Mộ Đức district of Quảng Ngãi province is carrying out some trials on farming sweet-snails together with sea-cucumbers, applying advanced technology to take use of feed, reduce diseases and raise farmers’ income.
The first trial is conducted by Lê Châu (Đức Phong commune, Mộ Đức district) with farming areas of 4,000 m2, stocking over one million young sweet-snails (average size is 3,200 pcs/kg) and 2,500 young sea-cucumbers (average size is 120 pcs/kg).
The ponds are divided into two parts by small mesh plate with 40% of the ponds used for sweet-snail farming and 60% for sea-cucumber. After 60 days, Châu checks sweet-snails and sea-cucumbers for survival rate; then separate these two species.Once sea-cucumbers weigh up 12-15 pcs/kg, the mesh plate is removed. The environment must be checked regularly with pH 7.2-7.3, salinity 33-34%, water degree 26-290C; the bottom layer should be sand and muddy sand mixed Mollusca shells.
Sweet-snails produce a large amount of organic substance harmful to the environment; however sea-cucumber will be in charge of bio-purifying the farming ponds.
Farmers can harvest sweet-snails and sea-cucumbers after six or seventh months. Châu is farming over 4 million sweet-snails and sea-cucumbers with sea-cucumbers weighing up 4 pcs/kg and sweet-snails 150 pcs/kg by December. He is provided with 100% young species, 50% material cost and full technique instructions andfunded for implementation of the system. He is in charge of feed, electricity and labors. Sweet-snails are sold at 200,000 dong/kg, sea-cucumbers 200,000 – 250,000 dong/kg, making farmers earn profit of 500 million dong from each harvest.
VFM
