Freshwater fish farming in Thanh Chuong

(Baonghean) - Taking advantage of abundant water resources from dams, streams and low-lying areas, many people in Thanh Chuong district have developed freshwater fish farming models that bring high economic efficiency.

Thanh Chuong has 7 large dams and more than 200 large and small dams. This is an advantage that the local people are taking advantage of to develop a freshwater fish farming model. Regarding Thanh Tung, the Cay Vai, Con Song and Lua Chua dam areas are known as the commune's large fish farming areas. Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh in Tan Phuong hamlet, who raised fish on an area of ​​4 hectares in the Lua Chua dam area, said: "Previously, people raised fish mainly to serve their family's needs, and if they did, they only sold them in small quantities because they did not invest in care. However, when realizing that the market demand was quite large and the conditions here were favorable for raising many types of fish, people invested in raising them. In addition to industrial feed, we also take advantage of available feed sources such as bran powder, cassava pulp, and vegetables, which reduces costs and the fish grow very quickly. In the next few months, the family is expected to harvest about 600 to 700 kg of fish."

Mastering the characteristics of each type of fish as well as basic techniques in improving the farming area, caring for and treating fish diseases are important factors to improve the economic efficiency of these models. With a farming area of ​​more than 3.5 hectares on the Cay Vai dam, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong shared: “Grass carp, tilapia, common carp, bighead carp, etc. are easy to raise and have few diseases. The food source is taken advantage of from agricultural by-products available in the family such as termites, worms, cassava leaves, grass, rice bran, so the fish grow quickly and have quite delicious meat. It is estimated that each year on the farming area of ​​the family, the profit is nearly 30 million VND”. Assessing the economic efficiency of fish farming in the dam lake area in the area, Mr. Nguyen Lam Dung, Secretary of the Thanh Tung Commune Party Committee, added: “In addition to the advantage of tea trees, people here also take advantage of the dam lake area, streams and creeks to develop freshwater fish farming models. In the past year, there were more than 11 aquaculture villages with a total area of ​​42 hectares. This is one of the directions to help stabilize the economy for people in mountainous areas.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Truong harvests fish at Cay Vai dam in Thanh Tung commune.

In Thanh Hung commune, farmers have developed a form of rice-fish farming with an area of ​​about 20 hectares. Taking advantage of the areas of ponds and low-lying areas, people here often cultivate alternately, increasing income on the same field. Mr. Phan Dinh Hy (Hamlet 2) - a rice-fish farming household in Bau Trau said: "Rice-fish farming has many advantages, because the fish eat insects that harm rice, stir up mud, and kill weeds; at the same time, when harvesting, the fish eat spilled rice and rotten straw. Fish raised in rice fields because of using natural food are delicious in quality and sell for a good price."

Not only stopping at the simple fish + rice method, Mr. Tran Trong Thang in Hamlet 5, Thanh Hung also combines it with duck farming for an income of nearly 100 million VND per year. He said: “Taking advantage of the low-lying rice growing area in Bau Coi, the family applies the fish - rice - duck model for quite stable economic efficiency. The important thing is to have a firm grasp of the technique to have a suitable farming process. After the first month, when the rice begins to flower, when the root system is firmly developed, then the ducks can be released into the field. During the rice flowering period, ducks are only grazed in the ponds and ditches surrounding the field. Only when harvesting, release ducks into the field to take advantage of spilled rice and other baits. As for fish, after harvesting the rice, it is necessary to continue raising them for a short time, about 2 to 3 weeks, before pulling the net.”

Mr. Nguyen Canh Hanh, Chairman of Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee shared: "According to calculations, rice cultivation combined with fish farming brings economic efficiency 2.5 times higher than monoculture rice cultivation. As for households that practice the method of fish - rice combined with duck grazing, the economic efficiency is dozens of times higher, bringing in hundreds of millions of VND in income each year. Every year, people in the commune mainly raise fish in the winter to avoid the hot season and have a supply for the market before Tet."

Thanh Quynh