Farmers domesticate dozens of rare Mekong fish species

Adaptive fisheries development

Mr. Ly Van Bon in Area 1, Con Son, Bui Huu Nghia Ward, Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City, smiled and enjoyed leading us to walk around the family's fish rafts, fish here countless times, including fish shouting a few dozen kilograms or koi fish like gold floating all over the water, He made a name for his Seven Bon fish raft.

Stopping at the fish raft that was stocking like rat pegs, Mr. Bon enthusiastically jumped into the raft to pick up the fish for us to see. According to information from the Department of Fisheries of Can Tho City, Mr. Bon's model of rat peg fish is part of the artificial breeding research program of some rare fish species of the city, after more than a year of implementation, the fish successfully reproduced and put into production.

Bon said that rat peg fish is a freshwater fish with little bone, sweet meat and fat. In the past, fish were commonly found in some parts of Can Tho City and An Giang province, but now it has become scarce, so he is determined to keep the fish breeding and maintain the breeding fish herd.

Currently, the number of rat peg fish has reached several hundred thousand, the total weight is nearly 1 ton. In terms of economic value, rat peg fish are highly priced compared to many other types of peg fish. Meat rat peg fish of 10 animals / kg costs up to 400,000 VND / kg. If the small fish is less than 50 grams per fish, people usually buy it as a fish for 15,000 VND / fish.

According to Bon, in addition to raising fish for tourism and family economic development, in the context of climate change, saltwater intrusion is complicated, farmers like him develop fisheries in the spirit of adapting, learning and studying whether the characteristics of each fish are suitable for the conditions of the Hau River.

In addition to the rare rat peg fish, Mr. Bon is also known as the "monster" of the Hau River, when raising and taming about 15 precious fish of the Mekong River such as: close fish, catfish oil, pink seed fish, coral fish ... In particular, he was the first pioneer to bring koi fish raised in the Hau River, which is unthinkable for the fish that prefer clean water environment such as Koi fish.

Establish a nature fish reserve on the Hau River

Accompanying us, Ms. Tran Khanh Phuong, wife of Mr. Li Van Bon shared about the bold plan to build a nature fish reserve right at The Seven Bon fishing raft. Ms. Phuong confided that the family had intended to preserve the seafood for a long time, but because the people still fished, it was not possible to do so. In early April, with encouragement and support from the local government, the family began to implement.

Ms. Phuong said that since April 1, The Seven Bon fishing raft has started to put up signs prohibiting fishing, prohibiting fishing, and dismantling three surrounding fishing rafts to create a larger space for natural fish to eat. The location of the reserve is also chosen by grandparents to place right in the middle of the "navel" of the fish rafts, so that people do not catch, natural fish are also easy to familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment, convenient for the cultivation and conservation of natural fish.

Starting this plan, Mr. Bon and his wife learned how to get acquainted and keep the fish legs naturally. Every 8 a.m. or 5 p.m., "... close... "Such regular knocks, signaling the time of eating has arrived, the fish floated to the surface of the water, this way of doing has formed a habit for the fish, hearing this knock of the fish naturally pulled back, up to the bait buzzing the whole raft area. Gradually the fish naturally see this place as a place of residence.

Mr. Bon added that visitors when entering fish rafts to visit, see how he does, also contribute with him to protect this fishery resource, for his descendants in the long run to see and have a bit of a blessing of his family creating. The way of Mr. Bon's family is highly appreciated by the local government of Binh Thuy district and considers this as a model in the conservation of fishery resources to replicate among the people.

According to Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Director of Can Tho Fisheries Department, people especially aquaculture households play a decisive role in the conservation of fishery resources in the area. Currently, the city has built and recognized a natural fish reserve in Phong Dien district and is replicating, encouraging people to form individual fisheries conservation sites.

At the same time, the investigation of native and natural fish in the city is also regularly carried out to contribute to the conservation, maintenance and development of natural ecosystems for the Hau River region.