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Abstract
This survey was conducted in order to evaluate the current status of cobia grow-out farming industry in Kien Giang province as a basis for proposing effective and sustainable development solutions. The investigation was carried out in 90/639 farming owners that were randomized in 3 districts of Kien Hai, Kien Luong and Phu Quoc. Results showed that Kien Giang has great potential to develop marine fish cage farming. Fish were cultured in floating cages, with a volume of 52 - 64 m3/cage. The majority of farmers used hatchery seeds (60 - 70%), and stocking densities were 5 - 40 individuals/m3 depending on each stage. The fish were mostly fed by trash fish (92 - 94%) at 3 - 12%BW. FCR was from 8.0 - 9.8. After 12 - 16 months, fish reached the market weight of 4.5 - 7.5 kg/individual, and survival rate was 65 - 75%. Environmental management and disease prevention and treatment have not been focused on due to several causes. Fish has been mainly consumed locally and partly in neighboring cities. The SWOT analysis was used to evaluate the current status of cobia farming and 5 groups of solutions related to science and technology, marketing development, planning/policy, environmental and disease management, and extension training were proposed to sustainably develop cobia grow-out farming industry in Kien Giang province.
Keywords: cobia, Kien Giang, Rachycentron canadum, technical status.