Kim Son: Clam harvest, good price

Kim Son farmers classify clams before selling them.

Joyfully "picking the blessings" of the sea

We arrived in Kim Son on a mid-April night, driving along the Binh Minh III dike, where there were nearly a dozen clam gathering and processing points, all brightly lit and bustling with activity all night long. After a long day of harvesting at sea, clam boats now docked with hundreds, thousands of pure white clam skins neatly arranged on the deck. These clam skins were transferred to shore by a conveyor belt system and then quickly put into the screening, sorting, washing and packaging line. Outside the yard, dozens of trucks and refrigerated containers of purchasing companies were also gathered, ready to transport clams to the processing plant, packaged or sold fresh.

Kim Son farmers are busy harvesting clams.

Owning 60 hectares of clam farming, this is the 5th clam harvest this year for Mr. Nguyen Van Ho. Mr. Ho shared: The family has "harvested" 5 sessions and harvested a total of 10 tons of clams. The special thing this year is that almost none of the released clam seeds died, each one grew quickly and evenly. If last year, the family only harvested more than 1,000 tons, this year the output could be nearly double, that is 2,000 tons. The current consumption market is also very favorable, the selling price ranges from 14-25 thousand VND/kg depending on the size, about 1 thousand VND/kg higher than last year.

“It’s been a long time since we had such a big clam harvest. Earning billions is within reach,” Mr. Ho said excitedly.

Clam harvest season creates more jobs for local workers.

Sharing the same joy as Mr. Ho, Mr. Pham Viet Lam, Kim Hai commune, Kim Son district said: This year, due to favorable weather and no disease, the clams grew and developed well, the yield increased compared to last year. With 10 hectares of clam farming, this crop, the family estimates to harvest about 200 tons of commercial clams, after deducting expenses, the profit is about 1.5 billion VND.

The clam harvest and good prices not only make clam owners happy but also make seasonal workers in the area happy because they have more work and income. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngát, hamlet 1, Kim Dong commune, who sorts clams at a clam factory, said: From April to August is the peak clam harvest season, so workers like her have work almost every day. Because clam harvest depends on the tide, her work is done day and night, she goes to work whenever the clam boat arrives. Although it is hard work, she earns 300-500 thousand VND per day.

To ensure quality and freshness, clams are brought to factories for processing and classification immediately after harvest.

If only looking at success, few people know that clam farming is also full of ups and downs, hard work, it is like "throwing money into the sea". Mr. Le Thanh Ha, a clam farmer with more than 20 years of experience here, said that clams are easy to raise, just need to improve the farming ground, choose a suitable farming location and then release the fry, not feed them. However, because they live completely in the wild, clams are greatly affected by the environment and water source. They can be shocked by salinity, shock by fresh water, by frost, swept away by storms, harmful creatures such as crabs, fish, sea worms, oysters, barnacles... During the farming process, it is normal for 10 to 30% of clams to die, there are even years when clams die en masse, leaving farmers empty-handed.

According to Mr. Ha, the success of this year's clam crop can be considered a "blessing" from the sea bestowed upon us fishermen. However, it must be affirmed that this victory is partly due to the fact that in recent years, clam farmers have applied systematic technical processes in production, knowing how to choose quality breeds, calculating the size, and the appropriate release time...

It is known that this is the time when the clams give the best quality meat because the clams start to produce eggs, the meat will be fatter and sweeter. Moreover, the consumption market is favorable, so Kim Son clam farmers are actively harvesting to supply the market.

Confidently affirm quality

With 18 km of coastline, 2 large river mouths: Day and Can, and thousands of hectares of sandbanks continuously deposited with alluvium, Kim Son district has great advantages in developing clam farming. Around 2004 and 2005, clams were first introduced for experimental farming by local farmers and quickly became "fated" with this sea area. After more than 20 years, clam production, exploitation and processing have become an important source of livelihood for people in the coastal areas of Kim Son.

From the initial few dozen hectares, the clam farming area in the whole region has expanded to over 1,300 hectares with an annual output of about 24 thousand tons of commercial clams. Importantly, thanks to rare natural conditions, along with a methodical farming process, accumulated over many years of experience, Kim Son clams are increasingly asserting their quality in the market.

Since 2023, Kim Son clam farming area has been officially granted ASC certification by the global international certification organization Control Union, becoming the second clam farming area in Vietnam as well as the world to receive this international certification.

ASC stands for Aquaculture Stewardship Council. This is an independent, non-profit organization, established in 2009 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), to manage global standards for responsible aquaculture. ASC builds a set of certification standards based on four main foundations: environment, society, animal welfare and especially food safety. ASC is considered a VIP Visa to bring Kim Son clam products to many international markets. If previously Kim Son clams were only consumed in the domestic market and partly exported to China, now Kim Son clams are present in many major markets such as Europe, Asia, America...

Thanks to special natural conditions, Kim Son clams are uniform, have bright white color, fatty and sweet meat.

Ms. Do Thi Phuong Thao, Export Director of Lenger Vietnam Co., Ltd., assessed: Kim Son is one of the production areas with the best quality clams, the clams raised here have bright white color, uniform size, fatty and sweet clam meat. Currently, the Company is cooperating with farmers to produce and purchase clams on an area of ​​nearly 300 hectares that has been ASC certified. Accordingly, the entire production process is carried out in a closed chain from building raw material areas to preliminary processing and processing, which ensures traceability, as well as food safety factors, one of the strict requirements of the European market.

Participating in clam production according to ASC standards, Mr. Nguyen Van Ho said: By working with ASC, we farmers must commit to maintaining environmental criteria and clam quality, in return we will have a stable output with a better purchase price. This is helping us form a community of clean, valuable clam producers.

To accompany Kim Son clam farmers in building a sustainable clam farming area with high economic value, Mr. Vu Minh Hoang, Deputy Head of the Department of Fisheries, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: In the coming time, the unit will advise and propose to local authorities to complete the infrastructure of the farming area; guide the farming process and management of the farming area for fishermen. At the same time, effectively implement the bivalve mollusk monitoring program, ensuring food safety criteria; conduct periodic sampling to assess the environment and diseases to warn farmers to avoid risks and improve production efficiency.

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/kim-son-ngao-duoc-mua-duoc-gia-168982.htm