Raising specialty fish on Nam An peak

12:55, March 19, 2023

BHG - At the age of over 50, Mr. Trieu Chan Loang has just started his business. However, with the courage to face difficulties, determination to explore untapped sources and create what no one else has; Mr. Loang is the first person in Nam An village, Tan Thanh commune (Bac Quang) to raise specialty sturgeon and salmon. The success of his business has created a positive effect, which is appreciated, learned and followed by the Dao people in Nam An.

After many years of hardship, "selling his face to the ground and his back to the sky", realizing that his health was inversely proportional to time, and that he could no longer shoulder the burden of hard work in the fields; Mr. Loàng pondered and looked for a new way to start a business. Realizing that Dao - Nam An village possessed great potential for ecotourism and community tourism, Mr. Loàng decided to "take a shortcut" - raising specialty fish on Nam An peak, which is 800 to more than 1,000 m above sea level, covered in clouds all year round. This not only helped him solve the problem of increasing income but also contributed to creating a tourism service supply chain.

Mr. Trieu Chan Loang (the fish holder) is the first person in Nam An to raise cold water fish, bringing high economic efficiency.

Mr. Trieu Chan Loang (fish holder) is the first person in Nam An to raise cold water fish, bringing high economic efficiency.

Starting his business, Mr. Loang spent a lot of time learning about the experience of raising sturgeon and salmon at some reputable farms outside the province such as: Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Bac Kan ... In 2021, he spent more than 200 million VND to invest in building fish tanks, building canals to lead water from Nam An stream to reservoirs. Mr. Loang shared: Sturgeon and salmon prefer cold and clean water. Therefore, before leading water from Nam An stream to raise fish, I designed a filter tank to ensure a clean water source. Up to now, my family has 9 commercial fish tanks, 5 fish nursery tanks with a total area of nearly 850 ^m2 , a scale of over 6,000 commercial fish and 5,200 fish fry.

Not disappointing his dedication and enthusiasm, after less than 1 year of care, at the end of December 2022, Mr. Loang's family received good news when the first 3.4 tons of Sturgeon were sold to the Hanoi market, bringing in revenue of more than 660 million VND when Sturgeon cost 195,000 VND/kg. "Thanks to proper care and choosing the right type of specialized food, many of the fish weighed up to 3 kg, my family is very excited," Mr. Loang shared. Raising specialty fish not only helps Mr. Loang's family increase their income but also creates regular jobs for 4 workers with an income of 8 million VND/person/month and 6 seasonal workers with an income of 300,000 VND/person/day.

Leaders of Bac Quang district and specialized sectors visited the sturgeon nursery area of Mr. Tran Van Thien (first person on the right).

Leaders of Bac Quang district and specialized departments visited the sturgeon breeding area of Mr. Tran Van Thien (first person on the right).

Mr. Loang's initial success in transforming the livestock structure has motivated many households in Nam An to boldly seek ways to develop the economy. Up to now, 10 households in Nam An have learned from Mr. Loang's experience in raising specialty fish and 3 of them have begun to transform their livestock structure; typically, Ms. Trieu Mui Ghen's family invested in raising 1,600 sturgeon. More impressively, Mr. Loang's pioneering in raising specialty fish has attracted a number of sturgeon farm owners to learn and invest. Mr. Tran Van Thien, Nam Sach district (Hai Duong) shared: The climate and water resources in Nam An are very suitable for raising sturgeon and salmon. The climate here is cool all year round, with an average temperature of about 18°C. The water source is of good quality, because there are protective forests here, people are paid for forest environmental services (up to 1.2 billion VND/year/44 households), so forest protection is very good. Therefore, the water source is regulated, even in the rainy season, the stream water in Nam An is not cloudy, creating favorable conditions for raising cold-water fish. This is also the reason why I decided to invest in a sturgeon breeding farm in Nam An with a scale of nearly 70 fish tanks. According to Mr. Thien, when the fish reach a weight of about 0.5 kg, they will be transferred to Hai Duong to be raised into commercial fish, convenient for crop rotation and product distribution to domestic markets; a part of the fish will be sold to local people.

In order to encourage and motivate people's innovation and creativity in exploiting land funds to get rich, Secretary of Bac Quang Ha Viet Hung District Party Committee directly surveyed the model of raising specialty fish in Nam An. On that basis, he directed relevant agencies and units to reorganize production for people in the direction of establishing cooperatives for raising and processing cold-water aquatic products. This is an important basis to help people easily access preferential loans to expand the scale of commodity production, gradually build brands, and jointly seek markets, aiming for profits, high and sustainable economic efficiency.

Article and photos: THU PHUONG

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