Hualong releases 24,000 golden trout and rainbow trout, cage cold-water aquaculture succeeds
With the successive completion of the Lijiaxia, Kangyang, Gongboxia and other hydropower stations on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the water area within Hualong Hui Autonomous County has expanded, bringing a rare development opportunity to the aquaculture industry. In November last year, Hualong released 24,000 golden trout and rainbow trout for cage cold-water aquaculture, which succeeded.
On June 6 this year, a reporter interviewed Ma Zhonglong, head of the Horticulture Technology Extension Station of the Hualong County Agriculture Bureau, about the cage cold-water aquaculture situation. He told the reporter that in Lijiaxia, Huzhu Tu Autonomous County and other places, golden trout and rainbow trout are mainly raised in ponds, but the survival rate is far lower than that of cage cold-water aquaculture, which reaches 98%. It is understood that cage cold-water aquaculture is the first of its kind in the Haidong region.
According to Ma Zhonglong, the water area within Hualong County reaches 110,000 mu. In order to make full use of the existing water resources and develop a green brand industry with strong local characteristics, in 2008 the Horticulture Technology Extension Station secured 80,000 yuan in science and technology extension project funds, with farmers raising 330,000 yuan themselves, and set up 12 cages in Xitan Village in the Suzhi reservoir area of Gandu Town, releasing 24,000 golden trout and rainbow trout in November last year for demonstration aquaculture. After half a year of pollution-free standard feeding, the fish reached an average weight of more than 300 grams, with each fish gaining 40 grams per month. A single fish can grow to about 0.5 kg. Sold at a market price of 30 yuan per kg, the income is quite considerable.
Cold-water aquaculture has become a model for green cold-water fish farming in Hualong County, and at the same time has become another channel for increasing farmers' income in the areas along the Yellow River.