Specialty aquaculture gradually takes hold in Tongcheng County, Xianning City, Hubei
On the 7th, the eels raised by Xia Erfu, an aquaculture farmer in Longyin Village, Tanghu Town, Tongcheng County, Xianning City, Hubei, came down with "red skin disease," and technicians from the Tongcheng County fisheries department made a special trip to his home to provide treatment.
"I'm raising more than 200 cages of eels, and they'll be ready for market by October," Xia Erfu said, expressing strong optimism about the prospects for eel farming. Xia Erfu was once a business owner in the county seat's building materials market. As the market tightened and rents soared, he decided to "stop being a boss and become a farmer." In June of this year, Xia Erfu contracted over ten mu of muddy fields in Longyin Village to raise eels.
Similar to Xia Erfu's experience, Wei Shuilong, who once sold mobile phones in the county seat, also "took off his leather shoes and put on rain boots," and now raises crayfish in Wuli Town. Since last year, Wei Shuilong gave up the mobile phone business and partnered with others to contract 10 mu of farmland in Wuli Town to raise crayfish. He said: "This is my first year raising crayfish. After stocking, they've grown very well, and I plan to bring them to market around the Mid-Autumn Festival."
In recent years, Tongcheng County has vigorously carried out the promotion of improved breeds, focused on cultivating large-scale science and technology demonstration households, and advanced the development of the county's aquaculture industry.
In order to expand the aquaculture water surface, the county has guided farmers to gradually convert low-lying fields and muddy fields unsuitable for growing crops into intensive fish ponds year by year; to enlarge small ponds and reservoirs and make shallow ones deeper, and to improve related supporting facilities; and to secure preferential policy support, whereby for every newly dug contiguous 100-mu fish pond with a water depth of 3 m, the county finance department subsidizes 600 yuan per mu.
At present, the county has 215 large-scale aquaculture households, and the aquaculture area has increased from 34,000 mu during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period to 60,000 mu, with output increasing year by year at a rate of 10%. This year's output is expected to reach more than 6,800 tons, realizing an output value of 85 million yuan.
As the ranks of aquaculture farmers continue to grow, a large number of them no longer treat common fish as their "flagship product," but have instead turned to high-quality, high-efficiency specialty farming such as eels, crayfish, crabs and soft-shelled turtles. The shift in these farmers' farming direction has not only broadened aquaculture channels but also strengthened their "resistance" to market risks, giving them the initiative in product sales.
For these specialty aquaculture farmers, the county vigorously promotes the establishment of seedling production bases, builds seedling supply and demand information networks with surrounding counties and cities, and procures the large-size seedlings needed by farmers; the county fisheries department provides free guidance and assistance in farming techniques and disease prevention and treatment, helping specialty farmers increase their incomes and become better off.