Harvesting tra fish in Can Tho city (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Authorities in the MekongDelta have tightened management of breeding areas for Tra fish asprices continue to rise.
More farmers are breeding the fish because of thehigh price, but authorities have told them to not breed the fish in unplanned areasas there are threats of disease outbreaks and reduced productivity.
The prices of adult Tra fish and fry havebeen stable since early last year, resulting in many farmers switching to breedthe fish.
The price of adult Tra fish is 32,000 –33,000 VND (1.4 – 1.6 USD) a kilogramme, up 1,000 – 2,000 VND a kilogrammeagainst last month.
In Long An province, the provincial People’sCommittee has ordered local authorities in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Thanh Hoadistricts and Kien Tuong town to warn local rice farmers not to breed fish inunzoned areas.
Many farmers in the districts and town beganturning their paddy fields into Tra fish breeding ponds late lastyear.
In Tan Hung district, the fry fish breeding areahas increased from 500ha late last year to nearly 800ha.
The Long An provincial People’s Committee has alsoinstructed its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to review thelocal aquaculture zoning plan and work with localities to determine whichaquaculture areas have water and land resources suitable for breeding the fish.
In Dong Thap province, the province’s Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development has urged the province’s People Committeeand the Tan Hong district People’s Committee to stop the digging of new Tra fishponds in unzoned areas in Tan Hong.
Tân Hong district and Hong Ngu town have thelargest new Tra fish breeding areas in Dong Thap.
Farmers in the province, the delta’s largest Tra fishproducer, have turned more than 100ha of rice fields into Tra fishponds so far this year, according to the province’s Department of Agricultureand Rural Development.
In the delta, Tra fry are bred mostly inDong Thap, An Giang and Long An provinces.
The Mekong delta produced about 373,400 tonnes ofadult Tra fish in the first four months of the year, an increase of 9percent year-on-year, according to statistics from provinces and city in theregion.-VNA
VNA
