch of shrimp has been released for 7 days, so he is present every day to operate the aeration system and water fans.
“Investing in building a net house not only makes it convenient to raise shrimp in the hot summer but is also suitable for the low temperature winter, so each year you can raise 3-4 batches of shrimp, giving high productivity. However, building a net house requires high investment costs, while the economic conditions of most shrimp farmers are still difficult, so not every pond owner can do it. Therefore, a family with 1 hectare of pond but currently has only invested in building a house to cover the net, which is only 250m long.2The remaining pond area is still being raised outdoors, which is high risk," said Mr. Ho Nghia Quy.
Mr. Nguyen Cuong in Hamlet 2, Dien Trung Commune (Dien Chau) has had many years of success in shrimp farming, so he has experience in handling the hot season. According to Mr. Cuong, for ponds that have been lined with tarpaulin, use a sun-blocking net stretched over the top to limit solar radiation, reduce pond water temperature increase, limit algae growth and avoid shocking the shrimp. As for earthen ponds, always provide enough water, ensure depth and increase aeration fans to cool to avoid temperature stratification, as well as provide oxygen for farmed shrimp.
However, that was the story of the past, but now his family has invested in high-tech shrimp farming on the entire 5 hectares of ponds. High-tech shrimp farming is disease-free, selling 4-5 batches of shrimp each year, so the economic efficiency is much higher than outdoor shrimp farming.
Over 156 hectares of multi-stage shrimp farming
Nghe AnEvery year, more than 2,300 hectares of brackish water shrimp are raised in the localities of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Hoang Mai town and Vinh city. The annual shrimp output reaches nearly 10,000 tons. In recent years, shrimp farmers in the province have increasingly invested in high-tech shrimp farming.
Mr. Le Van Huong - Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control said that because outdoor shrimp farming is risky, especially in the hot season, the application of advanced technical processes and high technology in shrimp farming is increasingly attracting people's attention, in order to adapt to increasingly severe weather changes.
Accordingly, currently in the whole province, there are 81 facilities applying the multi-stage shrimp farming model with an area of 136.75 hectares. Of which, there are 21 floating shrimp farming facilities with 35.4 hectares, increasing productivity, product quality, shrimp productivity reaching 15-20 tons/ha/crop. To facilitate the management and supervision of the production process, many large-scale aquaculture production facilities have installed camera equipment and updated data on the computer system.
Experts recommend that in the hot summer, in addition to choosing good, healthy, quarantined shrimp, shrimp farmers should regularly check the water level in the pond, ensure the pond depth is always 1.5m and increase water fans to maintain the amount of oxygen in the pond. These are important factors to avoid thermal stratification. Ensure the surface and bottom of the pond are always cool and have enough oxygen for the shrimp.
