Floating cages at sea to breed fish in Phú Quốc. The island city is developing cage farming in combination with tourism. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

KIÊN GIANG — Many farmers on Phú Quốc Island, off the coast of the southern province Kiên Giang, farm marine creatures in cages at sea and combine it with tourism to earn high incomes.

The island city is well-known for its beautiful landscapes, especially beaches.

Trần Quốc Trung in Gành Dầu Commune’s Rạch Vẹm Hamlet, who raises cobia, grouper, pacific oyster, and other marine species, is among those who offer tourism services.

He has built small houses on top of his floating cages to accommodate tourists, who watch and feed the fish, and also offers boarding.

In the past he used to catch aquatic species close to shore using a small boat, and his family had a difficult life then.

But after some friends taught him how to farm fish in floating cages, he switched to it.

He now hires four to six workers to tend the fish and serve tourists.

Following the success of the model, he established the Gành Hàu Aquaculture Agriculture Services Co-operative in 2018, and it now boasts 33 members.

According to Lê Đình Quảng, chairman of the city Farmers Association, the model is very effective as farmers have incomes from both fish and tourism.

They do not have to worry about selling their produce either since most of it is consumed by the visitors and in fact sometimes have a shortage.

The city is zoning marine caged aquaculture to ensure sustainable development and production of high-quality and safe products.

It is establishing concentrated areas for floating cages to safeguard the environment, cope with natural disasters and prevent disease outbreaks.

It is also creating favourable conditions for farmers to breed wildlife such as deer, boars, crocodiles, and soft-shell turtles. — VNS