Vietnam eyes sustainable mariculture development

Illustrative image (Source: AFP)

The strategy looks to achieve breakthroughs in marine farming with the purpose of building a modern mariculture industry that can meet the demands of domestic consumption and exports.

Under the strategy, Vietnam will strive to have a marine farming area of 270,000 ha and a total cage volume of 8 million cu.m by 2020.

The output of mariculture is projected to reach 750,000 tonnes in 2020, while the export turnover of maricultural products (excluding brackish water shrimp) is expected to hit 1.5 billion USD a year.

According to a report by the Directorate of Fisheries, Vietnam has 1,207 species of seafood, including 945 fish species and 135 types of crustaceans. The country’s current seafood reserves are estimated at 4.36 million tonnes, of which 2.45 million tonnes is catchable.

To date, the nation has established and put into operation 10 out of 16 marine protected areas.

In recent years, Vietnam has paid attention to developing shrimp and fish farming areas with a focus on applying high technologies that can help save water and minimise the impacts of waste discharge to protect the environment

Head of the Department of Aquatic Resources Conservation and Development Le Tran Nguyen Hung said that reports from 35 out of 63 provinces and cities showed that over the past five years, 4.5 million heads of fries were released into waters and reservoirs, with millions of giant tiger shrimp released in Bac Lieu, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, and Nam Dinh provinces.