Cage fish farmers in the 'thirst' of the Da River

The Da River downstream in Phu Tho province is gradually drying up, with the bottom exposed in many sections.

The lower reaches of the Da River, the border between Hoa Binh and Phu Tho, are where many households raise fish, with hundreds of cages. These days, households have to loosen ropes and release rafts 3-4 meters from the shore to save the fish.

Mr. Tran Van Huong (a fish cage farmer) seemed very anxious, his phone rang continuously when relatives, traders... called to ask about the situation of the fish rafts. "In my 63 years of life, I have never seen the Da River with such a dry bottom. Fortunately, this year during the dry season, the water flowed towards this bank, so there has been no damage so far. If the water changes direction or the river continues to recede, there is a possibility that we will lose everything," he worried.

Mr. Huong and his two younger brothers built a fish raft, mainly red tilapia, tilapia, and some crispy carp, sturgeon... The total value of the raft was up to billions of dong. A few days ago, when the water level started to drop sharply, the Da River bed in some areas around Mr. Huong's house started to dry up, he and his family called out to the neighbors to help catch fish.

Mr. Huong's red tilapia cages had to be grouped together, tilted to collect water, and 6-7 pumps were used to suck out sand and provide oxygen. Feeling heartbroken, Mr. Huong went online every day to check the water release notice from the Hoa Binh hydroelectric dam.

Mr. Huong is having to call people to buy fish to reduce the amount of fish raised or avoid damage if the water continues to recede.

"Many people think that when it rains heavily, the water will rise, saving the "thirst" that has left the Da River barren during the days of June, but that is not true. Heavy rains usually only last a few hours and then go with the flow. Even if it rains for too long or for many days and the flow is not strong enough, the fish will die more easily because they are soaked in strange water. The only way to save fish farmers at this time is to wait for the water from the dam to be released," said the old farmer.

The amount of fish and shrimp caught naturally also decreases when the river dries up. Traveling by water in many sections is difficult. It is not uncommon to see boats stranded and stuck in one place.

In the past two years, the Da River has changed its course, forming local sandbanks through the fish cage farming area. When the water from upstream is low, the river flow is poor, and the outside of the fish farming area is covered with sand, making it very difficult to clear the flow. The fish farming area is therefore prone to run aground, and farmers are worried and do not dare to raise large fish or raise a lot. In addition, they have to face the situation of having to run from floods and droughts, making life more precarious and difficult.

For the past two weeks, every day, people in Xuan Loc, Thanh Thuy district have had to continuously pump sand and oxygen to save the caged fish when the Da River has dried up.

Source