THANH HOA – Tan Co village, Quang Xuong district, has more than 300 households raising red carp to sell Tet Mr. Cong Ong Tao. Many households earn hundreds of millions of dong because of the high price of fish.
On the morning of January 24, one day before the New Year of Mr. Cong Ong Tao (December 23 of the lunar calendar), fish farmers in Tan Co village, Tan Phong town, mobilized human resources to harvest red carp. The water suction machines worked continuously for several days before until the fish pond was completely empty. Groups of men, holding nets, waded into the thigh-deep mud to catch fish.
Red carp starts to be stocked from August, harvested in December. Raising three fish ponds of 1,500 m2, today Mr. Nguyen Thanh Su’s family sells more than a quintal of red carp to traders on the shore. Every year, merchants come to order a month in advance, so his family rarely has fish in stock.
Mr. Su assessed that this species requires little care and is not as risky as raising fish for meat. Tan Co carp is favored by its beautiful shape, uniform red, healthy, transported and sold throughout the provinces from Thanh Hoa to Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien Hue…
Mr. Nguyen Trong Chien’s household is one of the few households that both raise fish and buy the most in Bai Truc village, Tan Phong town. This year’s Tet crop, he has collected about 2.5 tons of goods for export. With the selling price of 130,000-150,000 VND/kg, his family is expected to earn more than 200 million VND.
According to Mr. Chien, this year’s fish price is 40,000-60,000 VND per kg higher than previous years, so many farmers in Tan Co have good incomes. On average, each household earns 80-100 million VND, many households can earn several hundred million from red carp farming. Although farming is only seasonal, Mr. Cong Ong Tao’s carp has become the main source of income for many households here during Tet.
The leader of Tan Phong town said that fish breeding in Tan Phong has existed for decades. Currently, there are about 300 households raising fish all year round, mainly fingerlings of all kinds. Near the end of the year, the villagers focused on raising Mr. Cong Ong Tao fish. In recent years, the government has supported the land fund for farmers to expand their fish farming area, in addition to opening more science and technology support classes for farmers to gain more experience and increase productivity…