Freshwater fish farmers in Hải Phong commune of Hải Lăng district, Quảng Trị province have recently invested into and shifted to a boat-shaped floating farm model.
Taking advantage of water surface in the Ô Giang river which goes through the commune, many households, who have devoted themselves into the fishery industry beside marine exploitation, have shifted to a boat-shaped floating farm model.
Nguyễn Hữu Đông, a land official in Hải Phong commune of Hải Lăng district, Quảng Trị province, said “the commune has around 90 fish cages, with two third being cages of freshwater eel”.
Phạm Văn Một, one of the local experienced fishermen related to boat-shaped floating farms said “We started with a boat-shaped floating farm about 15 years ago and we have raised our income”.
Once bamboo or net cages, he invested 15 million dong in making three boat-shape floating farms, with local authorities financing 3 million/cage three years ago.
“My cage is around 6m long, 2m wide and the body is drifted. The end of the cage is installed pointing at the watershed and fixed in the river. The air in this kind of cage is cool, helping fish weigh up well and preventing fish from infecting with diseases. The longevity of this cage is up to tens of years and it won’t be washed away by flood. After some crops, I recognize the advantages of this cage and feel assured with it”, said Một.
Một added that local fishermen focus on cultivating freshwater eel and catfish. He has two cages of freshwater eel (200 fries and valued at 200 million dong each) and one cage of catfish (around 500 fries). “It takes two years to harvest freshwater eel and the average profit reaches around 100 million dong/cage. Catfish brings lower profit and takes longer time to harvest (around 3-4 months).
Nguyễn Hữu Đông, a land official in Hải Lăng district, said that most households related to commercial freshwater eel and catfish have shifted to the boat-shaped floating farm to replace square steel cages, bamboo cages and net cages so as to increase the efficiency and adapt to climate change and the current of the river.
VFM
