Floating cages for breeding fish and other aquatic creatures in Ninh Thuận Province’s Ninh Hải District. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Thử

NINH THUẬN — The south-central province of Ninh Thuận is expanding aquaculture and breeding diversified aquatic species.

It has great potential for developing marine aquaculture as it has a coastline of more than 100km, and clean sea water with high and consistent salinity.

According to Đặng Văn Tín, head of the province’s Fisheries sub-department, aquaculture has developed rapidly and efficiently in past years and the breeding of many high-value aquatic species has expanded.

The province had 3,560 floating cages for breeding lobsters as of last month, mostly in Ninh Hải and Thuận Nam districts.

It also had about 800 floating cages for breeding grouper, cobia, pomfret and other marine fish species.

Oysters, mud crabs and blue-legged crabs are bred under advanced farming and caged aquaculture in Đầm Nai lagoon in Ninh Hải District.

Farmers in the district’s coastal areas have developed breeding brackish water fish in ponds on a total of 49ha.

In the mountainous districts of Ninh Sơn, Thuận Bắc and Bác Ái, farmers are breeding fresh water fish such as red tilapia, snake-head fish and big-head catfish under mono breeding or fish-rice farming methods, and breed sturgeon in cement pools.

The province’s aquaculture is stable as fish and other aquatic creatures grew well and their prices were high in the first eight months of the year, according to the sub-department.

During the period, the province is estimated to have harvested aquaculture output of 7,120 tonnes, up 1.8 per cent against the same period last year.

The price of fish and other aquatic creatures have been high because of growing demand, and this helps farmers have high incomes and stable livelihoods.

The price of scalloped spiny lobster is VNĐ630,000-730,000 (US$26-30) a kilo and tropical spiny lobster is VNĐ1.7-2.5 million ($70-100) a kilo.

The prices of marine fish such as cobia, pomfret and grouper are between VNĐ190,000-270,000 ($8-11) a kilo.

However, the breeding scale of marine aquaculture is not large and floating cages are rudimentary and are not secure when there are strong winds and waves.

To develop aquaculture sustainably, the sub-department will co-operate with relevant departments, agencies and localities to strictly inspect aquaculture, including breeding areas and floating cages.

Farmers will be instructed on farming schedules in each locality, using high quality aquatic fry and suitable breeding density.

The sub-department will tighten inspections of breeding environments and publicise legal regulations about aquaculture to the public.

It will instruct farmers to apply standard criteria for breeding shrimp and keep a breeding diary to serve origin traceability.

It will expand effective breeding models to more farmers to learn and apply.

The province aims to develop a marine aquaculture area of 575ha with an annual output of 2,500 tonnes by 2025.

It is one of the country’s largest shrimp fry producers, producing about 35 per cent of the country’s shrimp fry output.

It produced 26.6 million shrimp fry in the first eight months of the year, up 2.3 per cent against the same period last year, according to the sub-department.

Shrimp fry is one of the province’s 12 special products and up to 90 per cent of its shrimp fry are sold to other provinces and cities. — VNS