Introducing a sustainable black tiger shrimp farming model that does not abuse antibiotics, ensuring food safety; connecting producers and businesses; enhancing economic efficiency and product value... these are the objectives of the workshop on replicating the food-safe black tiger shrimp farming model, organized by the National Agricultural Extension Center in Bac Lieu on the morning of November 20, 2018.
Ca Mau farmers harvesting black tiger shrimp. Photo: C.L
Black tiger shrimp still has a stable market
According to the assessment of the Directorate of Fisheries, in 2016, the total black tiger shrimp farming area nationwide was 600,339/694,645 ha, equivalent to 86.4% of the brackish water shrimp farming area. Of this, the Mekong Delta region had the largest black tiger shrimp farming area, with 566,582 ha. This species has high commercial value, a stable market, and strong competitiveness.
At the workshop, delegates also acknowledged that whiteleg shrimp have superior biological characteristics compared to black tiger shrimp. After being introduced to Vietnam, they have gradually dominated traditional industrial farming areas and expanded to many other farming regions, with rapidly increasing acreage: In 2009, it reached 3,398 ha; in 2013, 66,000 ha; and in 2016, 94,246 ha.
Meanwhile, the black tiger shrimp farming area tended to gradually decrease during the 2009-2013 period, with an average reduction rate of 0.84% per year. However, black tiger shrimp remains the most important farmed aquatic species in Vietnam's aquaculture industry, contributing a significant proportion to seafood export turnover.
Nevertheless, the shrimp farming industry has faced many difficulties and challenges recently, such as disease outbreaks, products still lacking food safety due to contamination with banned chemicals, many shipments being rejected by major markets such as the EU, US, Japan, and Australia, and farmers not yet applying technical advancements or investing appropriate resources…
Towards food-safe production
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved the project "Building a semi-intensive black tiger shrimp farming model, ensuring food safety." The project's objectives are to develop a sustainable black tiger shrimp farming model that does not abuse antibiotics, ensures food safety, connects producers and businesses, and enhances economic efficiency and product value.
According to the project, 24 semi-intensive black tiger shrimp farming models ensuring food safety will be established, each with a scale of 5 ha, meeting the following technical criteria: Yield in low-tide areas over 1 ton/ha, and in mid- and high-tide areas over 2 tons/ha; harvest size reaching 40 shrimp/kg; survival rate over 60%. The farming process will apply new technical advancements to ensure food safety…
Mr. Le Ngoc Quan (National Agricultural Extension Center) - project manager, stated: The semi-intensive black tiger shrimp farming model, ensuring food safety, is suitable for farmers' investment levels, with moderate stocking density but high disease safety, high efficiency, and food safety. Therefore, the project has a significant impact on farmers, and the potential for replicating the model in the near future is very high in the provinces participating in the project.
Also according to Mr. Quan, practical results show that with an average farming period of 145-147 days, the average shrimp size reached approximately 40 shrimp/kg. Shrimp yield in high-tide areas averaged 2.4 tons/ha, and in low-tide areas, 1.56 tons/ha.
After 2 years of project implementation, technical indicators such as yield exceeded the set target by 1.5 times. Furthermore, right from the local implementation, each model established a Food Safety Assessment Board with representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development or the Sub-Department of Fisheries, the commune People's Committee where the model is located, and the implementing unit.
Sharing at the workshop, Dr. Bui Quang Te stated that: Solutions for managing banned substances and preventing antibiotic abuse in aquaculture contribute to ensuring food safety. It is urgent to research antibiotic alternatives in aquaculture. Research is needed to produce high-tech, highly bio-safe herbal-based products that can replace the drugs and antibiotics currently used in aquaculture, especially in intensive fish and shrimp farming and high-tech shrimp farming.
Many delegates also stated that industrial brackish water shrimp farming is currently putting significant pressure on the farming environment. Furthermore, shrimp farming is facing many difficulties due to widespread disease outbreaks, high production costs, low economic efficiency due to numerous risks, low product quality due to antibiotic residues and harmful chemicals, and exported shrimp still encountering many challenges in global markets. Therefore, more solutions are needed to develop effective and sustainable shrimp farming in Vietnam.
Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Kim Van Tieu - Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, commented: To farm shrimp effectively, farmers need to pay attention to synchronized pond design, which must include sedimentation ponds, storage ponds, grow-out ponds… Farmers need to select quality post-larvae, ideally applying a 2-stage farming method; must create natural feed for shrimp; maintain beneficial microorganisms, which inevitably involves using probiotics; enhance shrimp's resistance; and manage feed and water sources very well.
Source: thuysanvietnam.com.vn
