In 2006, aquaculture farms in the country extended to over 1 million ha, including 465,000ha of fresh water breeding and 585,000ha of salt and brackish water farms.
Even as the sector recorded high growth rates, there were many reports of dying shrimp and rising debt of farmers. The ignorance of farmers in raising and breeding fish in farms as well as the lack of efficiency among staff in the fisheries sector were the major reasons for problems affecting the sector, according to experts.
To boost the sector, the Ministry of Fisheries is planning to improve vocational training for fishermen and staff to meet the demands of higher growth.
College breeds, trains
Currently, the Fisheries College No 4, specialising in fresh water and salt water breeding, fish health, accounting, and application of information and other modern technologies in the sector, is among the institutes in the country providing qualified human resources for the fisheries sector.
The students from the college have gained excellent results and are now gainfully employed by enterprises in the sector.
With the agriculture sector witnessing a significant shift from 2000, as aquaculture farms increasingly replaced unprofitable rice growing or salt making, the demand for training in fisheries had risen, prompting the college to co-operate with other localities to open short-term courses for fishermen.
Nguyen Van Lan from the Gardening Association said the association had co-operated with the college to train farmers in modern fish breeding methods to improve productivity in recent years.
Source: VNS