Nguyen Phuoc Vinh
National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan, R.O.C
Title: Bioeconomic analyses for Brine shrimp Artemia franciscana commercial culture in coastal salt fields in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Biography
Biography: Nguyen Phuoc Vinh
Abstract
Culturing Artemia in the Mekong Delta is becoming more and more important to satisfy the live feed demand of aquaculture and this has been recently facing some environmental and technical challenges. This study presents a cost and return analysis by considering the differences in Artemia farming between two geographic locations in coastal areas of the Mekong Delta. The key factors affecting the potential production and profitability were determined according to multivariate statistical analysis and economic principles. The results emphasized that profitability performances among Artemia farms vary considerably according to geographic areas, with higher profitabilities (average benefit cost ratio: 2.68) achieved by farms in location 1 (Vinh Chau) compared to those in location 2 (Bac Lieu) (p<0.01). For Artemia cyst production improvement, beside maintaining optimal stocking densities of dried cysts from 1.06 to 1.17 kg/ha, moderate increases of organic fertilizer, feed and chemical inputs are recommended to supply Artemia with more nutrients and create better water environment for the optimal development and reproduction of Artemia. Additionally, a periodic harvest of Artemia biomass is required to minimize food and space competition and provide more incomes to farmers. In terms of supportive strategies, the government in Bac Lieu is proposed to have more investment policies for farm land and strengthen the establishments and activities of local cooperatives for further technical and financial assistance in Artemia culture. For sustainable development, scientists are advised to have a good collaboration with processing companies to commercially produce specific formulated feeds in a way that could satisfy nutritional requirements of Artemia, minimize environmental impact and improve profitability for coastal communities.