Cage fish in Hai Duong 'revive'

Convenient, good price

On the Thai Binh River, passing through Thai Tan Commune (Nam Sach), the scene of hundreds of fish cages being slanted and crushed after the historic storm and flood that occurred in September is no longer there. Instead, farmers are actively tending to cages of carp, red tilapia, and catfish to serve the Tet market in time.

Vice Chairman of Thai Tan Commune People's Committee (Nam Sach) Dinh Ba Ha said that after the recent storm and flood, the whole commune had 70 fish cages sunk and drifted, many cages were damaged. After the storm passed and the water receded, most cage fish farmers quickly started to restore production.

To date, the entire commune has about 430 fish cages that have been restored and are operating normally. "After the storm, the weather was favorable, fish prices increased, which also contributed to motivating farmers," Mr. Ha informed.

Mr. Hoang Dinh Chinh in Mac Binh village just threw the ladles of animal feed into the water, the crispy carp and red tilapia immediately surfaced, fighting for the food. Mr. Chinh said: "After the recent flood, the water source of Thai Binh river seems clean, so the fish are healthy and less susceptible to disease than before. My family has 42 fish cages that have been restored, of which 25 will be sold right on the upcoming Tet holiday."

After the flood, Mr. Chinh was lucky to keep 10 cages of crispy carp. Recently, he sold them at the raft for 115,000-120,000 VND/kg, 5,000-10,000 VND/kg higher than before the storm. In total, he earned about 50 million VND in profit from each cage. The cages of fish raised for the upcoming Tet market have been booked by traders in Hanoi, so he is very excited.

Ha Thanh commune has nearly 600 fish cages, the most in Tu Ky district. Up to now, more than 20 fish cages of local people that were sunk or overturned due to the impact of storms and floods have been restored.

Thanks to proactive protection in advance, many families in Ha Thanh commune were able to keep their fish cages after the recent storm and flood. "After the storm and flood, caged fish were scarce and the selling price was higher than before, so people were excited. The weather during this period was favorable, the river water was cleaner, so the restoration of the caged fish farming area is going quite well," said Chairman of Ha Thanh Commune People's Committee Pham Xuan Thuc.

On the Luoc River, through Huu Chung village, 8 cages of grass carp, red tilapia, and catfish of Mr. Nguyen Van Thang's family are growing and developing well. Mr. Thang shared: "After the storm, I sold 2 cages of grass carp that were still preserved, the price was higher than before, so I have the motivation to continue investing in raising them. I have 2 cages of fish that are expected to be sold during the upcoming Tet holiday, I just hope the weather is favorable."

Still thirsty for capital

After the recent historic storm and flood, along with increasing propaganda and dissemination of techniques for preventing and treating aquatic diseases, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong actively coordinated and called on businesses supplying breeds and animal feed to support cage fish farmers.

Carggill Vietnam in Hung Yen and HAID Hai Duong have supported Hai Duong farmers with 2 million tilapia fry, 10 tons of animal feed and nearly VND20 million in cash to help farmers in some districts in the province restore production. Some businesses and agents have extended debt and reduced VND5,000-7,000/bag of animal feed for cage fish farmers...

However, many cage fish farmers are still facing difficulties and are in dire need of support. Mr. Do Van Ton in An Thuong commune (Hai Duong city) had all 7 fish cages on the Thai Binh river "wiped out" by storms and floods, causing a loss of more than 1 billion VND. Because he had mortgaged all his assets to borrow from the bank, he currently does not know where to get the resources to reinvest in cage fish farming. "I borrowed money from acquaintances but only enough to restore 2 cages. Now I just hope the bank will create conditions to defer debt, reduce interest rates and expand loan sources so that production can gradually be restored as before," said Mr. Ton.

After the storm, Mr. Do Danh Chuc in Hung Thang village, Minh Tan commune (Nam Sach) had to invest about 700 million VND to repair and replace damaged fish cage frames and nets, but production has not been restored as before. He is in a situation of lacking capital to reinvest but cannot borrow more. Mr. Chuc shared: "We no longer have collateral, so borrowing a new loan is impossible. So I hope that banks will consider expanding the loan amount based on the mortgaged assets. The additional loan amount will help us renovate the facilities and have the conditions to pay for animal feed."

The price of cage fish feed is currently high at about 440,000 VND/bag for immediate payment and 460,000 VND/bag for deferred payment. Mr. Dao Minh Thiem, Chairman of the Cage Fish Association of Ha Thanh Commune (Tu Ky) proposed that the government have a policy to stabilize the price of animal feed so that people can restore animal husbandry. Enterprises and agents should extend the payment time for animal feed to households until it is sold.