Marine fishermen excited to go offshore

With positive results, the pilot model of high-tech marine farming sponsored by Vingroup continues to expand in the province. Many fishermen have registered to participate and started their journey to the open sea for aquaculture. Along with the joy and encouraging results, fishermen also have concerns and difficulties, needing more timely and practical support.

70 households registered to go offshore

On the day of bringing fish to the new farming area in the Hon Noi sea area, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan - a veteran fisherman in Binh Ba area (Nam Cam Ranh commune) excitedly shared: "With 100 traditional wooden raft cages, in recent years, my family has mainly raised pomfret, cobia and grouper. The total annual output is more than 90 tons of fish. At the end of 2024, receiving information that the province was expanding the pilot model of developing high-tech marine farming, including policies to encourage and support fishermen to go offshore, I registered to invest in 2 round HDPE cages for fish farming. After a period of installing and launching the cages, by the end of June 2025, my family had moved 35,000 pomfret from the old cage system to the new HDPE cages in the Hon Noi sea area".

Fishermen raise fish in Hon Noi area.

According to Mr. Hoan, the total investment cost of 2 HDPE round cages is more than 563 million VND, including the cage system, nets, anchors, etc. Of which, the State supports 70% of the cost; the farmers' counterpart capital is 30%. This is an extremely valuable support, helping to reduce the financial burden and creating a strong motivation for people to boldly invest, convert and go offshore.

Hon Noi sea area is located about 7 nautical miles from the shore, although there are more waves and wind, but in return the sea water is clear, the farming environment is guaranteed, suitable for high-tech marine farming and in accordance with the approved aquaculture planning. Here, there are more than 20 round cages of aquaculture households installed. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan is one of the first households to bring fish to this area for farming and is gradually adapting to offshore farming on a large scale. He raised the yellowfin pompano for about 1 month in the old area, reaching a weight of 40 - 50 grams, then moved to round cages.

According to Mr. Phuong Minh Nam - Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Agricultural Service Center, the pilot model of high-tech marine farming in the province is sponsored by Vingroup . In 2023 - 2024, 10 households participated. Households were supported with a total of 16 HDPE round cages (volume of 1 cage ^800m3 ) for raising marine fish, 12 HDPE square cages (volume of ^24m3 /cage, 2-storey farming) for raising lobsters. The results of the model are very positive, the profit margin of cobia farming households participating in the model reached 172% compared to households raising the same scale using traditional wooden cages; this figure for lobster farming households is 112%. The pilot results also show that this is an important basis for people to change production methods in marine farming, associated with protecting the farming environment, minimizing risks due to natural disasters and epidemics.

After 1 month of raising pompano in traditional rafts, they are transferred to HDPE cages.

In the period of 2024 - 2025, assigned by the Department of Agriculture and Environment to expand the pilot model of developing high-tech marine farming according to the tasks assigned by the Provincial People's Committee, the center has coordinated with the sponsor; Department of Fisheries, Seas and Islands; Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine; localities and fishermen to implement a plan to expand the model in marine farming areas within the approved farming planning area across the province. A total of 70 households registered to participate, each household was supported from 50 - 70% of the cost (depending on the farming area) to install 2 round cages or 1 cluster of square cages. In addition, households were also sponsored with a camera surveillance system, a marine positioning system, 24/7 remote monitoring on electronic devices... Up to now, in the Hon Noi farming area, there have been 13 households raising a total of 490,000 yellowfin pompano fry. Households in Dam Bay sea area have also released 60,000 pomfret fish, and it is expected that in the coming time, households will continue to release fish in farming areas as planned.

Still struggling

Initial results show that, compared to the aquaculture method using wooden rafts, switching to offshore farming in large-scale, high-tech HDPE cages is a necessary direction, in line with the orientation of "strongly developing the marine economy in the direction of aquaculture, exploitation, and seafood processing, especially high-tech, environmentally friendly marine farming" set out in Resolution No. 09 of the Politburo on building and developing Khanh Hoa province to 2030, with a vision to 2045. According to the assessment of professional agencies, compared to traditional wooden rafts, HDPE cages have many outstanding advantages such as: Withstanding wind and waves, can be farmed in open sea areas, far from shore, good quality, high durability, minimizing risks and repair costs, environmentally friendly. At the same time, the cages have large volumes, allowing for higher density farming, increasing productivity and output. The cages also have a modern design, making it easy to monitor, care for and harvest farmed aquatic products.

However, in the initial stages of going offshore, some fishermen are still hesitant. Through our observations, in addition to the installed round cages, almost no households have invested in building a floating house system for offshore fishermen. Through discussions, many households said that offshore aquaculture areas are more windy and turbulence-prone, and building floating houses in this area is more expensive, beyond the investment capacity of fishermen. “Along with modern round cages, the amount of shrimp and fish raised in the cages is very large. These are a huge asset of fishermen, so there must always be someone to take care of, look after, and preserve them. However, most offshore aquaculture households have to go out in the morning and come back in the afternoon, or anchor logistics ships next to the cages rather makeshiftly. These small ships cannot withstand strong winds and waves, so many farming households are not really assured,” a fisherman shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan (left) feeds fish in a round HDPE cage in Hon Noi farming area.

In addition, moving from the shore to the farming area also faces many difficulties. For example, moving from Ba Ngoi port to the farming area in Hon Noi often takes more than 3 hours by boat or boat; while fishermen must regularly transport food, seeds and other essential supplies for aquaculture. The cost of investing in purchasing boats is too high compared to the ability of most households. Some fishermen hope that the State will allow the establishment of a wharf in Bai Tay area of ​​Cam Lam commune, from here it will only take more than 30 minutes to move to Hon Noi.

It can be seen that the implementation of the high-tech marine farming model using HDPE cages has achieved initial successes. HDPE cages are not only a change in materials, but also a change in production thinking, towards a sustainable, modern and responsible marine farming industry. Although there are still difficulties ahead, with the determination of the government, the support of dedicated sponsors and the aspirations of the people, the goal of making Khanh Hoa the leading high-tech marine farming center of the country will become a reality in the near future.

HONG DANG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/202507/ngu-dan-nuoi-bien-hao-hung-vuon-khoi-8ab5c64/