Dong Thap (VNS/VNA) - The Cuu Long(Mekong) Delta province of Dong Thap has issued identification numbers to pondsthat breed tra fish under a government decree on aquaculture management thatwent into effect last July.
The ponds owned by 349 tra fish breeders in theprovince account for a 1,500-ha area that breeds tra fish.
The identification numbers are compulsoryfor tra fish growers as they ensure traceability of the fish used forprocessing and export.
To ensure traceability, individual breeders and commercial tra fishenterprises are required to store information about the fish for at least 24months from the date of harvest or sale to processing companies.
With the new regulations, tra fish breeders cansave time and money as they do not have to go to the sub-department to registerevery new batch of fish, according to the province Fisheries Sub-Department.
Under the decree, breeders of commercial tra fishare encouraged to use good agricultural practices such as VietGAP and GlobalGAP, as well as Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Aquaculture StewardshipCouncil (ASC) standards.
Thanks to these certifications, tra fish from theprovince is now exported to around 100 foreign markets, including the US and EU.
The province has 24 seafood processing and export companieswith a total production capacity of more than 429,000 tonnes of seafood a year.
Most of the facilities have been granted food safetycertificates such as the HACCP and ISO.-VNS/VNA