Fish bred in ponds becoming more popular
Fish bred in ponds becoming more popular
The business of farm fish ponds is returning as a source of fish meat for local markets, providing more choices for customers shopping at markets and stores throughout Vientiane.
Mr Khamphou Pholsena, the owner of a fish farm in Xaythany district, told Vientiane Times on Friday the fish he is breeding in his ponds are increasingly being sought after by fish traders, as people have a taste for pond-farmed fish
Some people said that when buying the fish at the markets for cooking at home they will select the fish from ponds rather than the fish from cages in the river, especially for tilapia fish, or pakaxang.
The reason is because many people believe that the food provided to river farmed pakaxang contains substances to assist the fish to grow rapidly so people are concerned to eat this kind of fish because they're afraid they will become sterile in the future if they eat it for a long period of time.
At p ond farms, by comparison, fish receive other sources of food. It is not difficult to feed the fish in the ponds and doesn't cost much, because fish breeders only buy some supplementary food for fish as most use the waste produced by their chickens, he pointed out.
“We just buy fingerlings and release them into the pond. We need to buy a little food for the fish but most ly we feed them what's left over after it passes through the chickens,” Mr Khamphou said.
He added that he doesn't worry about the food of fish because he has enough dung from our chickens to keep the fish satisfied. Mr Khamphou has around 10,000 hens, which keep the fish well supplied. After the fish have been fattened up for about four and a half months, they are sold to traders in Vientiane.
The species of fish in his pond include various types of carp, as well as tilapia, and Chinese carp. The fish sell wholesale for 12,000 kip per kilogramme, with around five tonnes per month sold to traders.
Nowadays, pakaxang is the main fresh fish found in markets in Vientiane, as there are large numbers of cage farmers breeding them in the rivers around Vientiane.
The Nam Ngum River in Xaythany district is home to many farmers breeding pakaxang fish, which is selling well in local markets since several species of fish have become harder to catch in the last decade or so.
According to the Agriculture and Forestry Sector in Xaythany district, there were almost 90 Lao families raising this species of pakaxang in the district over the period from 2006 to 2013.
Almost 20 tonnes of farmed pakaxang is sold daily in markets in Vientiane and some provinces.
vientiane times
