The recent heavy rainfall due to the tropical depression and Typhoon No. 3 served as a "test" demonstrating the effectiveness and timeliness of flood prevention and control solutions for aquaculture in Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province.
Embanking and erecting protective nets around culture ponds are among the pre- and post-flood prevention and mitigation measures taken by aquaculture farmers in Loc Ha district.
Loc Ha district has a total aquaculture area of 598 ha, including: 97 ha for shrimp farming with 33 million post-larvae; 26.5 ha for crab; 1.5 ha for fish; 190 ha for clam; and 160 ha for freshwater species. Before the rainy season and storms, Loc Ha district directed local authorities to strengthen measures for flood prevention, control, and mitigation, with a particular focus on farmed aquatic products...
Discussing with us, Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen, an official from the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated: For aquaculture ponds and lagoons, right from the beginning of the rainy season, the district advised farmers to drain excess surface water to reduce the amount of rainwater in the ponds; simultaneously, they were instructed to operate paddlewheel aerators and air diffusers to limit water stratification in intensive and semi-intensive culture ponds.
Concurrently, right before the floods arrived, culture ponds with market-sized products were promptly harvested. For ponds with smaller cultured species, farmers regularly inspected and reinforced pond embankments to ensure they could withstand heavy floods. They proactively installed overflow pipes to drain water during prolonged rainfall and when pond water levels became too high; dredging and clearing culverts, ditches, and canals were also carried out to ensure good drainage during floods.
A farmer in Ho Do commune is re-inspecting pond embankments and water pH to implement post-flood prevention, control, and mitigation measures.
Observations in the farming areas showed that most aquaculture facilities in Loc Ha district were fully equipped with necessary equipment, infrastructure, chemicals, and raw materials to proactively reinforce and repair pond embankments and culverts in case of adverse situations. Many more cautious households also installed protective nets around the pond banks to reduce losses and damage during prolonged floods.
Furthermore, district and commune technical staff also advised farmers that in cases of heavy rainfall, they should supplement vitamin C and probiotics into the feed to boost the immunity of cultured aquatic species; strengthen pond care and management, regularly check environmental factors and the health of cultured aquatic species to implement timely solutions... When heavy rain persists, causing pond water to become turbid and pH to drop suddenly, farmers should promptly spread lime around the pond banks (approximately 10 kg/100 m2), combined with liming the ponds and lagoons to stabilize water pH and reduce pond water turbidity...
As for aquaculture cages, rafts, and coastal intertidal clam/oyster farming areas, farmers were advised to regularly check environmental factors at the cage/raft locations to ensure they remained within permissible limits; and to proactively plan for moving cages and rafts in the event of major storms.
Farmers promptly operate paddlewheel aerators and air diffusers to limit water stratification immediately after heavy rain to prevent shrimp mortality.
Thanks to full adherence to prevention measures, most farmers avoided unnecessary losses during the recent major floods. In large aquaculture areas of Loc Ha district, such as Thach Bang, Thach Chau, Thinh Loc..., despite continuous heavy rain and floods for many days, generally, most of the farmers' culture areas remained safe. The entire district only reported damage to 5 freshwater fish cages in Ich Hau commune and 0.2 ha of shrimp in some other farming areas.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a farmer in Ho Do commune, stated: Ha Vooc Aquaculture Cooperative in Ho Do commune has over 30 ha dedicated to shrimp and crab farming... If the prevention and control measures recommended by the district and commune had not been strictly followed from the beginning of the season, such heavy rainfall would surely have caused unavoidable damage to her family's farming area and other aquaculture farmers here.
Source: Ha Tinh Newspaper
