Mr. Nguyen Sy Binh is one of the pioneers in raising oysters on ropes and raising fish in cages in the Phat Co sea area (Ha Long commune, Van Don district). He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phat Co Cooperative (established in 2017) - the first bright spot in replacing floating materials in the province .
Having been involved in the aquaculture model for nearly 20 years, Mr. Binh knows very well how inappropriate the use of foam buoys is. Mr. Binh said: Foam buoys easily disintegrate, have a short lifespan, and are not very durable..., but he still uses them, because at that time there were no standards for floating materials in aquaculture, nor were there any replacement materials available, and foam buoys were cheap.
In 2019, when the HDPE plastic buoys of Super Truong Phat Plastic Group Joint Stock Company were introduced, Mr. Binh boldly agreed to cooperate in implementing them on his aquaculture model. From using the buoys for testing without paying, to buying subsidized buoys, then buying buoys at full price, Mr. Binh was determined to replace the foam buoys with HDPE buoys.
"HDPE plastic buoys are 3-4 times more expensive than foam buoys. Aquaculture farmers certainly do not prioritize HDPE buoys. Me too. But I think that since the State has done research and has regulations, using HDPE buoys must be superior" - Mr. Binh shared.
In fact, the more he uses HDPE standard buoys, the more he sees the benefits in terms of production efficiency, environment, aesthetics... With HDPE buoys, he can sleep soundly even when there are storms, without worrying about the storm blowing the buoys, breaking the ropes, and sending the whole raft and cage system out to sea as happened when using foam buoys before. Up to now, more than 2 hectares of Mr. Binh's oyster farms use HDPE buoys. Phat Co Cooperative with Super Truong Phat Plastic Group Joint Stock Company has expanded production according to the model of Farm Aquaculture combined with tourism . The Phat Co Farm Aquaculture model is currently a model and a new direction in aquaculture in the whole province.
Phat Co Aquaculture Farm consists of 5 hectares of seaweed cultivation, oyster and clam farming, and fish cage farming. The system of rafts, cages, and sea traffic connections of the model are all made from HDPE materials. Phat Co Aquaculture Farm also arranges balconies, bars, and rooms for tourists to eat, sightsee, experience the process of fish farming, oyster farming, seaweed harvesting, etc. Phat Co Aquaculture Farm also cooperates with over 30 other households in the area to convert styrofoam buoys to HDPE buoys, linking in production, in order to standardize the quality of marine farming products.
Ban Sen island commune is a key aquaculture area of Van Don district. The islanders are familiar with the sea and use aquaculture as their livelihood. In the early days, the government had difficulty mobilizing people to replace styrofoam buoys with HDPE buoys, due to low awareness and difficult living conditions.
In that situation, Mr. Nguyen Huu Trong, a long-time aquaculture household in Ban Sen, took the lead in cutting off foam buoys to replace them with HDPE buoys. After nearly 3 years of being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and lacking resources, he had to replace them in parts, and completely replace the post-harvest farming platforms. In 1 year, all of his 1ha of aquaculture used HDPE buoys. "When the first black buoys (HDPE buoys) were installed, people said it was a waste of money; but now they follow, because in practice, black buoys are better than foam buoys. The important thing is that the government has set out policies and implemented them very strictly, so if we want stable and sustainable aquaculture, we have to replace foam buoys with HDPE buoys" - Mr. Trong said.
Currently, in the entire Ban Sen sea area, about 50% of aquaculture households have replaced styrofoam buoys with HDPE buoys. The remaining households are actively replacing them.
From the initial examples such as Mr. Nguyen Sy Binh, Mr. Nguyen Huu Trong... have spread and promoted the replacement of foam buoys throughout the province. According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to this point, nearly 1.5 million foam buoys have been replaced with HDPE buoys, the number of foam buoys that need to be replaced is nearly 1 million. 100% of coastal localities are actively implementing, determined to complete before April 30, 2023, the entire aquaculture sea area of Quang Ninh no longer has foam buoys.
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