Aquaculture has grown rapidly in Asia in the past three decades with the main impetus for the industry’s surge being the stagnant wild fish catch, which has leveled off at a little above 80 million tonnes since the 1980s, according to Japanese economists.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien told a press conference in Hanoi on October 14 that the agriculture sector expanded by 2.02 percent in nine months of this year despite African swine fever.
Eco-shrimp farming, which has been spreading in the Mekong Delta localities in recent years, is touted as a model for sustainable aquaculture development thanks to its strengths in environmental protection, low costs, and high profit.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong highlighted Vietnam’s determination to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and build a sustainable aquaculture.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), aquaculture can make up tens of billions of USD a year for Vietnam’s GDP if its potential is fully tapped.
The Prime Minister has approved a proposal for Vietnam to take part in a project funded by the FAO to facilitate sustainable aquaculture growth in the country.