For sustainable development of the aquaculture industry

Clam farming area in Nam Thinh commune (Tien Hai).

Many aquaculture models are highly effective.

With the advantage of natural conditions, Thai Thuy district has many solutions to promote the development of aquaculture, contributing to promoting economic growth and increasing income for farmers. Visiting the high-tech shrimp farming model of Mr. Pham Duc Bang, Thai Thuong commune while focusing on preparing for the spring-summer crop. Mr. Bang shared: In recent years, I have invested more than 4 billion VND to build 4 shrimp farming tanks in canvas houses with a total area of ^5,000m2 . The shrimp farming area is equipped with modern equipment such as aerators, temperature meters, automatic feeders, surveillance cameras... Since starting to raise high-tech shrimp, I have been able to maintain production of 4 crops a year thanks to technology that controls the temperature, environment and food of shrimp. Shrimp are raised in clean water and according to standard processes, so they are about 40 shrimp/kg in size. Each crop yields about 4 - 5 tons of shrimp. The effectiveness of aquaculture in coastal areas has been confirmed to bring high economic efficiency.

Regarding freshwater aquaculture, in recent times, specialized agencies and localities have also had many solutions for development such as semi-floating pond models and planning areas for raising specialty aquatic species. At the end of 2019, Mr. Pham Van Tinh's family in Binh Dinh commune (Kien Xuong) requested to convert 5.5 hectares of ineffective rice land of the collective and some households to implement a model of making semi-floating ponds for raising freshwater fish. Up to now, Mr. Tinh's family has been in production for 3 years, excluding costs of seeds and feed, each year earns more than 800 million VND in profit. On average, each hectare earns about 160 million VND/year.

The above two models are two of thousands of successful aquaculture models, bringing high economic efficiency to farmers, gradually eliminating poverty and legitimately enriching the homeland.

Promoting sustainable aquaculture development

66 years ago, in late March and early April 1959, President Ho Chi Minh visited fishing villages and fishermen on Tuan Chau and Cat Ba islands. Here, he taught: "Our silver sea is owned by our people". To commemorate this historical event and in accordance with the wishes of cadres, civil servants, workers and a large number of fishermen, determined to carry out his teachings, on March 18, 1995, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 173/QD-TTg officially taking April 1 every year as the traditional day of the Vietnamese fisheries industry. Mr. Hoang Minh Giang, Head of the Department of Sea and Fisheries, said: The sustainable development of Vietnam's fisheries industry has the contribution of Thai Binh fisheries with the orientation of sustainable development, increasing production value associated with the protection and development of aquatic resources and the ecological environment.

Thai Binh has a 54km long coastline with many potentials and strengths for developing the marine economy. In recent years, the Party Committee and authorities at all levels have had many policies and solutions to promote the development of the fisheries sector, especially focusing on sustainable exploitation and aquaculture. In particular, increasing the application of scientific advances and new technical processes in production to improve productivity, output, and production efficiency per unit area, creating aquatic products with economic value to meet market demand. Developing a variety of objects and forms of farming in saltwater, brackish and freshwater areas such as farming white-leg shrimp, Moana tiger prawn, grouper, American red snapper, catfish, and high-value worm farming areas. The field of seafood exploitation is a long-standing traditional occupation of Thai Binh fishermen. From a private fishing profession operating in near-shore waters, the structure of vessels has now shifted towards increasing offshore fishing vessels, reducing near-shore fishing vessels, and applying technology to exploit aquatic products of high economic value. Fishermen in the province have invested in building many new fishing vessels and logistics service vessels, applying advanced technology to preserve products after harvest, improving the quality and value of products. Equipping and using communication equipment such as short-range radios, long-range radios, GPS devices, and journey monitoring devices to ensure the safety of people and vehicles during the process of exploiting seafood at sea.

In the field of seafood processing, Thai Binh has contributed products for domestic consumption, exported many quality products such as clams, fish sauce, shrimp... which have been exported to the markets of Southeast Asia and European countries. The work of protecting and developing aquatic resources has received increasing attention from all levels, sectors, organizations and the response of the people in the province. People's awareness has been increasingly raised in complying with regulations on exploitation, protection and development of aquatic resources, especially the work of preventing and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The rapid and sustainable development of the fisheries sector, especially the production force, aquaculture, exploitation and fishing infrastructure, has significantly improved the economic, cultural and social life of the people. Production results in 2024, aquaculture area reached 15,365.09 hectares, aquaculture output reached 188.8 thousand tons, up 0.5% compared to 2023. Estimated seed production output reached 565.4 million. The whole province has 731 fishing boats, total capacity reached 143,891CV, exploitation output reached 291.7 thousand tons. The total production value of the fishery industry reached 6,073 billion VND, up 2.27% compared to 2023, contributing positively to the overall growth rate in the agricultural sector and economic development of the province.

To develop sustainable aquaculture in the coming period, Thai Binh province has many solutions to develop aquaculture in each region and locality. Actively transform the structure of aquaculture, apply high-tech agricultural production to bring new methods to people raising aquatic products, change farming practices based on traditional experience and techniques. Well perform the task of state management of aquaculture, exploitation and protection of aquatic resources according to the provisions of the Law on Fisheries and documents guiding the implementation of the Law; direct and guide organizations and individuals producing aquatic products to accumulate land, invest in infrastructure, apply science and technology to adapt to climate change, link product consumption to improve efficiency, increase value and develop sustainably.