Oyster harvest season gets underway in Van Don

Fishermen in Van Don district have currenly been busy harvesting oysters, with boats heading out to sea to supply the market. Although supply remains limited compared to previous years, thanks to early restoration efforts following Typhoon No. 3 in 2024, many oyster farming areas have reached market size, bringing optimism to local aquaculture farmers.

At 4 a.m., Nguyen Van Thang (Dong Xa commune) mobilized workers to harvest 10 oyster cages in the Soi Nhụ area, preparing samples for traders to inspect before signing large purchase orders. His family’s 10-hectare farm, restored in October 2024, is now ready for harvest after more than seven months of care. “The oysters met quality standards, and traders confirmed their orders immediately. We expect to harvest several hundred tons per day from now until the end of July, with a total output of around 300 tons. At a stable price of VND 15,000 per kilogram, this provides the resources we need to reinvest in the next farming cycle,” Thang said.

According to statistics, Van Don harvested over 7,000 tons of aquaculture products in March and April, mainly mollusks. In April, the output doubled compared to the previous month. As most newly restored farming areas are not yet ready for harvest, the current supply of mollusks remains limited, pushing buying prices up 2-3 times higher than in previous years.

Luu Van Duy (also from Dong Xa) shared: “In early April, my family began harvesting our first batch of oysters. With top-grade oysters selling at VND 26,000 per kilogram, our recent 100-ton harvest brought in nearly VND 3 billion.” Current purchase prices allow local oyster farmers to achieve profit margins exceeding 50% of total revenue, providing strong motivation for continued production.

The recovery of aquaculture production in Van Don in the first months of the year is contributing positively to the district’s economic growth. The district has currently had 3,663 hectares of marine farming area, with more than 3,500 hectares dedicated to mollusks; the remainder is used for farming sea fish, shrimp, and other seafood. The district’s agriculture, forestry, and fishery sector is estimated to have grown by 297.5 billion VND in the first four months of 2025, up 24.5% compared to the same period in 2024.

Nguyen Ngoc Canh, the Van Don Milk Oyster Cooperative, noted: “Our rafts began harvesting in early April, rotating between rafts to maintain production. We have oyster seedlings ready to be released immediately after harvest to stay on schedule. On average, we harvest around 200 cages per day, each weighing over 40 kilograms, about 800 tons for every 100 cages.”