The story of the "eel engineer"

While changing the water in the eel tanks, Mr. Duy confided: “The surrounding households often affectionately call me “eel engineer”. I started my business with shrimp and shrimp-rice farming models. But I realized that these two models did not bring high economic efficiency as before, so I switched to eel farming, planning to guide everyone to do it if successful.”

The Board of Directors of Dai Truong Phat Cooperative visited the eel farm of Mr. Tran Duc Duy's family. Photo: TUONG VI

In 2019, Mr. Duy had only 1 eel farm, now it has increased to nearly 20 farms, proving the economic efficiency of the model. He equipped many types of machinery that meet modern standards. Each farm is about ^8m2 , with a density of 500 - 700 eels in each farm. However, to achieve this success, Mr. Duy had to go through many difficulties. The first batches of eels had an unsuitable water source, because eels live in fresh water, but Vinh Thuan commune has salt water, so the eels did not develop, lost a lot, and did not achieve the desired results. Mr. Duy overcame this by using a drilled well to supply water to the farms; "packed up" to a successful eel farm to learn from their experiences. Thanks to determination and hard work, Mr. Duy and his family harvest more than 25 tons of eel/year, with prices ranging from 85,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, earning a profit of 300 - 400 million VND.

On the other hand, finding eel seeds is quite difficult, so Mr. Duy researched and raised eel fry (newly hatched eels) to increase his income. After successfully raising eels, he can both sell eel seeds and raise them into commercial eels. The process of raising eel fry has many stages, the incubation time is from 30 to 40 days. When the number of eels reaches 1,000/kg, they can be released into the tank to raise or sell as eel seeds. Mr. Duy said: "To effectively raise eel fry, it is necessary to prepare a substrate for the eels to have shelter. I often use rope or loose mesh because it is airy. When the eels are still small, the food must be carefully selected, mainly bloodworms or eel bran because it has a high nutritional content and is easy to find."

Mr. Duy takes care of and monitors the growth of eel fry. Photo: TUONG VI

Currently, Mr. Duy is the only person in Ranh Hat hamlet who breeds eel fry. His eel farm has also become a place to provide eel breeds for local people.

Realizing that the number of households raising eels is increasing, but still small and fragmented, in April 2025, the leadership of Ranh Hat hamlet established Dai Truong Phat Cooperative to gather and support households. Mr. Duy is one of the key members of the cooperative. Mr. Le Trung Kien - Head of Ranh Hat Hamlet, Director of Dai Truong Phat Cooperative said: “Duc Duy is a core member of the cooperative. Duy has the most experience in commercial eel farming and is responsible for providing breeds, guiding members on building ponds, and eel farming techniques. He is very hard-working and diligent. When any eel farming household encounters difficulties, he will come to the site to provide free support. During each harvest, each member collects an average of more than 30,000 eels, excluding expenses and losses, earning about 20 million VND. The success of Duy's commercial eel farming model has created a new direction for local economic development, in addition to the strengths of shrimp and rice.”

WALL VI

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/chuyen-ve-ky-su-luon--a461602.html