According to local reports, the whole region has raised nearly 5,000 hectares of shrimp and 2,260 hectares of clam from the beginning of the year. Farmers have harvested nearly 9,000 tons of commercial shrimp and over 7,000 tons of clams. In 2019, Go Cong coastal districts (Tien Giang) planned to expand the aquaculture area to nearly 13,000 hectares; in which shrimp farming area is nearly 10,500 hectares, the rest is raising clam and mollusk. Brackish and salty aquaculture production in 2019 reached nearly 65,000 tons including nearly 45,000 tons of shrimp and 20,000 tons of commercial clams.
Tien Giang has a coastline of about 32km, two large estuaries: Soai Rap on Vam Co river in the north and Cua Tieu on Tien River in the south with two coastal districts of Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong with high potential on marine economic development, especially aquaculture and fishing.
Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong districts advocate to exploit the potential of mudflats and the advantages of brackish and salt water sources to raise suitable objects with high economic values like as clam, tiger shrimp, shrimp, etc to create raw materials for export processing industry, help solve jobs and increase income for farmers as well as build and replicate effective business models, adapt to climate change.
Implementing the above objectives, coastal communes have shaped concentrated aquaculture farming areas such as tiger shrimp and white leg shrimp farming in Tan Dien, Tan Thanh, Kieng Phuoc (Go Cong Dong district), and clam farming in Tan Thanh (Go Cong Dong), raising black tiger shrimp and white leg shrimp in Cong area, Phu Tan, Phu Dong, Phu Thanh communes (Tan Phu Dong district).
In order to help farmers develop the potential for aquaculture in coastal areas, the concerned industries are focusing on training, transferring agricultural science and technology, building and replicating advanced and effective farming models. In particular, localities have organized 53 training and technology transfer courses to attract nearly 2,000 farmers since the beginning of the year.
The development of shrimp and clam farming created jobs, helped many farmers to improve their life, agriculture and rural areas have been reformed. Tan Thanh commune (Go Cong Dong district) has met the standards and is recognized as a new rural area in 2018. Go Cong Dong district also strives to launch the first new rural district in Tien Giang province by 2020.
Le Mai