The Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2 has handed over 101,000mature tra breeder fish to eight Mekong Delta provinces and Can Tho cityas part of efforts to improve the quality of tra stock in the region.
Vinh Long was the first province to benefit, receiving 10,000 breeder fish.
Pham Thi Thu Hong, head of the province's Sub-department of Fisheries,said her agency has in turn handed over the fish to local breedingcentres.
"We have also transferred breeding techniques tothe centres and make regular checks to ensure good quality tra fry aresupplied to farmers," she said.
To sustain quality,breeder fish are only allowed to breed twice a year, she said. Each fishhas a tag carrying its age, place of breeding, and other details.
The origin of fish is soon going to become an export requirement.
Pham Truong Yen, deputy director of the Can Tho Fisheries, Plant andAnimal Breeding Centre, said his agency got 1,000 fish weighing anaverage of 1.1kg each from the institute this year.
The new stock will gradually replace the city's existing breeder fish, which have degenerated, he said.
The programme is part of a 2010 Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment programme to create high-quality breeder fish stock in thedelta.
The fish handed over to the provinces will meetabout 60 percent of farmers' fry requirements in the next few years, theinstitute said.
They need 1.8-2.4 billion fry every year.
Nguyen Van Sang, deputy head of the institute, said it would hand over30,000-40,000 more fish to the provinces each year for the next threeyears.
To improve the quality of the breeder stock,provincial fisheries sub-departments also regularly provide farminghouseholds training in farming tra fry and preventing diseases.
The Can Tho Fisheries Sub-department has also instructed tra breedingfarmers to adopt global good agriculture practices, or GlobalGAP.-VNA