Sóc Trăng Potential from Pacific oyster faming

To diversify species in accordance with local conditions and create new valuable products, Sóc Trăng Science and Technology Department and Research Institute for Aquaculture No.3 (RIA3)have succeeded in seeding Pacific oyster, making farmers raise their income.

Đoàn Văn Đùa (Mỹ Thanh hamplet, Vĩnh Hải commune, Vĩnh Châu town), who participated into Pacific oyster spat cultivation in ponds, said: “I was provided with 1,000 ropes of oyster with 300 pc each and stocked five ropes/m2 (1,500 pc/m2 equally)”. Total 300,000 spats were given to Đùa for stocking in his 200m2 pond. After five months, he found that oysters weighed up well and survival rate of the species stayed high.

Nguyễn Văn Phúc’s farming area in Vĩnh Hải commune is recognized the most successful among ponds outside the estuary. Phúc said: “The outside estuary is favorable conditions for oysters to grow. Four tons of oysters were harvested from 1,000 ropes after 5 months.

RIA3 has developed project “building a model of commercial oyster cultivation in ponds and estuary area along Sóc Trăng beach” since 2016. After two years since performance, two models of commercial oyster cultivation were carried out, particularly Pacific oyster cultivation in ponds and Pacific oyster spats outside estuary.

Project manager Phạm Viết Nam (RIA3) says oyster weigh up 25 pc/kg after five months. Survival rate reaching 20% normally brings high profit to farmers but it is 40-50% in Vĩnh Hải commune. Price of oyster ranges from 45,000 dong to 50,000 dong per kilogram, three-foldas much aslocal oyster spats.

Actually, Pacific oyster is in increasingly high demand but kind of new to farmers in Mekong Delta provinces and Sóc Trăng. With favorable conditions of estuaries, Sóc Trăng can develop Pacific oyster cultivation, reducing natural exploitation, protecting resources, diversifying farmed species and raising farmers’ income.