"Reckless" decision
Following the Kinh Thay River dike, we visited the fish cage area of Mr. Luong Quang Nam, Director of Thu Nam Toan Tri Hai Cooperative in Nam Tan Commune (Nam Sach). In addition to familiar fish such as crispy carp and crispy grass carp, Mr. Nam also raises sturgeon.
Since 2022, members of the Thu Nam Toan Tri Hai Cooperative in Nam Sach have made a somewhat daring decision to experiment with sturgeon farming right in Hai Duong. Mr. Nam recalls that at that time, he and some members of the cooperative went to Sa Pa (Lao Cai) - one of the places where sturgeon are raised in the North. The trips helped them gain a lot of knowledge about the growth and development characteristics of this fish species as well as learn from experience in the farming process.
Sturgeon has high economic value but requires farming techniques, large investment capital, especially food sources and breeds. This fish species is very "difficult", requiring strict care and disease prevention processes, and stricter temperature conditions than other fish species. What is special is that sturgeon only lives when the water temperature is cold and must be raised for more than 1 year before being harvested. "After studying and understanding the growth characteristics and living environment, we realized that with the climate in Hai Duong, the period from October to March of the following year is most suitable for raising sturgeon. Because at this time the weather is cool and cold, the water temperature also decreases," said Mr. Nam.
That is why the sturgeon fish, when purchased and transported by Thu Nam Toan Tri Hai Cooperative from Sa Pa to Hai Duong, had been raised for more than half a year. The fish were quite large, each weighing more than 500 grams, with a price of 180,000-200,000 VND/fish. The transportation process had to ensure conditions such as water temperature, oxygen, etc. In the first few times, due to the long distance and lack of experience, many fish died before being put into the cage.
After bringing the fish home, farmers must help them get used to their new environment. This is also the time when farmers are busy, having to closely monitor the fish every hour to promptly detect any unusual signs and adjust the amount of food accordingly. When young, sturgeon need more protein than other fish, so farmers often feed them earthworms; then gradually switch to feeding them bran.
First step to harvest "sweet fruit"
At first, Mr. Nam and the other members of the cooperative were quite worried, and there were times when he couldn't help but doubt his own decision. He was so worried that he couldn't eat or sleep because he had no experience and wasn't sure what the results would be.
In addition to natural factors such as weather, temperature, environmental factors directly affect the development of sturgeon because this fish species only prefers clean water environments with currents and high levels of dissolved oxygen, otherwise the fish will easily get sick and die. Not only installing a camera system around the fish cage farming area, arranging aerators to ensure that the fish are provided with enough oxygen and create a continuous flow, but for sturgeon cages, Mr. Nam and other members of the cooperative also arrange and install underwater camera systems in the cage areas. Thereby, it is possible to regularly observe and quickly detect when the fish show unusual signs for timely handling.
In the first year of trial farming, the cooperative only raised 2 sturgeon cages. After a period of trial farming, in early 2023, the cooperative's first sturgeon cages were harvested with an average weight of 2-2.2 kg/fish, with an output of about 1.7 tons/cage. Sturgeon is sold for 210,000-230,000 VND/kg, at peak times it can reach 250,000 VND/kg, much higher than some types of fish such as crispy carp and crispy grass carp. Farmers earn a profit of 60-70 million VND/cage, 30% higher than raising crispy carp and crispy grass carp. “Following that initial success, at the end of 2023, the members expanded the farming scale to a total of more than 60 cages. At the beginning of 2024, sturgeon began to be harvested and this progress was accelerated this April,” said Mr. Nam.
The initial success in raising sturgeon by farmers in Nam Tan commune has contributed to diversifying aquatic species in Hai Duong, while opening up new opportunities for farmers, helping them increase their income.
HUYEN TRANGSource
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