Still holding the dominance
In the Mekong Delta, the area of black tiger shrimp accounts for over 90% of the total brackish shrimp farming area (around 559,222 ha). It is concentrated in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang and Kien Giang provinces. Black tiger shrimp is farmed in many methods such as Semi - extensive, semi-intensive and intensive farming, mixed farming (shrimp - rice, shrimp - forest).
In 3 large shrimp farming provinces, the survey in 2016 showed the varied rate of farming area in different ways. In Ca Mau province, Semi - extensive of black tiger shrimp production accounted for 71%, Semi - extensive (for shrimp only) was 11.2%, shrimp - rice was 10.8%, shrimp - forest was 5%, industrial shrimp production was 3%. In Bac Lieu province, intensive and semi-intensive tiger shrimp farming was 11.2%, semi - extensive shrimp farming was 0.5%, shrimp - rice was 28.1%, mixed shrimp and fishes was 66.5%. In Soc Trang province, semi-intensive black tiger shrimp were dominant with 60%, shrimp – rice was 36%, intensive farming was 4%.
In recent years, the trend to move to white leg shrimp farming increased rapidly, thus, its production in the Mekong Delta has surpassed tiger shrimp’s. However, according to experts, tiger shrimp is still popular in the world market, especially in some big markets such as China, Japan, America, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, etc. with high stability. In particular, ecological certification systems associated with mangroves such as ASC, Naturland, Bio Suisse, Selva Shrimp are preferred and export prices of certified products are 20-30% higher than normal shrimp. Since 2000, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces have focused on developing shrimp – forest model. At present, nearly 200 hectares have been certified as ASC.
Ca Mau and Bac Lieu have surveyed and mapped their resources to provide data on the available area for shrimps – forests model (forested and non-forested areas for shrimp culture, excluding special-use and other forest areas). Of which, there are 82,000 hectares (42,500 hectares of forest and 39,500 hectares of aquaculture) in Ca Mau province; that of Bac Lieu province is 6,526 ha.
Soc Trang province has the largest area of intensive and semi – intensive shrimp farming in the region. Black tiger shrimp farming area here accounts for 40% of the total area of brackish water shrimp. However, the model of black tiger shrimp farming in Soc Trang is different from other provinces in the region, as most of them are intensive, semi-intensive and semi - extensive. The average yield for intensive black tiger shrimp is 3.5 tons / ha, semi - intensive is 1.5 tons / ha and semi - extensive farming is 0.5 tons / ha. Mr. Huynh Ngoc Nha, Deputy Director of Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “Although the productivity and output of black tiger shrimp are not as high as that of white leg shrimp, it is easy for farming this black tiger shrimp with low investment while high price and stable market. Hence, every year, the province is spending a certain percentage, usually about 40 - 45% for black tiger shrimp farming. Depending on the conditions of farming area, investment ability, the household will choose the suitable farming model, such as intensive, semi-intensive or shrimp-rice, etc. so the efficiency is quite high”.
Shrimp farming while forest planting and protecting
Shrimp - forest products are showing potential advantages in the context of climate change, sea level rise. Black tiger shrimp products certified with the international standards are increasingly popular in the market in the trend of increased demand for organic products. Moreover, shrimp - forest is a method of shrimp farming in association with forest protection and mangrove planting, considering the growth of green carbon sources in line with the development trend in the world. As the scale of shrimp-forest expansion with positive changes such as ensuring a forest coverage of at least 60% and 40% of the shrimp water surface, the area of mangroves has increased.
According to FAO, Vietnam has reduced its annual forest area by 0.1% between 2000 and 2005, and now stands at an average of 1.4%, much higher than the world average. According to experts, if the country does not have any actions, the area of mangroves will be reduced by 2,036 ha, and ineffective management will reduce the area of mangroves by 10%. At that time, the estimated emissions were 2.7 tons CO2-e / ha / year and the emissions from the change of forest land use purposes to aquaculture accounted for 92%, the rest is from other related activities.
If the target of shrimp-forest development is gained, only in Ca Mau and Bac Lieu, with an area of 88,526 ha, accounting for 60%, there are 45,763 ha of forest. At that time, according to expert's calculations, the amount of emissions will reduce 7.3 million tons CO2-e / ha / year. At the same time, aquaculture production will reach 21,956 tons, worth VND 3,794 billion. After 20 years, it strives to achieve a minimum forest area of 70%, the result will be even greater.
A project funded by FAO, implemented from July 2017 to September 2018, proposed a policy and mechanism for shrimp-forest development. Accordingly, the policy focuses on financial investment, construction of the cooperative groups, completing infrastructure, trade promotion for shrimp-forest and support scientific research. The focus is on improving the quality and yield of shrimp, applying IT 4.0 technology integrated with GIS in management of shrimp – forest production areas. This project also noted that in the past, the policies only focused on forest planting and protection, there were not a mechanism and policies for development of shrimp – forest model. Accordingly, the farming of shrimp in mangroves is a good mechanism to ensure the harmonious benefits of economic development and forest protection, which is considered to be the most effective solution to restore, protect and develop forest in coastal provinces.
Ca Mau has about 90,000 ha of ecological shrimp in mangrove forest and coastal protection forest with the productivity of 400 - 600 kg / ha; of which, 19,000 hectares are certified by international organizations. Currently, this area of ecological shrimp is associated with production and consumption of companies such as Minh Phu Group, Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Export Joint Stock Company, Ngoc Hien Forestry Company Limited within the chain linkage in production and consumption. To ensure a stable source of income and help shrimp farmers in producing high quality products, businesses have provided technical support in shrimp farming for farmers. At the same time, the company will buy certified shrimp at a 10% higher price than normal shrimp. These incentives will attract shrimp farmers to participate to chain linkage to help them stabilize over time.
Currently, the income from black tiger shrimp is not as high as white leg shrimp farming in intensive or super-intensive model. Therefore, in order to stabilize the area and output of black tiger shrimp, provinces need to invest in irrigation system, apply science and technology to further improve the yield and quality of black tiger shrimp, pay attention to organic or ecological method to make a difference for Vietnamese black tiger shrimp.
Huong Tra
Source: thuysanvietnam.com.vn