After suffering about two months of a great loss in shrimps, shrimp farmers in the coastal provinces of Bac Lieu, Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta finally see a glimmer of hope as they start cultivating again. Bac Lieu is the second hardest-hit community next to Soc Trang Province. But farmers in the area and even in some southern provinces decided to get back to production after their shrimp ponds were carefully sterilized. Moreover, according to an official from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Bac Lieu Province, the unprecedented death of a large number of shrimps only happened in industrial farming. Household shrimp farming was luckily spared from the agricultural tragedy.

Based on official records, the total estimated number of shrimp farms affected by the disease in the province covered an area of 16,720 ha. But as of July 7, 1,495 of the total 6,072 ha. of shrimp farms had already resumed production. In fact, shrimp farmers in Soc Trang Province have also started, producing, breeding and selling shrimp after undergoing an intensive sanitation process.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also released reports stating that more than 19,000 of almost 26,000 ha. of shrimp farms have resumed production. This is equivalent to 76% of shrimp farms in the province.

Because of the epidemic, the prices of shrimp have gone up. The death of many shrimps has resulted in a loss of shrimp collection for production, totaling only to 647 tonnes. The 36 shrimp processing companies in Ca Mau had been operating only at 50% capacity due to a serious lack of raw materials. The bad news is it is predicted that the shortage will continue for the next several months.

According to foreign experts, they haven’t identified the primary cause of the death of many shrimp. But Luong Ngoc Lan, head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that official data from international experts concluded that the cause of death of the shrimp is contaminated farms due to farmers’ negligence of strict sanitation regulations and procedure in favor of quick profits. This led to bacteria to grow in the ponds, killing many shrimp.

But because of what happened, shrimp farmers are now more cautious, applying more carefully monitored sanitation measures. But farmers who employed strict sanitation procedures were unsurprisingly saved from the outbreak.

In order to resume shrimp farming operations, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the industry needed a big amount of money to bring their livelihood back. Moreover, as a precautionary measure, the department will launch a massive information campaign before allowing shrimp farmers to resume their operations and avoid another outbreak.