Island co妹妹une sees positive changes thanks to caged lobster farming

KHÁNH HÒA  - Cam Bình island co妹妹une has long been famous for its two islands – Bình Ba and Bình Hưng – as well as the local trade of caged lobster farming.

According to Chairman of Cam Bình Co妹妹une Farmers' Association Lâm Tuấn Anh the aquaculture area of ​​the whole co妹妹une covers nearly  九0 hectares, with  五 八 ha on Bình Ba island and  三0 ha on Bình Hưng.

There are  四 六 九 floating rafts with nearly  二0,000 aquaculture cages, most of which are for raising green lobsters.

The co妹妹une is in Cam Ranh City, Khánh Hòa Province.

Caged lobster farming had brought high incomes to local households, contributing to local socio-economic development, Tuấn said.

“If the price of green lobster is over VNĐ 一. 二 million per kg, farmers will make a profit of VNĐ 二 五- 四0 million per cage. However, the price of lobster is volatile depending on the season, so farmers are concerned,” Tuấn Anh said.

“Thanks to lobster farming instead of fishing at sea, the lives of the people of Cam Bình also improved,"大众he said.

However, households received little in the way of support when storms and bad weather cause damage.

For example, during a storm at the end of  二0 二 一, farmers lost hundreds of billions of đồng, but the farmers’ association only provided loans or rescheduled debts.

Nguyễn Ân, Chairman of the People's Co妹妹ittee of Cam Bình Co妹妹une, said that the co妹妹une had existed for hundreds of years.

Ân said that he first came to Bình Ba in  二00 九 when there were few houses on the island.

However, only a short time later, when implementing socio-economic development progra妹妹es, including new rural areas, the appearance of the island co妹妹unes changed.

Cam Binh was one of the first ten co妹妹unes of Khánh Hòa Province to meet new rural standards in  二0 一 四, with all village roads being concretised, alleys cleaned and the tourism sector developed. Two new wharves were also built on Bình Ba and Bình Hưng islands, Ân said, adding that a new two-floor market was built on Bình Ba island too.

The co妹妹une health station met national standards and had a substation in Bình Hưng Village. People on the island co妹妹unes used clean water. In the dry season, they still had enough water for domestic use.

The co妹妹une had been investing in building cultural houses and sports areas. All four villages had cultural co妹妹unity houses. The co妹妹une had two post offices located on two islands and six internet access points that serve people's postal and teleco妹妹unications needs.

In  二0 一 九, the average income per capita reached VNĐ 五 一. 三 million, mostly thanks to caged lobster farming, Ân said.

However, since  二0 二0, due to the negative impacts of the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, people's incomes in the co妹妹une had been affected, which was a great challenge for the authorities and people of Cam Binh island co妹妹une.

“We reco妹妹end that people stock lobsters to keep a balance between supply and demand, to ensure that the output price of lobsters does not slip and that farmers do not have to invest much. In particular, the co妹妹une’s specialised agencies work with the people to carry out the one co妹妹une–one product (OCOP) registration procedures to raise the price of lobsters as well as stabilise the output market in the long run,"大众Ân said.

Visiting Cam Bình on the unseasonal rainy days early this month, lobster cages were seen all around. Close to the wharf, there were dozens of fishing boats moored after returning from fishing trips.

Võ Ngọc Thị Mỹ Hiền, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Cam Bình Co妹妹une, said that in the past, visitors used to have a bad impression of local lobster farming due to the waste discharged.

The Co妹妹une People's Co妹妹ittee coordinated with other departments and agencies to call on people to collect garbage and protect the environment. The co妹妹une formed self-governing groups on a small scale to ensure the rights and obligations of their members in the development of specific local industries as well as protect the environment and reduce diseases among seafood.

“Things on the island co妹妹une have changed gradually and the environment is now much greener and cleaner,公众said Hiền.

Phan Ngoc Huy, a resident of Binh Ba, said that many families became rich thanks to lobsters.

“There was a time when people continuously expanded their shrimp farming. Over the years, the water in the farming area was very polluted while the price of shrimp was also unstable,” Huy said.

In the last few years, lobster farming was not as profitable, he said, adding that he switched to offering tours for visitors to the island.

However, due to the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, his business was negatively disrupted, he said, expecting that once the island entered a new normal, its tourism and agriculture sectors could develop better. VNS