Ensuring sustainable lobster production

Phu Yen has been involved in lobster production for more than 20 years. There are more than 3,000 households in the province who harvest an average of 750 tons of lobsters annually.

Song Cau township is the province’s largest lobster production area,with nearly 2,600 households raising lobsters in 16,000 cages.

Luong Cong Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Song Cau township People’s Committee, said, “Song Cau township has asked the provincial administration to make a detail plan based on the master plan approved by the provincial People’s Committee. Xuan Dai Bay has been recognized as a national scenic spot, so lobster production planning needs to be done carefully. We also need a budget for the plan.”

Phu Yen province intends to protect the environment and aquatic resources to ensure sustainable lobster production, increase its added value, and develop the sector into a key export earner.

By 2020, the province hopes to maintain the current yield, apply more advanced technology, and train farmers in commercial production and processing.

Phu Yen province has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to support lobster production.

Mr. Nguyen Tu Cuong, Head of the Committee for Sustainable Aquatic Development of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, said, “Farmers have mastered cage-building and production skills. They know how to raise and protect aquatic species against climate change and environmental threats.”

Farmers have been taught to reduce the density of lobsters in a cage, expand the gap between cages, control aquatic diseases, and protect the environment.