Tapping Aquaculture Advantages

Aquatic diversityThe Kien Giang sea has a large diversified reserve of some 464,600 tonnes of seafood, accounting for 29 per cent of the total reserve in southern region. The province is proven to catch some 208,400 tonnes, or 44.0 per cent of the reserve. The surface varieties make up for some 51 per cent of the total reserve and the ground-layer species take up the rest. Several species are the main sources. For example, leiognathidae accounts for some 32 per cent of the reserve, anchovy family makes up 18.7 per cent, and sardine, mackerel and tuna families account for 7.0 per cent. Additionally, the province can catch 19,000 tonnes of shrimps per year. Besides, the Kien Giang sea is also home to many rare species such as tortoise shell, holothurians, blood cockle and gracilaria (an edible seaweed).

 

The province can develop salty, brackish water and freshwater fisheries. Therefore, together with natural catching, aquaculture has become a spearhead economic sector of the province. In the first eight months of 2009, Kien Giang harvested 84,077 tonnes of reared seafood, completing 69.07 per cent of the full-year plan and representing an increase of 42.97 per cent from the same period of 2009. Particularly, sugpo prawn output was 19,802 tonnes, fulfilling 73.34 per cent of the yearly plan and rising 2.37 per cent from the same period in 2008.

 

In recent years, most localities in the province encourage fishermen to develop aquaculture. Thus, the aquaculture advantage is increasingly improved. However, due to insufficient experience and techniques of local fishermen, the economic value of bred aquatic products is as high as in other provinces in the region.

 

Challenges for fishery sectorKien Giang has set a target of earning US$170 million from aquatic exports in 2009 but it attained only over US$50 million in the first eight months of the year, or less than 30 per cent of the plan. Many problems against the province’s fishery industry need to be solved. According to many experts, the general difficulty of the province’s fishery industry is the absence of a concentrated aquaculture zone that closely links with the market demand. Farmers lack quality baby shrimps and fishes to rear as local breeding units are capable of meeting 10 - 15 per cent of the demand and the remaining 85 - 90 per cent is made up by breeding units in the central region. Higher costs, lower production efficiency and unstable market demand usually cause dilemma to fishermen: When they have a bumper harvest, the selling price is extremely low, and vice versa. In addition, farmers are still using impurities to feed fishes.

 

At a recent meeting on orientations to build market-based fishery production zone, Mr Lam Hoang Sa, Vice Chairman of Kien Giang People’s Committee, stressed: From researches, analyses and scientific data, the agricultural authorities proposed building five market-based fishery production zones. Accordingly, Kien Luong will be designed for sugpo prawn, whiteleg shrimp; Kien Hai, Phu Quoc and Kien Luong districts will rear cage-fish; An Bien, An Minh and Vinh Thuan districts will raise shrimp in rice fields; Tan Hiep will breed tra catfish, and Giong Rieng and Go Quao districts will rear macrobrachium rosenbergii (a type of giant freshwater prawn).

 

The Kien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed plans to build four fish-rearing ecological zones. U Minh Thuong region with favourable natural conditions can develop a variety of fish species (salty water, brackish water and freshwater). The combination of shrimp-rice cultivation on 65,000 hectares can produce 20,000 tonnes of shrimps per year. The blood cockle can be raised on 3,000 hectares of seashore water surface, with expected output of 6,000 tonnes a year. Sea crab (reared alone or in combination with shrimp farms) will be reared on an area of 2,000 hectares. The Long Xuyen Rectangle can raise sugpo prawns and whiteleg shrimps on an area of 1,500 hectares and turn out some 10,000 tonnes a year. The region on the west bank of the Hau River can breed freshwater varieties such as tra, mullet, anabas and macrobrachium rosenbergii. Coastal localities and islands like Kien Hai, Phu Quoc, Kien Luong and Ha Tien can raise caged fishes.
Minh Thu