Mekong Delta records over 12,000ha of damaged crustacean farms in H1

Farmers harvest shrimp in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau (Photo: VNA)

Ca Mau (VNA) – The Mekong Delta provinces saw 12,410ha of giant tiger prawn farms damaged and plagued by diseases in the first six months of 2018, up more than 26 percent against the same period last year.

According to the animal health sub-department in the region, the affected farms are located across 157 communes of 25 districts in the notable shrimp hubs of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh. Kien Giang province recorded the highest damaged area at over 7,172ha.

A report from the Directorate of Fisheries showed that in 2017 alone, brackish water shrimp farming covered 720,000 ha nationwide, of which 621,000ha was for giant tiger prawns and the rest white-leg shrimps.

The farming area yielded 689,000 tonnes of shrimps in 2017, up 5 percent from 2016. In 2018, Vietnam aims to expand its shrimp yield to 720,000 tonnes.

The directorate said the farming area and productivity of Vietnamese giant tiger prawn farms account for between 30 and 38 percent of the global figure. Giant tiger prawns have high commercial value, stable market, and good competitive capacity.