Son La owns nearly 4,000km2 of water surface in hydropower reservoirs, creating favorable conditions for the development of aquaculture in the commodity direction.
In recent years, thousands of fish cages have been put into effective exploitation, contributing to increasing income and improving the lives of people in the lake area.
According to Son La Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province currently has over 7,000 fish cages in Quynh Nhai, Muong Sai, Muong Gon, Muong Chien, Muong Khieng, Muong La, Chieng Lao communes...
The whole province has built more than 15 safe seafood supply chains, managed over 2,000 standard cages, and gradually improved the quality and value of products.
However, entering the rainy and flood season, the risk of rising water, strong currents, landslides and the amount of waste pouring into the lake makes many fish farming households face a great risk of damage.
At the end of July 2026, floods in Ngoc Chien commune caused Mr. Quang Van Hoang's family to suffer almost the entire loss of 22 fish cages with about 10 tons of catfish, humpback carp and grass carp raised on the Nam Chien hydropower reservoir.
Mr. Hoang said that the floodwaters poured in too quickly, causing many fish cages to be damaged and fish to be lost outside. Despite heavy losses, the family still invested in re-raising about 3,000 Hemibagrus fish, while reinforcing cages, strengthening mooring and proactively monitoring weather developments to minimize risks.
At Muong La Aquaculture and Tourism Cooperative, disaster prevention and control work has been implemented early. Currently, the unit maintains about 200 cages for raising sturgeon, loach and many specialty aquatic species.
Mr. Lo Van Khien, management of the cooperative, said that the unit has invested more than 6 billion VND to build a solid raft system on Muong Trai lake. Although this area is less directly affected by large floods, the cooperative still regularly inspects the anchoring system, reinforces nets, floats and arranges 24/24 hour on-duty forces to proactively respond to unusual situations.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tong Van Nen's family, Muong Trai village, Muong La commune, currently maintains 8 cages for raising tilapia, grass carp and catfish, with an average annual output of about 3 tons of fish per cage.
Mr. Nen said that the cage system has been used for many years, so every time the rainy and flood season comes, the family proactively pulls the cages closer to the shore to facilitate care and protection.
We regularly replace nets, check anchor ropes, and collect obstacles on the water surface to limit damage when heavy rain lasts for a long time," Mr. Nen shared.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Chairman of Quynh Nhai Commune People's Committee, said that the locality currently has nearly 2,800 fish cages, with an output of more than 1,100 tons per year.
According to Mr. Tu, right from the beginning of the rainy and flood season, local authorities have guided people to reinforce cages and rafts, check the anchoring system, proactively move farming cages to safe places, and regularly update weather information to respond promptly.
Proactively preventing and combating natural disasters not only helps people minimize damage but also contributes to protecting the seafood industry, creating a foundation for cage fish farming on hydropower reservoirs in Son La to develop sustainably.
