Farmers raise crabs and oysters to serve tourists

(Baonghean) - In recent years, the model of raising brackish water crabs and oysters... in coastal communes of Nghe An has been effective.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, brackish water crab farming is a sustainable direction, contributing to increasing income and stabilizing the lives of coastal people. Therefore, Dien Chau district is continuing to direct coastal people to expand the area from 15 hectares to 20 hectares.

Crabs are a species that is disease-free, has moderate costs, and can be harvested after only 4 months of good care. With an average yield of 0.7 tons/ha/year, crab farming brings in an income of over 250 million VND/ha/year.

Mr. Phan Van Trung in Quyet Thang hamlet, Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau) harvests crabs. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Phan Van Trung in Quyet Thang hamlet, Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau) specializes in raising sea crabs. He said: After attending a training course on aquaculture and seafood farming organized by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Trung decided to try raising brackish water crabs. According to Mr. Trung, from 1989 to now, on his family's 3-hectare pond, he has raised many types of seafood, but brackish water crabs bring the highest economic efficiency and the least risk. To have commercial crabs to harvest during the sea tourism season, he started releasing the fry in September this year, and will harvest in April next year.

This year's crab season, Mr. Trung's family raised 10,000 crabs on an area of ​​1 hectare; with an investment capital of 50 million VND, when the crabs reach a weight of 5 crabs/kg, it is estimated that they will harvest 1 ton of commercial crabs, equivalent to about 350 million VND. Sharing his experience in raising crabs, Mr. Trung said: Crabs do not need to be cared for regularly like other seafood. The main food of crabs is small fish in the pond, occasionally changing the "taste" for crabs with bran and corn. Usually in 1 day, when there is no time to feed them, crabs still live on the available food in the pond; when the water is polluted or lacks oxygen, crabs can climb to the shore and still stay healthy.

Quynh Luu district has strengths in clam farming and a large open market, so up to now there have been hundreds of hectares of coastal clams. Mr. Bui Xuan Truc - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district said: The whole district currently has 140 hectares of commercial clam farming area, concentrated along the tidal flats of Quynh Tho, Son Hai, Quynh Thuan, An Hoa communes... Clam farming in the tidal flats is done by people in an intensive manner. The district's annual clam output reaches 2,800 - 3,000 tons/year. Sea clams are a clean seafood, so they are favored by customers and widely consumed throughout the country.

Oyster farming on the Mai Giang River. Photo: Archive

In Quynh Luu district, oyster farming is still being developed, with nearly 20 existing rafts, producing 20 tons of oyster shells/year; and commercial white-leg shrimp farming is being strongly developed with an area of ​​450 hectares of intensive shrimp farming. The district strives to have an aquaculture area of ​​about 2,350 - 2,450 hectares by 2020 (including the area of ​​direct farming in the lake and cage farming on the surface of the reservoir), with an output of 11,000 - 12,000 tons.

Nghe An currently has more than 1,700 hectares of brackish and saltwater farming area. Of which, 1,500 hectares are for shrimp, 155 hectares for clams and oysters, and 95 hectares for crabs, fish, and other seafood. Each year, the output of brackish and saltwater farming reaches nearly 10,000 tons, including 6,000 tons of shrimp, 3,500 tons of clams and oysters, and nearly 300 tons of crabs and other species. According to the province's aquaculture development plan, the target by 2020 is that the brackish and saltwater farming area in the whole province will reach 1,800 hectares, with an output of 12,000 tons of all kinds.

Xuan Hoang