"Midwife" for Phu Quoc's endemic stream eel species

Be a "midwife" for fish

In 2013, Mr. Le Chi Tan - residing in Cua Duong commune, Phu Quoc city (Kien Giang) - started farming stream eels. He encountered many difficulties at first, but was eventually able to export 17,000 fry.

Mr. Tan shared that he learned about this fish through a colleague. Stream eel is a fish species endemic to Phu Quoc, belonging to the catfish family (scientific name is Phu Quoc stream catfish) but locals often call it "stream eel". This fish farm is the only place to breed fish for sale to many provinces such as Soc Trang, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Long An, Dong Nai.

After further research, Mr. Tan started working and luckily achieved good results. At first, he encountered difficulties in the food source for the baby fish. During the incubation process, the fish got sick a lot, because at that time he did not have much experience, so the treatment was not good.

Every year there is a breeding season, on average Mr. Tan sells about 30,000 fish to the market, with peak years reaching over 50,000 fish. “From May to August of the lunar calendar is the breeding season for this type of fish, that’s when I start breeding the fish. The care is quite elaborate, requiring thoroughness, thoroughness, and understanding, paying attention to many factors about water and diseases,” said Mr. Tan.

The time from spawning to selling the fry is about 3 months, when the fish will reach the size of 8 - 10cm, meeting the standard for sale. For fry, limit spawning when it is raining because at that time the eggs will have difficulty hatching and are more susceptible to disease than when spawning in the sun.

“The 4-5cm stage of the seedlings is most susceptible to disease, so at that time I have to observe them every day, especially early in the morning, to detect diseases and treat them immediately if any. During the first years of working, I also received support and learned from a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry,” Tan shared.

High profit from selling fish fry and commercial fish

The model of producing and commercial raising of Phu Quoc stream eels brings quite high economic profits. Mr. Tan said that currently, the price of fingerlings is 7,000 VND/fish, he earns more than 200 million VND from the sale. The price of commercial fish is 300,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, the profit is more than 40 million VND. Each year, the income from fingerlings and meat fish brings in nearly 200 million VND, a good income, helping to stabilize life.

Mr. Tan said that because the source of commercial fish is not abundant and stable, restaurants and hotels in Phu Quoc, although they really want to, cannot put it on their menu. Therefore, in the near future, he will cooperate with some households to form cooperatives or cooperatives to create a larger and more stable supply.

From the effectiveness of the model, many farmers, union members and youth in Phu Quoc city have come to visit and learn from the experience.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thao - Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Cua Duong commune - said: "Mr. Tan's model is very good and is developing well. Not only is it very economically effective, but it also contributes to the development of tourism. The cuisine from this special fish is very attractive to tourists. The commune's Youth Union will coordinate with Mr. Tan to support the youth union members in learning the commercial fish farming model."

In addition, the production of this fish breed not only diversifies products but also opens up many prospects for raising and preserving fish resources. This specialty fish dish will also contribute positively to the economic development of local farmers.