Intending to improve the efficiency of the bronze featherback fish (ca that lat) farming model, many households in Hoa Vang District have found new directions by processing commercial bronze featherback fish, actively cooperating, forming concentrated fish farming which helps to raise product value and bring high economic efficiency.

Mr Cao Van Toi, residing in Hoa Khuong Commune, Hoa Vang District, is vacuuming to pack the grilled fish paste. Photo: VAN HOANG

Investing in product processing

At the end of 2019, the first batch of bronze featherback fish raised in the pilot by Mr Cao Van Toi, residing in Hoa Khuong Commune, Hoa Vang District, faced difficulties in output due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. After doing the research, he decided to "launch" the product of grilled fish paste. Initially, the products were handmade and sold to local acquaintances.

After that, with the support from Hoa Vang District and the Da Nang Center for Extension of Fishery – Agriculture – Forestry, Mr Toi boldly invested in building a factory with a modern machinery system. Since then, diversified fish products such as raw grilled fish paste, fried fish paste, and steamed fish paste have gradually been sold at mini supermarkets, clean food stores, restaurants, eateries, and even on online channels.

According to Mr Toi, the model of raising this fish offers high economic efficiency with the price of fresh fish fluctuating around VND 65,000/kg. Moreover,  fish farmers can combine raising this fish in nets and other types of fish outside the nets to increase profit. So far, his facility has supplied 1 to 1.5 tons of grilled fish paste of all kinds to the city market on the monthly basis.

In the same vein, Ms Tran Thi Xuan’s family, residing in Khuong My Village, Hoa Phong Commune, is one of the four pioneer households to register for pilot bronze featherback fish farming when Da Nang Center for Extension of Fishery – Agriculture – Forestry deploys this program. After two successful rounds of fish farming, she has continued to implement the model and intended to do it for a long time in the future.

During the last Tet holiday, Ms Xuan sold nearly 4 quintals of fresh grilled fish paste at the price of VND 200,000 /kg with a profit of nearly VND 30 million. This is an increase of nearly VND 10 million compared to selling fresh fish. However, the processing of bronze featherback fish products has currently been passive due to limited local raw materials. Although the model is effective and has economic value, many households cannot afford to raise it due to the high initial capital.

Searching for fish broodstock on the spot

According to Mr Cao Van Toi, the problem of raw materials is an important issue in improving the value of bronze featherback fish products. The establishment of a specialized farming area not only creates a source of local raw materials, and ensures production, but also solves a bunch of problems in terms of costs of transportation and labour, employment, environmental sanitation, as well as food safety.

In the past early April, Mr. Toi established a cooperative group to raise freshwater fish with fish farming households in Phu Son 1 and Phu Son 2 villages, Hoa Khuong Commune. This cooperative group is on the way to completing the VietGAP certification dossier for Hoa Khuong freshwater fish products, creating a premise to improve product quality and promote collective economic development.

For the bronze featherback fish culture model, the initial investment capital is still high so there is a need for open mechanisms and policies to support people to continue implementing the model and building the value chain.

As shared by Mr Le Dinh Ca, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Vang District, in 2022, the locality will support households to complete the documents to participate in the OCOP program and orientate the construction of material areas and intercropping raising this fish with other fish.

If a specialized fish farming area combined with processing is formed and promoted, products from bronze featherback fish will be a new speciality of Hoa Vang in particular. On top of that, building a value chain will help products have "endurance" as competing with numerous well-known grilled fish pastes in other localities.

Ngo Thi Kim Cuong, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Center for Extension of Fishery – Agriculture – Forestry, said that each year, the center selects 6 households in Hoa Vang district to support broodstock and food to implement the model of raising bronze featherback fish. According to the agricultural extension regulations, each household is only supported once and must be changed so that all  households can benefit from the policy.

However, the initial capital of the people must be large in order to implement this model. Therefore, it is necessary to have a policy with a support period for each household when implementing the model at least 2 years to gain more efficient.

In the coming time, the centre will continue to study the artificial spawning process of bronze featherback fish to meet the demand for local broodstock on the spot. At the same time, the centre will have guidance on farming techniques so that locals can have effective farming, ensure food safety, and contribute to promoting the value chain of bronze featherback.

Reporting by VAN HOANG- Translating by T.VY