Vietnam swimming into Lao sturgeon investment
Vietnam swimming into Lao sturgeon investment
Vietnam is showing interest in raising sturgeon in Laos in order to boost cooperation on fisheries and caviar marketing.
A Vietnamese entrepreneur is studying the feasibility of introducing the fish into different hydropower plant reservoirs around the country, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Vilayvanh Phomkhe said at an agriculture cooperation meeting between Laos and Vietnam in Vientiane last week.
With its mountainous terrain and abundant rivers Laos is believed to have good potential for coldwater fish breeding investment such as the caviar producing sturgeon.
A cooperation project in Pakxong district, Champassak province had been successfully raising the fish and become the first sturgeon-breeding model in Laos, according to provincial authorities.
Since Vietnam provided breeding sturgeon for Laos in 2009, the species has adapted well to local living conditions.
The project is seen as very important for Laos in meeting domestic demand and helping to reduce imports from neighbouring countries, so the government is planning to expand the model to other localities natio nwide.
To promote the commercial fishery, the ministry required the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam to assist with expert advice on breeding techniques.
The project had also tested raising salmon at the same site but the outcome was not satisfactory.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has been able to successfully breed salmon and sturgeon.
Mr Vilayvanh believed that cooperation of the ministries would help to expand fisheries in Laos progressively to allow the nation to develop expertise in the sector.
More than 481 fish species have been indentified in Laos including 22 exotic species and more species are being discovered on a regular basis.
Among other aquatic animals, about 37 amphibians, seven types of crab and 10 species of shrimp have been discovered but those recorded cover only about 15 percent of the estimated total.
