Aquaculture activities in Gia Lai Province used to be conducted spontaneously in small scale. However, realizing the great potential of freshwater fish farming, many people from other places have move to the province to start up their businesses. The fish farming areas in the province are mainly concentrated in Ayun Ha irrigation reservoirs, YaLy hydropower reservoir, Se San hydropower reservoir and Ia Meur irrigation dam.

The most popular fish species that are being raised by farmers include red tilapia, carp and snakehead. Besides, they are also trying raising other specialty fish species like naked catfish, flounder or green catfish that have largely consumed in the markets.

Thanks to this year’s favourable weather condition, the yield of fingerlings of Duc Thang Cooperative, Ia Peng Commune, Phu Thien District is recorded to be high.

According to Nguyen Duc Thang, Chairman of Duc Thang Cooperative, the unit currently has 5 hectares of water for raising commercial fish, mainly carp.

Each harvest brings over VND500 million (US$22,000) on average. After abstracting all the expenses, each member could earn a profit of over VND300 million ($13,000) from each harvest, he revealed.

He said that the reason for this success is rich Ayun Ha water source and suitable climate for fish farming model.

Along with that, the members of the cooperative mainly raise fish in the traditional way, utilising locally available food sources so the quality of fish is always guaranteed.

In addition to commercial fish species, Duc Thang Cooperative has also developed a strong model of fingerling production. Up to now, the cooperative has 30 members raising fingerlings on an area of 15 hectares, supplying 60 tons annually to the market.

“Fingerling production is very profitable. Specifically, many members only have an area of ​​about 5,000sq.m of water, but they still could annually catch more than 7 tons of fish and earn a revenue of more than VND400 million ($17,000). Excluding investment costs, the profit earned reaches more than VND200 million ($8,700)," Thang said.

According to statistics from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the value of seafood in 2021 reached more than VND 250 billion ($11 million), with a total farming area of over 15,600 hectares. Total seafood production in 2021 reached more than 7,000 tons/year. The province now has more than 900 fish cages mostly concentrated in An Khe Town, Ia Grai, Chu Pah, Dak Doa, and Chu Prong Districts.

Doan Ngoc Co, Deputy Director of the department, said that aquaculture in Gia Lai Province in recent years has developed positively and brought high economic efficiency. In which, there are effective cage fish farming models such as sturgeon farming in Kbang, sturgeon farming in Phu Thien District.

In addition to the Aquaculture Breeding Center providing fish seeds, the province currently has cooperatives specialised in aquaculture and seafood processing in Chu Se and Phu Thien Districts, which have produced specialty fish varieties to serve the markets.

According to orientation to 2025, the growth rate of the fishery industry in the region is expected to reach 16.3 per cent per year, accounting for nearly 2 per cent of the proportion in the agricultural sector. Besides, 20,800ha of water surface will be effectively exploited by 2025, of which the farming area is about 3,800ha and the rest is natural exploitation.

Total output of fish is expected to be 16,360 tons per year, and at the same time, the fishery sector will be developed towards sustainability associated with environmental protection.

In particular, during this period, Gia Lai Province has focused on developing local specialty fish varieties such as catfish or flounder to create high economic value for the aquaculture sector.

“Gia Lai Province will maximize the available potential of aquaculture area and seafood development to partially meet the market demand of local people, improve the livelihoods of aquaculture farmers while associating ecotourism with fish farming.

“Particularly, the province is aiming to develop safe aquatic products and local specialty fish varieties as well as mobilize social resources to develop seafood cooperatives and consumption linkage, thereby increasing the proportion of the fisheries sector to local economic development," said Doan Ngoc Co, Deputy Director of Gia Lai Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Translated by Phuong Ha