Raising fish using 'river-in-pond' technology earns billions in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Dau Duc Kinh in Quynh Van commune is the first person to introduce the technology of "creating rivers in fish ponds" in Quynh Luu. After 2 years of building the model, he has earned billions of dong.

Mr. Dau Duc Kinh’s family has 10 hectares of ponds specializing in raising freshwater fish such as tilapia, grass carp, bighead carp, common carp, snakehead fish, etc. Every year, he releases millions of fish fry of all kinds. However, the fish mortality rate is about 20% due to the water in the pond being too hot in the summer, the fish suffocating due to stagnant water lacking oxygen, or due to the methane concentration being too high due to the amount of fish excrement.

Fish farming model using "river-in-pond" technology of Mr. Dau Duc Kinh in Quynh Van commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Nhu Thuy

From that reality, through visits to learn about applying new technology to livestock farming in the southern provinces, in January 2016, Mr. Kinh boldly invested more than 800 million VND to build a model of "creating a river in a pond" to raise fish. On a 2-hectare pond area, he separated and built 4 cement tanks in the middle of the pond in the shape of a waterfall, installed an aeration system, created a strong flow and an automatic machine to suck fish waste out.

After the system was completed, he raised more than 60,000 tilapia. This is a large fish breed weighing 1-2kg/fish, with thick meat, so when raised using the river system, the fish will move a lot with the flow, helping the quality of the fish to be firmer and more delicious.

Each cement tank has an aerator that creates water waves, and an automatic waste suction system that leads to a drainage ditch to keep the water environment clean. Photo: Nhu Thuy

Up to now, after nearly 2 years of testing the model has been successful. In the first year, Mr. Kinh recovered his capital, in the second year he made a profit of nearly 1 billion VND/year through 3 fishing seasons.

"In the coming time, I will continue to invest in renovating the remaining 8 hectares to apply pond river creation technology to mass farming of all fish breeds, in order to improve economic efficiency," said Mr. Kinh.

Fish waste is sucked into a separate settling tank that is treated with disinfectant before being discharged. Photo: Nhu Thuy

According to Mr. Dau Duc Nam - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district, after inspecting and evaluating the model of creating rivers in Mr. Kinh's freshwater fish pond, the district assessed this as a new technology with high efficiency. This method has solved the difficulties of the people such as reducing the rate of fish death due to water pollution, improving meat quality; especially the fish are raised continuously and regularly without having to wait for pond treatment. In the near future, the district will organize for households to visit the model and replicate it on a large scale.

Nhu Thuy