Marine fish bred in floating cages in Phú Quốc. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

KIÊN GIANG — Kiên Giang Province aims to develop its marine aquaculture to an industrial scale while also protecting the environment and combining it with tourism.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has great potential for marine aquaculture with its coastline of 200km, more than 100 river mouths and 143 islands.

Quảng Trọng Thao, deputy director of its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province has large fishing grounds with many high-value species.

Its marine aquaculture is now done mostly on islands.

Islands in Kiên Hải and Kiên Lương districts and Phú Quốc and Hà Tiên cities mostly farm fish species such as cobia, grouper and yellow pomfret in floating cages.

Coastal areas in An Minh, An Biên, Hòn Đất and Kiên Lương districts raise bivalve molluscs in mud flats, mangrove forests and shrimp ponds.

The province has the largest number of floating cages in the delta, 3,600, and an annual output of 3,900 tonnes of various species.

In Kiên Hải District, farmers have more than 1,170 of the cages, mostly in Hòn Tre, Lại Sơn, An Sơn, and Nam Du communes.

Nguyễn Thành Công of Hòn Tre Island has 40 cages in which he raises fishes like cobia, grouper and yellow pomfret.

He harvests 35-40 tonnes a year and earns a profit of VNĐ700 million - 1 billion (US$29,000-41,200), he said.

“My family … is using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) floating cages on a trial basis and they are more efficient than traditional wooden floating cages.”

HDPE could cope better with strong waves and winds than traditional wooden floating cages and fish raised in them would grow fast, he said.

Tô Diễm Thuý, director of the Hòn Tre Commune Agriculture Cooperative, said aquaculture using cages had been done in Hòn Tre for more than 15 years with 43 households now having 300 of the cages.

Most had a profit margin of 20-30 per cent, she said.

“I hope there are incentives for buying HDPE floating cages. Besides, [farmers] need to have guaranteed outlets with reasonable prices to feel secure.”

Many farmers also let in tourists coming to admire their floating cages to earn an additional income.

In Phú Quốc, a world renowned tourist destination, farmers even build small houses on top of floating cages to accommodate tourists, who watch and feed the fish.

Their fish are mostly consumed by visitors, according to the city Farmers Association.

However, aquaculture farmers also face a number of difficulties such as small scale, use of trash fish as feed and disease outbreaks, according to the department.

Most of their fish and other species are bought by traders for domestic consumption and little is exported.

There is a lack of linkages between the various stakeholders.

To expand marine aquaculture to an industrial scale, the province will teach farmers new techniques, develop high-tech breeding models and linkages between the various stakeholders, according to the department.

It will issue licences and production codes to individuals and organisations breeding aquatic species who comply with regulations.

It will develop an environmental monitoring system, prevent and control diseases and improve the capability of officials who monitor water quality in breeding areas.

It will solicit investment in marine aquaculture and roll out policies to support a switch to industrial-scale marine aquaculture.

It will invest in infrastructure for marine aquaculture, support investors and solicit investment in production of feed for aquaculture, seafood processing for exports and farms that produce brood stock.

The province aims to have 7,500 floating cages for breeding marine aquatic species in 2025, including 1,900 floating cages using high-tech breeding methods, and 24,000ha for bivalve molluscs.

It aims to produce 29,870 tonnes of fish and 83,660 tonnes of bivalve molluscs a year by 2025. — VNS