Prospects from freshwater fish farming

Standing on the pond bank, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan (residing in Vam Hamlet, Trang Dai Ward, Dong Nai Province) excitedly chatted with guests: “During the rainy season, fish farmers have a hard time, but they are excited because the water in the ponds is constantly changed and drained. The water is clean, not polluted, the fish are healthy, so diseases and fish deaths are limited. If the average selling price is over 20,000 VND/kg, the farmers will make a profit. Vam Hamlet has about 20 households developing their economy by raising fish on a total area of about 150 hectares. Raising fish here not only creates jobs but also brings stable income to many households.”

Báo Đồng Nai•03/12/2025

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan (residing in Vam hamlet, Trang Dai ward) got rich from 6 fish ponds with a total area of nearly 20 hectares, earning hundreds of millions of dong each year. Photo: Quang Minh

Use leftover food to raise fish

With a favorable canal system, Vam hamlet, Trang Dai ward has long been considered an area with many advantages for raising freshwater fish. Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong's family has 3 fish ponds with a total water surface area of 6 hectares. The popular fish are pomfret, silver carp and basa. The fish fry are purchased by his family from the Western provinces, priced at about 50,000 VND/kg. Each batch of fish will be raised for about a year. In which, the fish fry are bought and raised in small ponds, fed entirely with synthetic pellets. After each batch of large fish that meet the standards for sale, the remaining small fish will continue to be raised with the reserve fish. By this method of alternating crops, on average, Mr. Thuong's family harvests 3-4 crops per year. To have food for the fish, every day, Mr. Thuong's family goes to industrial parks in the province to buy leftover food from workers to feed the fish. Each barrel contains 200 liters, worth 250,000 VND. On average, his family buys about 10 barrels/day, equivalent to 2.5 million VND. Mr. Thuong said: "With this type of food, the cost is lower than synthetic pellets, the fish grow faster, and the fish meat is also tastier. However, I have to periodically drain the bottom drain and change the water to limit risks."

In Vam hamlet, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan's family is the largest fish farmer with 6 ponds, totaling about 20 hectares. Mr. Thuan said: Fish farming has many advantages because when the water environment is well treated, the possibility of disease is very rare. The water surface area is large, food is easy to find, so the fish grow quickly.

“People here have a long-standing tradition of raising fish, so it is easy to connect with traders. When it is time to sell, just call and the buyer will come. They sort the fish into types to supply to Binh Dien market, or sell to middlemen at small markets. The selling price of fish depends on the market, but if the average is 20,000 VND/kg or more, after deducting the cost of food and labor, the farmer will still make a profit of about 25-30%,” Mr. Thuan shared.

However, Mr. Thuan also added: "The dry season usually lasts 6 months, fish farming is also difficult due to the scarcity of natural water resources. Therefore, we recommend that the authorities and functional agencies of the ward and province pay attention to supporting people in building a power grid system to pump water, improve the environment, thereby raising fish more effectively."

Towards sustainable aquaculture

According to the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Nai province, in recent times, the province's aquaculture industry has continued to develop steadily, affirming its important role in the province's agricultural structure. The whole province currently has more than 95 thousand hectares of water surface for aquaculture. Of which, the area of ponds in households is about 9.8 thousand hectares, with an annual output of over 80 thousand tons. In 2025, it is expected to reach over 82.5 thousand tons of various aquatic products. Many intensive farming models have been boldly applied by people such as: high-tech shrimp farming in Nhon Trach, Long Thanh; tilapia, snakehead, and perch farming models according to VietGAP standards in Trang Dai. Snakehead and perch farming models achieve productivity of 40-250 tons/hectare. White-leg shrimp farming model achieves 25-40 tons/hectare/crop, surpassing traditional farming methods. In addition, the model of fish cage farming on Dong Nai River, Tri An Lake and Thac Mo Lake has also developed in the direction of intensive and semi-intensive farming of species such as carp, red tilapia, catfish, and snakehead fish, with a yield of 3-8 tons/cage or raft. These models are highly economically efficient, contributing to increasing income, creating stable jobs and protecting the ecological environment.

“The Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries will coordinate with localities to strengthen propaganda, training and transfer of science and technology to farmers, and support farmers to promote digital transformation in farming area management. The common goal will be to develop Dong Nai's aquaculture industry in an effective and environmentally friendly direction, contributing to building an ecological, modern and sustainable agriculture .”
Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries LE THI LOAN

Ms. Le Thi Loan, Deputy Head of the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, said: “In addition to the achieved results, there are still shortcomings such as the unsynchronized infrastructure of farming areas, especially the electricity and water supply and drainage systems. The production scale is still small, fragmented, and lacks chain linkage. In addition, the impact of climate change and water pollution in some areas also affects the productivity and quality of aquatic products. In the coming time, the Dong Nai fisheries industry will continue to plan and overcome the above limitations, encourage investment in infrastructure of concentrated farming areas, high-tech application models, smart management and product traceability. At the same time, build a chain from production to consumption, improve the quality of breeds and food safety.”

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