ASSESSMENT ON THE CURRENT STATUC OF SNAKEHED SEED PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM  

Truong Hoang Minh(1), Tran Ngoc Hai(1) and Robert Pommeroy(2)
(1) College of Aquaculture and Fisheries
(2) University of Connecticut-Avery Point, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Goton, Connecticut, USA
 

The study on "Assessment on the current status snakehead seed production the Mekong Delta" was conducted from April 2014 to June 2015 by directly interviewing 65 snakehead seed production hatcheries, which of 22 hatcheries in Dong Thap province, 33 hatcheries in An Giang province and 10 hatcheries in Hau Giang province. The result showed that there were two kinds of seed production systems which consist of earthen pond and hapa in earthen pond. The experience of earthen pond and hapa in earthen pond hatcheries owners were around 12.1 years and 9.26 years, respectively. Broodstock productivity in earthen pond and hapa in earthen pond were 8,375 larvae/kg and 7,954 larvae/kg of female, respectively. Snakehead seed nursing density in earthen pond years was 553 individual/m3, whereas hapa in earthen pond year was 2,108 individual/m3, Food conversion ratio of earthen ponds was lower than that of hapa in earthen ponds; and the survival rates were 56.2% and 61.9% respectively. The productivity of the hapa in earthen pond was 1,299 individual/m3, whereas earthen pond was 311 individual/m3. Total cost of earthen was 47 VND thousand/m3/production cycle) was lower than that of hapa in earthen pond (206 VND thousand/m3/production cycle). The total income of the earthen pond was (97.7 VND thousand VND/m2) lower than that of hapa in earthen pond (404 VND thousand/m2). The profit of earthen pond system was (49.8 VND thousand/m3) lower than that of hapa in pond 196 thousand VND/m3. Fingerlings consuming source of earthen pond system was mainly in the studied provinces (78.9%) and other provinces (13.21%), the rest (7.89%) was kept to culture by the producers. While the hapa in earthen pond system sold to snakehead seed wholesalers in the studied provinces accounted for 74.6% and consumers outside the provinces (8.8%), the rest (17.6%) was kept for farming by the seed producers.