'Chien' fish farming area of Thai Hoa specialty fish production and trading cooperative (Ham Yen).

'Chien' Fish (bagarius yarrelli) brings high economic value. The fish meat is firm, sweet, and rich in nutrition. However, due to fragmented farming methods, mainly catching naturally, the risk of depletion of 'chien' fish is great. Realising that fact, in 2016, the Fisheries Centre of Tuyen Quang Province implemented the project "Building a demonstration model of technology and providing fried fish breeds in north mountainous provinces".

Pham Manh Thong, director of the Fisheries Centre of Tuyen Quang Province, said that 'chien' fish is only adapted to clean water, high oxygen content, and fast currents, so breeding is very difficult. After many failures, up to now, the centre has succeeded in artificially breeding this rare fish. In the first 6 months of the year, the centre has produced 115,000 fingerlings, serving specialty fish farmers in the province and neighbouring provinces such as Ha Giang, Yen Bai, and Phu Tho.

Thai Hoa specialty fish production and trading cooperative (Ham Yen) was established in 2016. To date, the cooperative has 12 members who all raise fish in cages on the Lo River in Ba Luong Hamlet, Binh Thuan Commune with a total scale 63 cages. Pham Thanh Binh, director of the cooperative said that 'chien' fish is one of the rare fish breeds. Therefore, buying seeds at professional hatcheries, especially the Fisheries Centre of Tuyen Quang Province, is of great significance.

On average, the life cycle of each litter of 'chien' fish is from one and a half to two years. With the average selling price of fish from 500,000 - 600,000 VND per kg, each member of the cooperative can earn VND100 million - VND350 million VND from raising fish. Currently, 'chien' fish products of the cooperative have been recognised as meeting VietGAP standards.

As one of the business owners investing in cage fish farming on Na Hang ecological lake, Pham Anh Toan, director of Duc Nguyen Seafood Co., Ltd. said that in order to develop specialty fish farming, in addition to the care procedure, the clean water source is important for specialty fishes to develop. Nearly 10 years of aquaculture on the lake bed with a scale of 30 cages, including 10 specialty fish cages, he has never had difficulties, the fish grow and develop well, bringing a significant source of income for his company.

In the period from 2017 to 2021, the Tuyen Quang released more than 330,000 fingerlings to the natural environment, including many specialities fish varieties such as Lang, Chien, Bong, Anh Vu, etc. The release of regenerative fish contributes to ecosystem balance, conservation and replication of rare fish species.