Quang Ngai: Hot weather, risk of gloomy shrimp farming season

SGGPO 06/27/2023 12:22

For nearly a month now, shrimp farmers in Quang Ngai have been worried because the hot weather has made shrimp farming difficult, facing the risk of a dismal shrimp crop.

At this time, at shrimp ponds in Binh Duong commune (Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province), there are always people on duty to be ready to protect the shrimp from the heat.

In a ^1,200m2 shrimp pond, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung (Binh Duong commune, Binh Son district) raised about 40,000 white-leg shrimp for more than 2 months.

The hot weather lasting from June to August causes many disadvantages for shrimp farmers. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

He said: "This year the weather is too hot so it is difficult to raise shrimp. On average, the shrimp farming season lasts about 2 months and 20 days before harvest. Now there are only more than 15 days left until harvest but the shrimp are still growing slowly. We may have to raise them for another ten days to reach harvest size."

The sun was scorching hot throughout June, so Mr. Dung had to find a way to “cool down” the shrimp. He said: “In the spring, when raising shrimp, there is no need to change the water. Just leave water in the pond and raise it until the crop is over. However, when the heat lasts for a long time and the shrimp cannot stand it, water must be added to cool the shrimp. In the morning, add water and in the afternoon, cool it down. The shrimp also get shocked by the heat, so changing the water environment can also make the shrimp sick. If the heat continues, it is likely that after this harvest, we will not raise shrimp anymore and will leave the pond empty for a while,” said Mr. Dung.

Due to the hot weather, farmed shrimp showed signs of illness and death, causing farmers in Binh Duong commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province to worry. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong (Binh Duong commune) has a farming area ^{of ​​2,500m2} , and has just released 40,000 shrimp, 300 fish and 400 crabs according to the extensive farming model. He said: “I raise shrimp, crab and fish together, but this hot weather causes the shrimp to constantly get sick and die on the bottom. Last crop, I raised 70,000 shrimp, after 1 week I saw signs of pink body disease, after 1 month none of them survived.”

According to him, the cause of shrimp getting pink body disease may be due to the water environment in the pond being affected by hot weather.

Mr. Phong added that normally, if 40,000 shrimp are released, after more than 2 months, 300 kg of shrimp can be harvested. However, due to the hot weather, the shrimp died from disease, so the harvest yield was only 100 kg, the selling price of shrimp reached 140,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Phong is checking the quality of shrimp after a period of farming. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

The weather is changing abnormally, the environmental temperature is increasing, causing the oxygen concentration in the water to decrease sharply. Therefore, shrimp will grow slowly or die gradually. Currently, shrimp farmers in intensive farming areas such as Duc Minh and Duc Phong communes (Mo Duc district) are having difficulty maintaining their ponds when input material prices and labor costs increase, while the price difference for shrimp farming in these areas is very low, only from 65,000-70,000 VND/kg for shrimp with a size of 110-120 pieces/kg.

The whole Quang Ngai province has about 550 hectares of brackish water aquaculture, mainly shrimp, snails... People are on duty to maintain the minimum water level of the pond at 1.4m or higher, many households in intensive farming areas also cover the ponds with shade nets, limit radiation, buy additional generators and oxygenate the shrimp.

Intensive shrimp farming areas in Mo Duc district must be "supported" by continuously running oxygen machines. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

To help aquaculture farmers minimize damage caused by heat, Ms. Do Thi Thu Dong, Deputy Head of the Department of Fisheries of Quang Ngai province, said that the Department has coordinated with localities to propagate and recommend pond owners to implement "sun protection" measures associated with disease prevention in shrimp and snails, including periodic environmental monitoring.

Ms. Dong said: “If shrimp farmers suspect or detect disease, they need to proactively notify local authorities as well as veterinary agencies for timely support. Pond owners absolutely must not discharge untreated wastewater containing diseased or suspected diseased shrimp into the environment.”

The provincial Department of Fisheries recommends that owners of brackish water shrimp and snail farms need to maintain appropriate stocking density and balance reasonable food rations corresponding to size, in order to stabilize water sources and bottom oxygen in the pond, and regularly check environmental factors of the pond.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/quang-ngai-nang-nong-nguy-co-vu-nuoi-tom-am-dam-post695180.html