Persistently using cold-water fish to achieve expected results
More than 10 years ago, raising sturgeon - a cold-water fish species that only lives in countries such as Russia, Belarus, Norway... - in the Son La Hydroelectric Reservoir area was still unimaginable. However, with determination and a strategic vision, Vietnam Pangasius Group has turned that idea into reality, opening a new direction for aquaculture in the Northwest highlands.
After many surveys of natural conditions, climate, water environment, water flow... experts have given surface water measurement indicators for each area on the Son La Hydropower Reservoir. In mid-2012, Vietnam - Son La Tael Seafood Company Limited officially implemented a fish-ulation project in the Son La Hydropower Reservoir area in Muong La commune, on the Son La Hydropower Plant damage area with an initial scale of 20 fish cages, more than 20,000 fish breeds imported directly from Russia.
According to Mr. Mai Tuan Anh, engineer of Vietnam - Son La Chackerel Company Limited, in the early days of release, due to the high temperature affecting the health of the fish, many fish fry and fish died each day from 10 to 20 fish. After that, engineers proposed a vitamin C supplementation solution to increase resistance, for small fish, the feed will use fresh fish from ditches, pureed sea fish mixed with industrial bran; on hot days, the amount of food will be reduced, and in cool weather, the food will be added to increase the weight of the fish.
"To grow fish well, technicians must control feeding time, monitor development speed and regularly move fish cages according to each weight stage; monitor temperature, pH, food portion sizes, and not use any banned chemicals throughout the breeding process. Thanks to the strict process, the fish is of high quality, the meat is firm, delicious, and not fishy," said Mr. Tuan Anh.
After more than 3 years, the first batch of commercial fish was sold with an output of more than 12,000 fish, with an average weight of 1.5kg/fish, marking an important success of the model. By November 2015, to expand the farming scale, the entire cage system was moved to La Muong village (Muong La commune), an area with a stable water environment, not located in the main flow of the Da river, convenient for food care, transportation and product consumption.
From practical experience combined with techniques from foreign experts (Russia, Norway), the company has gradually completed the farming process according to VietGAP standards, food safety standards. The fish raised for 2 years only weighed 2kg/fish. Each sturgeon after being sold is attached with an origin code by the Company. Accordingly, customers who buy sturgeon can scan the product code through smartphone applications to check the fish breed, farming location, and start date.
To date, the company has developed nearly 270 cages and 70 seedlings, using over 40,000m2 of water surface. The total herd of sturgeon is about 200,000, of which 3,000 are parents for eggs, the rest are commercial fish. The output reaches about 300 tons/year - an impressive figure for the aquaculture model in mountainous areas.
Not only improving production value, the sturgeon farming model also creates stable jobs for local people. Currently, the company has signed indefinite contracts with 15 employees and hired 6 - 10 seasonal workers, with an average income of 7 - 20 million VND/person/month.
From international standards to the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine
From the beginning of 2025 to now, the company has supplied about 50 tons of commercial fish to the markets of provinces such as Son La, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Sa Pa, Hoa Binh... The selling price ranges from 250,000 - 1,000,000 VND/kg, depending on the weight of the fish from 1kg to over 30kg/fish.
Mr. Bui Anh Hung - a level 1 sturgeon distributor in Muong La commune and To Hieu ward, said: "The sturgeon here is of very good quality and is favored by the market. My Sam Sip Restaurant alone consumes 3 - 4 tons per month, not to mention retail at stores in and outside the province from 10 - 15 tons more".
Ms. Lo Thi Ngoc, Muong La commune, one of the diners who has been attached to the restaurant for many years, shared: "I often place sturgeon in the restaurant's menu. For the sturgeon of Sam CP restaurant, it is always guaranteed to be fresh and clean. The main dishes are from sturgeon such as hotpot, fried sturgeon, fried sturgeon, sturgeon salad... especially the sturgeon congee is popular with my whole family".
Currently, Vietnam Par crabs Group has produced some types of sturgeon and sturgeon from the parent fish herd raised in Son La, but only enough to supply fish fry to some of the Group's facilities in the Central provinces and will expand the scale to provide fish fry to Son La sturgeon farm and people in the Son La Hydropower Reservoir area who are eligible for raising.
In order to expand the model and create more opportunities for people, the company will deploy a chain of linkages for the production and consumption of sturgeon in the hydropower reservoir areas in the area. Cooperatives and households with conditions will be supported with seeds, technical advice and output coverage. This is a direction that both promotes existing potential and contributes to increasing income and sustainable economic development for the local community.
In recent times, Son La province has also coordinated with central ministries and branches, especially some agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Central Committee of the Farmers' Association, the Vietnam Cooperative Union to deploy consumption linkages for cold-water fish products in the province, including herring.
In addition, Son La also has a cooperation program with a number of other localities, especially in coordination with Lao Cai province to organize tours to learn from experience as well as exchange production experiences and connect product consumption to the market of your province, possibly aiming to export braised seaweed products to the Chinese market and other markets in Southeast Asia.
