Algae, the concern of Binh Dinh leaders

In early April 2023, the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee approved a list of four provincial scientific and technological tasks to be implemented in 2023, including a task in agricultural science. This is the subject of research, development and comprehensive processing of some seaweed products to improve quality and develop value chain in Binh Dinh Province. This topic was commissioned by the Binh Dinh Agricultural Extension Center functional area to implement. This is the prerequisite for the development of algae farming in the future.

The tasked entity will study the yield and harvesting season of seaweed in Binh Dinh. The research and development of a number of species of algae suitable for local conditions, combined with research and application of high technology in post-harvest treatment, pre-processing and processing of some value-added products from algae ensure food quality and safety with the aim of improving quality and development into a value chain.

“We were commissioned to study the production process of three types of algae, namely cartilaginous algae, bamboo root algae and grape algae, in the waters of Binh Dinh using nutrient reproduction; Investigation of the process of commercial cultivation of the above three selected seaweed species with a yield of 30-40 tons fresh/ha to ensure economic efficiency. Research on technological process to perfect post-harvest treatment and processing into seaweed nutrient powder, vacuum sealed fresh grape seaweed and bottled seaweed water; Development of a set of basic standards for seaweed products that meet technical criteria and ensure food safety according to the regulations. Design and create a series of seaweed product labels and create a chain link model for seaweed product consumption,” said Mr. Tran Quang Nhut, Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Agricultural Extension Center.

According to Tran Van Vinh, deputy director of Binh Dinh Fisheries Sub-department, cultivating seaweed in coastal areas is a prerequisite for securing the livelihood of fishermen in sea-side villages. Algae is also a commercial product. high, hence it will bring economic efficiency. The advantage of growing seaweed for fishermen in fishing villages is that the cultivation technique is quite simple and does not require highly skilled workers. The algae growers just have to be diligent.

“Cultivating seaweed does not require feeding, fertilizing, or injecting drugs, like raising chickens and ducks, or growing orange and grapefruit trees on the shore.” such as bags and bags attached to the algae to avoid breaking the algae, thus creating a well-ventilated growing area for the algae to absorb light and oxygen. to develop. When cultivating seaweed, farmers are responsible for protecting the cultivated water area and not allowing fishing boats to operate near the shore, so that they protect the ecological environment of this sea,” said Tran Van Vinh.

According to Mr. Phan Tuan, head of Economic Department of Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh), the provincial agricultural sector is building a trial model for commercial seaweed cultivation in Nhon Hai Municipality (Quy Nhon City). If this model is successful, the functional sector of the city will spread to three other coastal locations, namely Nhon Ly Municipality, Nhon Chau Municipality and Ghenh Rang District, but mainly it continues to thrive in Nhon Hai Municipality .

“The area of ​​sea where algae can grow in Nhon Hai is quite limited. The cultivation area is mainly located in Hon Kho large and Hon Kho small, other sea surface areas overlap with the area assigned to enterprises for exploitation. Tourism exploitation and overlap with the coral reef sanctuary,” shared Mr. Phan Tuan.

Derive the process from the test model

Mr. Nguyen Ton According to Mr. Sang, 12,000 of these seaweed seedlings are supported by DBLP Company (Phu Yen) for trial production.

The seaweed mentioned above was brought to Binh Dinh at the exact time of the rough sea. Also, at that time there was no technique to tie the seaweed seeds to the rope and there was no raft to hang the seaweeds, so it was not possible to put the seaweed seeds into the sea either. They need to be bred on land for more than 2 months. By early February 2023, the above seaweed was all tied to the rope and Mr. Sang also bought a raft so he could take the seaweed seeds to the sea, then only 10,000 plants were left.

“Initially, I planted 10,000 seaweed seedlings in more than 10 plots, each plot is 5 m2. After releasing the seed into the sea about 20 days later, I extracted the seaweed to propagate. First I put a net around the algae patches to prevent fish from eating young algae. The net is a kind of net, the mesh size is about 1-1.5cm to prevent small fish. When the seaweed was mature and I no longer feared being eaten by fish, I removed the net and released the seaweed into the wild.

The weeds are placed at a distance of 0.5 – 1 m from the wire, leaving space for the weeds to grow. 1 bunch of seaweed is about 100g, this bunch is about 20cm apart from the other. The weeds are placed about 5-6 cm from the water surface. When the water is polluted with sweetness or the temperature at the water surface is too hot, it is necessary to let the weeds sink deep about 30-40 cm from the water surface to prevent the algae from dying,” Herr said Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang.

According to Mr. Sang, the sea weather in Binh Dinh is 6 months of calm seas and 6 months of rough seas, of which 3 months are stormy seasons of heavy waves, seaweed cultivation should be avoided in these 3 months. Through practice, Mr. Sang learned from experience that in Binh Dinh, if you want to grow seaweed, you need to buy mature seaweed varieties that are about 15-20 cm long to be planted effectively. The time to put seaweed seeds in the sea is before the lunar new year. To avoid the stormy season, one must farm until August of the next lunar year to harvest it.

“If you buy a new small variety that is only 2 to 3 cm long and plant it, the growing season will be longer, the harvest time will not be in time to avoid the stormy season, and the grower will lose revenue because of the Wind breaks the plant.” Seaweed. In the coming period, I will bring back 100kg of adult seaweed about 15-20cm in length, planted in a 30m2 plot, and take about 1-2 weeks after extraction, propagation and rearing until the rainy season in 2023 for evaluation were harvested. output,” added Mr. Sang.

In Nhon Hai, there is an apricot forest under the sea, which proves that this sea is suitable for growing seaweed, so growing seaweed will definitely be effective. The price of commercial seaweed is currently 3,000-4,000 VND/kg bought fresh at the production site, which is about 28,000-30,000 VND/kg dry. In winter, the price rises to 40,000-50,000 VND/kg dry as algae no longer provide production. Mr. Sang assumes that the commercial products will be covered by DBLP Company, so there is no need to worry about the production. Every year 1 ha for 30 tons of seaweed/year, the average price of fresh seaweed is 4,000 VND/kg, the grower has a turnover of 120 million VND/ha/year, minus the seed cost, which leaves the grower about 20 million VND a profit of VND 100 million, a small part of the income of the people of the fishing village.

“When seaweed cultivation offers high economic efficiency, the fishermen fishing near the coast in Nhon Hai will switch to seaweed cultivation. Until then, every household that changes jobs must be provided with at least 2 hectares of water for growing algae. In Nhon Hai, the sea surface on which algae can grow is only enough for about 30 households if you avoid the wave areas, the areas designated for tourism operations and the coral reef protection areas. Therefore, the functional sector needs to survey more new objects and plan marine areas,” suggested Mr. Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang.