Faced with the forecast of prolonged heat and salinity intrusion occurring at a higher level than the average of many years by professional agencies, shrimp farmers in Kien Giang province have proactively implemented response solutions to minimize damage and impacts caused by drought and salinity.
According to the Kien Giang Hydrometeorological Station, saltwater intrusion will occur in the province from February to April 2025 at a level higher than the average of many years, with the highest salinity on Cai Lon and Cai Be rivers occurring at the end of March and April 2025.
The localities in the Upper U Minh region including An Minh, An Bien, Upper U Minh, and Vinh Thuan are areas often affected and damaged by drought and saltwater intrusion in recent years.
According to shrimp farmers, giant tiger prawns and white-leg shrimp live and grow well in environments with salinity from 5-20‰, green crabs can tolerate salinity from 10-25‰, and suitable temperatures from 25-32 degrees Celsius.
To limit damage caused by hot weather causing high salinity, farmers in the U Minh Thuong districts proactively renovate and dredge mud in canals and square bottoms before entering the main shrimp crop of the year, thereby helping to limit organic humus that causes toxic gases to be emitted when the weather is hot and the temperature increases.
Mr. Bui Van Trung, residing in Chin Xang Hamlet, Dong Hoa Commune (An Minh District, Kien Giang Province) said: “After harvesting the winter-spring rice crop, I dredge the mud at the bottom of the ditch to limit the accumulation of organic humus, which when exposed to hot weather creates toxic gases that affect farmed shrimp. During the farming process, I often use zeolite and probiotics to manage water quality and clean the bottom of the farming square.”
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, residing in Hamlet Chin A, Thuan Hoa Commune (An Minh District) said: "Before each time I supply water to the pond, I use a salinity measuring device outside the canal to avoid mistakenly taking water with too high salinity, making it difficult to create natural bait, making the shrimp stunted, slow to grow, and susceptible to disease."
In addition, on hot days, Mr. Tung keeps the water on the field at 60-70cm to limit the temperature difference between day and night, which is harmful to farmed shrimp. At the same time, he chooses good quality water to pump in.
Mr. Nguyen Van No, a shrimp farmer in Kinh Lang Dong hamlet, Dong Thai commune (An Bien district, Kien Giang province) releases shrimp into the pond in the context of increasing salinity in the rivers.
For Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan, residing in Ba Bien B hamlet, Nam Yen commune (An Bien), on hot days the pH level in the pond increases, so Mr. Tuan changes part of the water and increases the use of disinfectants to limit pathogens from entering the pond.
On days of heavy rain, Mr. Tuan spreads dolomite lime into the pond about 3m from the shore to prevent the pH from decreasing, and at the same time, sprinkles minerals to increase the resistance of shrimp and crab.
To proactively prevent and combat drought and salinity to protect production, An Minh and An Bien districts have deployed new construction and reinforcement of 29 seasonal salinity-preventing earth dams to protect rice in the 2024-2025 winter-spring crop and ensure domestic water for local people.
To cope with the hot weather and high salinity at the peak of the dry season, shrimp farmers take advantage of the opportunity to fill their ponds with water while the salinity is still low.
Mr. Tran Van Quan, residing in Kinh 1A Hamlet, Dong Thai Commune (An Bien District, Kien Giang Province) said: "To limit the high salinity affecting shrimp and crabs, I proactively fill the pond with water when the salinity is about 5‰.
During the farming process, I only pump in water, which also makes the salinity in the pond increase slowly compared to the actual salinity in the canals and ditches. To raise shrimp and crabs to reach the first size, I often raise tiger shrimp in two stages until they reach a size of about 10,000/kg, and when the crabs reach the size of the tip of the little finger, I release them into the large pond.
As for farmers in some coastal communes of An Bien and An Minh districts, green crabs are prioritized over tiger prawns and white-leg shrimp because green crabs have a high salinity tolerance and a higher selling price than shrimp, especially crabs with roe.
Source: https://danviet.vn/do-man-dang-tang-cao-nhat-o-song-nao-cua-kien-giang-dan-nuoi-tom-the-xu-ly-nguon-nuoc-ra-sao-20250303135045996.htm
Comment (0)