Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " Developing an Agricultural Research and Development Priority Framework for Vietnam Fisheries Sub-Sector Workshop" potx

Main Research Areas Marine finfish propagation  Grouper and cobia brood stock culture technique  Grouper and cobia seed spawning and fertilization  Natural food production for grouper

and Development Priority

Framework for Vietnam

Fisheries Sub-Sector Workshop

Data and Information Sheets:

Areas of Research & Development

Opportunity (ARDOs)

December 2006

ARDO 1: MARINE FINFISH

To date, marine aquaculture is not a well developed industry It is small scale, depends

on natural seed collection and the use trash fish feeds Limited research has beenundertaken with variable results Survival rates of larvae remain low and mostfingerlings either come from the wild or from imports from China Similarly, cobiapropagation is still unstable and need to be improved

Marine finfish aquaculture is a new industry that has a big potential, opportunities toexploit such as natural conditions and potential for high demand in domestic andinternational markets

2.2 Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields

 In general, marine finfish aquaculture such as culture of grouper and cobia isdominated by sea cage systems that are applied in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, NamDinh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa,and Vung Tau provinces

Value and Markets

 Grouper is a high value species in national and international markets For example,spotted grouper is the lowest price of among other grouper, but the price isapproximately of 10USD Other marine finfish such as cobia, sea bass, and Red seabream have lower value, average of 3-4USD/kg

 The price of grouper varies depending on the demand from the local andinternational market

Table 1 Price of orange spotted grouper in Quangninh and Haiphong, 2006 (USD/kg)

Month Fish size (kg) Quang Ninh (USD/kg) Hai Phong (USD/kg)

Table 2 Price of some Grouper species in Hong Kong, China 2006

 Development of export markets is necessary for the survival of the grouper andmarine finfish industry Currently, the main market for grouper and cobia are China,Hong Kong Taiwan and Singapore.

Comparative Advantage

 Long coastline, appropriate for sea farming operations

 Young population and comparatively low labour cost is another advantage for thedevelopment of this industry

 Major disadvantage is high cost of imported feed and ability to provide sufficientlocally produced seed stock

 Membership of WTO will provide opportunities to export but is likely to have somecomparative disadvantage to industry development as import tax and trade barriersfor imports are likely to be reduced

Government Policies

Decision N o 112/2004/QD-TTG National fisheries and

aquaculture development program from now to 2010 and

the direction for 2015

Approved by Prime Minister of Vietnam

11/1/2006

Decision N o 154/2006/QD-TTG National administration

on drugs and chemicals and food safety condition in

aquaculture from 2006 to 2010.

Approved by Prime Minister of Vietnam

30/6/2006

Decision N o 03/2005/CT-BTS Control the chemical and

drug residuals in aquaculture.

MOFI 3/7/2005

Decision N o 07/2005/QĐ Amendment on list of banned

chemicals and drugs in aquaculture.

MOFI 2/24/2005

Veterinary ordinance amendment in 2005 The content of

new amendment is similar to previous edition with 6

chapters and 71 articles.

National Assembly Publishing House

2005

and Rural Development

2004

Decision N o 112/2004/QD-TTG The national fisheries

program to 2010

Approved by Prime Minister of Vietnam

2004

National standard N o TCVN 6986: 2001 Water quality

standards for industrial effluent discharged into coastal

waters for the purpose of the aquatic animal life

protection.

Sector standard N o 28 TCN 192: 2004 Cage culture area

-Conditions for food safety.

Publishing House

12/10/2003

Decision N o 01/2002/QĐ-BTS List of banned chemicals

and drugs in aquaculture.

National standard N o TCVN 6984: 2001 Water quality

standards for industrial effluent discharged into coastal

waters for the purpose of the aquatic animal life

protection.

National standard 2001

Name and contents of regulations Publisher Date of issue

Decision N o 224/1999/QD The aquaculture development

program from 1999 to 2010

Approved by Prime minister of Vietnam

2000

Decision N o 103/2000/QD-TTG National policies on

fisheries propagation

Approved by Prime Minister of Vietnam

2000

3 Industry Analysis

3.1 Structure

Households and Size of Holdings

 Grouper and cobia culture systems implement traditional small scale culture methodsbased on bamboo cages, wooden cages Square or reticular cages are of 20 to 50cubic meters Advantages of these systems are low installation cost, easy to manageand appropriate for small farms For example, the price of a wooden cage of 100m³

in catba is about 2,000 USD This type of culture system is suitable for lagoonswhere there is little impact from big waves and strong winds Return on capitalinvestment is relatively short and may take 2-3 years to reach the break even pointdepending on the experience of farm owner and the investment capacity

 Recently, some commercial farmers have adopted a Norwegian production modelusing a circular cage with a larger volume (500-750m3) There are some private andinternational companies invest to grow some marine species including grouper, cobiapompano, and pearl in the coastal areas or offshore areas The operational cost ofthese companies is not yet documented, so there is no information about the time toreach breakeven point

 Because of white spot disease in shrimp farming, many shrimp farmers are shiftinginto marine finfish culture Species cultured in shrimp ponds include sea bass, Redsea bream and milkfish

 The main export markets are China and Hong Kong, with smaller volumes to Taiwanand Singapore The volume of exports is small and most exports are live fish carried

by private companies

3.4 Future Trends and Key Market Issues

 Asian economy is rapidly growing and demand for grouper and other marinecommodities will increase, especially in the China market There are some

advantages for Vietnamese grouper aquaculture as this market is close and transportcosts are low Japan is another potential market for marine finfish product is Japan.

 Foreign investment in marine finfish product is developing with Russian andNorwegian finance for marine farms in central Vietnam The product of thesecompanies will be directly exported to Russian market

 Membership of WTO will create additional opportunities to access internationalmarket

 It is estimated that demand for grouper in the domestic and international market will

be about 15,000 tons per year in next few years The value of these markets isestimated to be US$90 million

 With the development of national economy and increases in the number of wealthypeople the local market for marine finfish is likely to grow, particularly for grouperspecies In the short term is likely that most production increases will lead towarddevelopment of the local market through farmers directly selling to local restaurantsand to middleman, who will transfer live marine finfish product to big cities

4 R&D Information

4.1 Main Research Areas

Marine finfish propagation

 Grouper and cobia brood stock culture technique

 Grouper and cobia seed spawning and fertilization

 Natural food production for groupers and cobia larvae rearing

 Grouper and cobia fingerling culture techniques

 Red sea bream spawning and fertilization

 Red sea bream nursery techniques

Grow out culture technique

 Sea cage design, produce and practice management

 Sea cage aquaculture techniques

 Pellet compounds for grow out phase of marine finfish aquaculture

 Marine finfish culture techniques in earthen pond and inland farming systems

 Environmental practices management in marine finfish culture in earthen ponds and

in the sea cages farming

Nutrient

 Artificial feed production for marine finfish larvae nursery

 Natural feed production for marine finfish larvae nursery

 Essential nutrients component requirement in larvae stages

 Nutrients requirement of marine finfish species at grow out stage

Marine finfish diseases prevention and control

 Research on microbial diseases in marine finfish including disease cause byparasites, protozoan, fungi, bacteria, and viruses

 Studying the diseases prevention and controlling method base on:

 Brood stock and fingerling screening

 Better management practices in sea cages farming and earthen pond system

 Vaccine development and vaccination to prevent bacterial infections and viraldiseases especially VNN infection in groupers, sea bass, cobia and other comediesspecies

 Application of herb extract to control diseases in sea farm

4.2 Major Research Providers

Ministry of Fisheries

 Research institute for aquaculture No1

 Research institute for aquaculture No2

 Research institute for aquaculture No3

 Research institute for marine fisheries

Universities

 Nha trang fisheries university

 Fisheries research institute of Cantho university

 Fisheries faculty of agriculture and forestry of Hochiminh university

 Fisheries faculty of Hanoi agriculture No1 University

 Fisheries faculty of Thainguyen University

 Fisheries colleges No 4

 Estimated total funding for marine finfish research in 2005 is 246,667.00 USD The

government fund was 130,000.00 USD and 116.667.00 USD from international

projects including NORAD and DANIDA There is no data on provinces and privatecompany funding for marine finfish aquaculture study

4.4 Major Achievements to Date

 Some research on reproduction of grouper, cobia, sea bass and Red sea bream Forexample, the project on grouper seed production funded by Vietnamese governmentwas carried out from 2002 to 2005

 The national marine seed production center, sub-institute for marine aquaculture inthe northern center of Vietnam, the marine seed production center in the south ofVietnam can produce some groupers fingerling, cobia, sea bass, milkfish, and Redsea bream

 Tradition marine sea cage farming operation and practices

 Report on some common diseases of grouper and cobia in sea cage farming.

Strengths Weakness

 Environment and natural resources are

appropriate for marine finfish aquaculture

development.

 Potential for large increases in domestic

and export markets

 Close to potential high value export

markets

 Long history of aquaculture activities, so

farmers have experience in fish culture

 Relatively good human resource skills in

aquaculture in general and marine

aquaculture sector.

 Low labour cost likely to increase

competitiveness for marine finfish

aquaculture industry.

 Useful as an alternative production option

for disease affected shrimp ponds

 Some large scale investment in marine

aquaculture now occurring

 The support from government and other

agencies is also a creative advantages for

this industry

 Marine finfish aquaculture is a new industry so development of new knowledge and research could be a challenge for sustainable development.

 To date most of the production is small scale using traditional wild seed collection and trash fish feeding systems

 Lack of national strategies, planning and development for marine finfish aquaculture may adversely affect the development of this industry.

 No local commercial production of pellet feed compounds

 Poor infrastructure for product processing

 Relative high cost of entry into commercial scale fisheries and lack of funding may delay development of marine finfish aquaculture industry.

 Relatively poorly developed technologies

in culture, propagation, pellet feed, processing, environment and disease management.

Opportunities Threats

 Improvement in income will provide

opportunities to expand the domestic

market for marine finfish aquaculture

products.

 To be a member of WTO is another

opportunity to export products of this

industry to the larger market.

 Adaptation new techniques into marine

finfish aquaculture.

 Encourage more smaller scale and more

private and international companies to

invest in marine finfish aquaculture

 Development of technical expertise on

propagation, nursery, and culture

techniques.

 Development of production systems that

are efficient and produce marine finfish

products that met international standards

for food safety

 Wild catch of grouper fingerlings may cause depletion of natural resources with adverse impacts on the marine ecosystem.

 Natural disaster is another threat for marine finfish aquaculture industry.

 Adoption of high stocking, more intensive and larger sea farming size, diseases and waste pollution may directly impact on sustainable development.

 Membership of WTO is likely to reduce import tax for competitor countries and lower cost imports may impact on industry development and competitiveness.

ARDO 2: Cold Water Fish

1.3 Coverage:

Samonoidae family includes Oncorhinchus mykiss, white fish. This fish is family

Coregonidae and scientific name is Coregonus lavaretus

Acipensidae family including Acipenser baerri, A ruthenus

2.1 Introduction

Presently, among the freshwater fish species, there are a few low value species whichare produced in large volume to meet the domestic and international markets such astilapia, tra and basa catfish The group of species having high value in the markets doesnot exist in aquaculture practice in Vietnam Recent information indicates that in 2004,Vietnam imported 500 tons of Atlantic salmon from Norway During the first half of

2005, import volume has increased 150%, and it is predicted that import volume by theend of 2005 will reach to 1500 tons A part of the import fish products meets thedomestic consumption and a part is sued for processing and re-exporting to otherinternational market From the above information it may conclude that the culture ofthe low value species is sufficient but high value species are practically in shortage anddue to increase of the domestic demand, the import of these fish products is required.Trout and sturgeon are considered as alternative option for aquaculture of the tropicalspecies in the North Vietnam during the winter period, when temperature of water is notsuitable for grow out of the tropical fishes Thus these fish species are quite attractivefor many farmers in the North

2.2 Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields

The condition for culture of the cold species is the limitation of water temperaturewhich should be lower than 240C for at least 4 months of the year With this condition,

in the North during the period of late autumn to beginning spring, some water bodies(ponds, reservoirs, rivers, and springs) can be used for culture of these species InNorthern mountain provinces and central plateau, most of water bodies at the attitudeabove 1000m are available for culture of these species around year

 In 2005, only 1500m2 of the pond was used for growing out rainbow trout and

250m3 of cages and tanks were used for culture of the sturgeon

 In 2006, 3.4 hectares of the pond (1 ha in Lam dong province, 1,5 ha in Lao cai, 0.5

ha in Lai chau, 0.2 ha in Ha giang, 0.2 ha in Cao bang) were constructed for troutculture

 Three farms used circulation systems in Hai duong, and other 1000m3 of the cageswere installed for sturgeon culture in Yen bai and Lam dong provinces

 In 2005 the fist production of rainbow trout was about 12 tons while sturgeon wasonly 3.0 tons

 In 2006 it is expected that the volume of trout could be reached to 100-120tons andsturgeon may achieve 12-14 tons

 Grow rate of the production of these fish is expected to be doubled each year within

5 years coming then remain 20-30% per year in the period from 2011-2015

Value and Markets

 In 2005 value (farm gate value) of trout was VND1,400 - 1,500 million and sturgeonwas VND600 million

 In 2006 it is expected that value of trout will reach to VND14,000 million (US$900,000) and sturgeon will reach to VND2,4 million (US$150,000)

 The markets of these fish are domestic The farm gate price of trout is aboutVND120.000/kg, of sturgeon is VND200-220.000/kg

 The market price of trout range is VND170-180,000/kg, while the price range ofsturgeon could be ranged from VND250-270,000/kg

 With the expectation of the produced volume of rainbow trout, the import of thevaluable fish for high market will be reduced 30-35%, while an amount of 100-150tons of fresh fish could be exported to neighboring countries in the future

 Export of sturgeon is not expected,

 500 tons of sturgeon meat hopefully does not create any problem for domesticmarket as sale price of fish is just as eel and grouper price

Comparative Advantage

 Apart from cost of labour, Vietnam is unlikely to have any comparative advantagefor export of trout and sturgeon fish

 Maturation of brooders will open the possibility of production of caviar which may

be competitive in European market due its cheaper production cost and earlier inmaturation

 Main benefits will come from partial import substitution and high value fish will bevery competitive in terms of returns for farmers and in providing a diversity of fish indomestic markets

Government Policies

 The ministry of Fisheries through extension and research channels for the last twoyears has offered to RIA 1 projects on “transfer of seed production technology of twothese species” and “assessment of cold water resource in the northern mountain areafor planning cold aquaculture in the future”.

 The provinces having good potential for cold aquaculture such as Lao cai, Lai chau,Yen bai, Lam dong and others have developed good policies in extension to supportculture of these species through building a demonstration farms (providing 40% ofseed input and 20% of feed input for demonstrators)

 The Ministry of Fisheries is also promoting commercial aquaculture of the coldspecies in reservoirs in the northern mountain provinces as well as in central plateau

in order to increase trade value for freshwater fish species and value of commercialproduction in the reservoirs

3 Industry Analysis

3.1 Structure

Households and Size of Holdings

 Production of the cold fish species is mainly by private companies and cooperativesthat have the financial capacity for investment in infrastructure, technologydevelopment and operation costs

 It is estimated that during the period 2006-2010, 85 % of total volume of productionwill be produced by the companies and 15 % will be produced by the cooperativeand individual families

 The size of the companies is ranging from 2-5 ha, with production capacity of

100-200 tons while the size of family scale is 1000-5000m2 with the production capacity

of 10-20tons

 For a 2 ha operation, cost of construction is about VND450 million (US$30,000),Annual production expected is 100 tons Return expected is US750,000 with annualproduction costs of around US375,000 and a net profit of approximately US$375,000(VND6 billion) or US 187,500 per ha

 For a smaller scale production unit of 2000m² construction cost is VND100 million.Returns for 4 ton annual production is VND4.8 billion and net return is aboutVND1.2 billion per year

 The net profit from trout is about VND50,000 – 60,000 per kg of fish after 12 – 14months



3.2 Supporting Infrastructure

 The government has funded for construction of the research center for cold fishspecies considering as the primary infrastructure for promotion of cold aquaculturedevelopment

 Government will also support for building infrastructure of the project which couldproduce about 500 tons of fish (10 ha and above) It is expected that in the five years

coming there will be 4-5 intensive infrastructure sites will be built in the potentialareas.

 Some processing factories in different provinces mainly in the north will be involved

in processing of filet and smoked products

3.4 Future Trends and Key Market Issues

 The grow rate of the production of the cold fish species will be high and within 5years coming it is expected that 1000-1200 tons of rainbow trout and 250-300 tons ofsturgeon will be available for the markets

 During this period, the first generation of fry of trout will be produced in Vietnamand the brood stock of sturgeon will be matured

 The success of caviar production could be created a new export market to developedcountries

 The key issue is how to expand the market accordance with the growth of theproduction Appropriate development planning has to be based on the marketexpansion

4 Research and Development Information

4.1 Main Research Areas

 Seed production

 Farming systems

 Nutrition and feeds

 Diseases and environmental monitoring

 Environmental impacts of the introduced species

 Markets and products

4.2 Major Research Providers

 RIA 1 and 3 The National Extension Center and provincial extension centers

 The main financial resources for development are coming from the private sector

 Government allocation for research and resource from the programme 224, 112

 For the last three years, MOFI has allocated VND 2.6 billion for research and coldwater resource assessment

 In coming 3-5 years, it is expected that an amount of VND 5-6 billion will beallocated for the research on farming systems, feeds, disease, seed production,processing techniques.

 An amount of VND5-6 billion will be allocated for dissemination of the research

results to users

4.4 Major Achievements to Date

 Import of fertilized eggs of the rainbow trout from Finland (the country hastemperature much lower than in Vietnam) has been carried out for the last two years.The quality of eggs was very good, hatching rate was achieved 96-98%, and survivalrate of larvae to fry was around 90% The primary survey on development of gonadshowed that within a year, some females already are reaching maturation stage Itmeans that, the possibility of formulation of brood stock in Vietnam is basicallyproven

 The first experiment on hatching sturgeon eggs and nursing fry and fingerlings weresuccessful The trial on culture of Siberian sturgeon in cold water resources, in Thac

ba reservoir and in recirculation in Hai duong has been carried out Growth rate ofthose fish in Sapa is much slower than in cages in Thac ba reservoir and recirculationsystem in Hai duong

 High market value species

 Domestic market likely to exceed supply for

many years

 Great potential in many mountain areas in

Vietnam, where tropical species grow slowly

 Potential for industrial aquaculture with high

productivity

 Fast growth

 Less pollution due to efficient use of feed

 No disease occurred as yet

 Private sector interested in investments

 Government support policies

 Lack of knowledge and aquaculture experience about these species

 Supply of seed and quality feed depends on imports

 Lower production costs in western countries for the similar products

 Farm sites are in the most remote areas where it is difficult to access to public services (transport, communications etc.)

 Lack of HR and qualified trained people

 No technology approaches for processing products

 High investment and high technology are required

 Requirement of strict environmental conditions: low temperature, clean water

 Domestic and international (south-east Asia )

markets

 Restructure freshwater aquaculture species to

produce high value products

 Development of quality local seed supply

 Further development of large scale culture

systems including nursery and grow out

 Alien species causing impacts on biodiversity

 Disease associated with intensive large scale production

 Better use of water resources, cool weather

and turn disadvantages into advantage

The Government target for aquaculture in 2010 is 2 million tons of yield, over US$2.5billion in exportable value, providing employment and income for about 2 millionpeople The target is for crustaceans to contribute to 60% of the total value of aquaticproducts.

1.2 Research Scope:

Research to improve technical process for hatchery reproduction, higher yield andpropagation quality, and to build the technological process of rearing for marketablesize product Development of quality standards and quality assurance for seeds,suitable food, and management rearing conditions Research on solutions for saferearing, improvement in product quality and management and control of aquaticdiseases Market development research

1.3 Coverage:

 Priority objects for coastal culture : Tiger shrimps, mud crabs

 Priority objects for sea farmring: lobsters

 Priority objects for freshwater culture: Giant river prawns

2.1 Introduction

The crustacean species are economically important and have had a significant impact ondevelopment of the aquaculture in Vietnam They contribute 60% total of the totalannual export value of the fishery from aquaculture Development of the industry hascreated shrimp and crab nursing jobs and wild and hatchery seed production hasgenerated further employment and raised income levels for producers and employees inproduction, processing and exporting This has had significant contribution inimproving social and economic conditions of the fisherman community

In recent years, aquaculture in general and shrimp culture specifically is facingchallenges in seed quality, environmental pollution and diseases These have in somecases caused extreme financial losses and poor returns for labour and have resulted innumerous farms which are fallowed for several crop cycles Solving these problems isurgent and further significant investment in quality management of reproductivetechnologies, quality and improved quantity of feed used in aquaculture, andmanagement systems and control and management of disease is required The aim is tocreate shrimp and crab products of high quality, produced using good managementpractices and sanitary condition to provide safe food to increase the reputation ofshrimps and crabs from Vietnam, so that they are more competitive in world markets

2.2 Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields

Production and Yields

 With 3260km coastline together 959.945ha of brackish water areas andapproximately 1.000.000ha of fresh water areas, Vietnam has a high potential fordeveloping aquaculture in general and crustacean species in particular in all of thefresh water, brackish water and sea areas Increases in the number of juveniles fromthe nature and from hatcheries, development of rearing areas for shrimps and mudcrabs has expanded in recent years:

 Tiger shrimps are cultured in brackish water ponds in coastal area within a 5-25%

salinity range The cultural areas have increased from 210448 ha in 1999 to 489.475

ha in 2002 and to 604479 ha in 2005 They are the main aquaculture product fromcoastal areas and provide very important export income Tiger shrimp culture hasbecome more and more specialized in each production phase such as juvenilereproduction (post larvae) and production of marketable products

Table 1: Annual Tiger Shrimp Production

Year Tiger shrimp juvenile yield

 Mud crabs are reared in brackish water ponds in coastal areas within a 5-25%

salinity range Areas for rearing have increased from 35000 ha in 2000 to 115276 ha

in 2005 Production is often practiced in place of tiger shrimps in the areas wheretiger shrimp culture is marginal and has low efficiency Annual production of mudcrab juveniles from hatchery is approximately 480- 800 tons

 Lobsters are reared mainly in cages or traps in bays and lagoons within a 30-35%

salinity range The number of lobster cultured cages/ traps has increased from 14000

in 2000 to 35000 in 2005 and occupy approximately 1 million ha of sea area Theyare the only high value commercial crustacean species capable of production in thesea However the juvenile source depends entirely on harvesting from nature Thelobster yields from farming was 500 tons in 2000, 2.400 tons in 2004 but was only1.500 tons in 2005 because of high mortality of the juveniles

 Giant river prawns are mainly reared in fresh water areas in the Cuulong river Delta.

Crop production is from April to October each year Prawn culture is practiced inonly four provinces: Angiang, Cantho, Dongthap and Vinhlong Areas haveincreased from 1800ha in 2001 to 3839ha 2004 which occupies approximately 0.43%total fresh water areas They are the only high commercial value fresh water

crustacean species in fresh water areas In 2005, the prawn yield of the wholecountry was 6400 tons in which 6012 tons were from the Southern provinces.

Value and Markets

 Crustacean species as tiger shrimps, mud crabs, lobsters and Giant river prawns arethe main aquaculture export products accounting for 60% the total exportable values

of the fishery

 Export values of tiger shrimps increased from US$607million in 2000 to US$1,230million in 2005

 Lobster exports were US$73.5 million in 2004

 Expansion of the domestic market for shrimps is expected in the near future

o Environmental and weather conditions: tropical climate completely suit

growing and developing of crustaceans

o Cost of Labour and production: Unemployment in coastal areas is high,

costs of labour are low and the overall cost of production is low

 Areas where Vietnam is not as competitive include:

o Control of quality of juvenile sources: The quality of the juvenile source

have not been managed well in most cultural areas

o Control the environmental conditions and diseases: Most of cultural

conditions and diseases used in marketable productions have not beenmanaged and this has led to loss of income and competitive advantage

o Preservation products: preservative technology of the products

post-harvest is not high resulting in decline of the product quality andcompetitiveness

o 03/2000/NQ-CP resolution mentioned farmstead economy;

o 103/2000/Q§-TTg Decision about investing infrastructure of trade village,traffic and aquaculture in country side;

o 112/2004/Q§-TTg Decision about the program of developing aquaticjuveniles until 2010;

o 126/2005/Q§-TTg Decision is the policy of encouraging to develop cultureseafood in sea, etc

 Other encouragements include:

o Tiger shrimps, Giant river prawns and Mud crabs :

 The Government policies permit transfer of marginal areas forrice, low ground and coastal areas to rear aquatic animals and todevelop cultural models depending on each ecological area

 Planning cultural areas and irrigational systems sufficiently foraquaculture

 Strengthening the aquacultural extensive system and deployingefficiently aquaculture models

 Giant are encouraged investing in technological process of

reproduction in local areas to gain 60.000 tons of marketable sizeshrimps in 2010

o Lobster: The Government supports farmers who sea-farm lobsters through

access to loans for capital investment The amount depends on amount oflobsters, from 5 to 100 million VND per family with 1.18% in interest ratefor 24 months

o There are 3 popular cultural models: improved extensive culture(approximately 300-800 kg per crop per year), semi-intensive culture (1-3tons per hectare per year) and intensive culture (over 3-5 tons per hectareper year)

 Mud crabs:

o The juveniles are from nature and meet about 10- 20% of demand

o Reared in traditional extensive culture with about 140 kg per ha production

o Hatchery juveniles have been produced since 2000 There are now over 100private hatcheries in 18 provinces from Kien Giang, Ca Mau to Hai Phong,Thai Binh.

o The main cultural model is improved extensive culture in 5000m2- 10 ha perpond and the productivity is about 0.5 – 1 tons/ha/year

 Lobsters

o The lobster source is mainly from nature Harvesting lobster juvenile isdone families by three main harvest methods: boat- net- light, trapping anddiving

o There are service systems as supply of juveniles, fresh food for lobsters andbuying marketable lobsters in the cultural areas

o Marketable lobsters are cultured mainly in bays, lagoons along the Centralcoast by two ways: in cages and in floats After 18- 24 months, themarketable lobster size is 800-1000 g per individual

 Giant river prawns

o The juvenile source from nature meets only 30-40% demand of marketableculture

o Prawn hatcheries started developing in 2000 Most hatcheries are private(77.4%) Others are state (19.4%) and collectives (3.2%) Production ofhatchery juveniles is 90 to 162 million individuals annually

o Cultural models take many forms depending upon local characteristics andinclude integration with prawn- rice crop rotations, semi- intensive culture,intensive culture in ground ponds, in channel in gardens, in weirs in floodareas and feeding by fresh food such as fresh water snails, trash fish Theproductivity is approximately 148- 924 kg per ha

3.2 Supporting Infrastructure

 Tiger shrimps, Giant river prawns, mud crabs and lobsters

o 10 national hatcheries belonging to Research Institutes and Universities werebuilt in different ecological areas in the whole country to produce juvenilewith high quality for culture

o The Centers of aquatic reproduction belongs to Aquaculture offices in localsare also being built to provide sufficiently juvenile for culture According tothe data census in recent years, there are over 4200 of private hatcherieswhich in seeds be provided to farms are approximate 95% every year.However, the quarantine on larval quatity and diseases from these hatcherysectors is being limited

o Setting up organs research on manufactured pellets that being equippedfacilities in order to process feed for shrimps, crabs, lobsters.Simultaneously, to collaborate with manufacturers of aquatic feed in bothdomestic and foreign countries to produce pellets Because in these cases,labours and processing materials will be cheaper, even salvaged local source

Approaching therefore to advanced technology overseas and utilizinglabours and local materials for processing suitable pelleted foods forshrimps, crabs especially seacaged lobsters are a reasonable direction.

 3.3 Markets

The main markets include:

Live mud

crabs

China, US The prices from Vietnam are lower than other Asian countries

because the exportable products are raw materials mainly The processing techniques are not developmental yet.

It is possible to expand exportation to EU market.

Live lobsters China, US The price from Vietnam is higher than from other countries in

the world because of higher quality and nicer coloration of the tropical lobsters cultured in Vietnam

The processing techniques are not developmental yet.

It is possible to expand exportation to EU market.

Frozen

Giant river

prawns

US, Japan, EU The prices from Vietnam are lower than other Asian countries

because the exportable products are raw materials mainly The processing techniques are not developmental yet.

3.4 Future Trends and Key Market Issues

 Tiger shrimps: The need is to apply the international standards of safety in food and

managing quality bases on ISO and HACCP for domestic and international markets.There is also a need to post-harvest processing and preservation technology toincrease export value

 Mud crabs: The international market for live mud crabs is increasing but the price is

low because the products are raw materials The need is to diversify the processedproducts made from mud crabs to increase export values

 Lobster: The export lobster price in the world market is increasing leading toexpansion of culture areas of lobsters This will require improvement in juvenilereproductive technology of lobsters in order to expand lobster production.Development of Vietnamese lobster trademark and increasing in the exportablevalues by diversifying lobster products are other strategies for development

 Giant river prawns: the demand for Giant River prawns in the world and domestic

markets is increasing The marketable size of prawns needs to increase to meetmarket needs and international standards of safety in food and managing qualitybases on ISO and HACCP To improve product diversity through processing andpreservation products after harvest to increase in exportable prawn values

4 R&D Information

4.1 Main Research Areas

 Tiger shrimps, mud crabs and Giant River Prawns:

o Research on enhancement reproductive technologies, reducing the cost ofjuveniles

o Developing systems and technology for reproduction, rearing to market sizesafely and guarantee of food safety

o Investigating industrial feeds to suit culture to market size of mud crabs andGiant river prawns

o Study efficient and stable models as culturing mud crabs with tiger shrimps,and with other animals; culturing Giant river prawns in rice fields; semi-intensive culture in ponds and in weirs

o Solution for management environment and crustacean diseases

o Setting up new technologies of product after harvesting, processing anddiversifying shrimps and crab products

 Lobsters

o Investigating solutions for protecting the spine lobster resource in nature

o Lobster culture technology to market size in sea, managing environment,diseases and feed

4.2 Major Research Providers

Fishery Ministry

 Tiger shrimps: Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1(RIA1) ; Research Institute

for Aquaculture No 2 (RIA2) ; Research Institute for Aquaculture No 3 (RIA3) ;National Fisheries Assurance and Veterinary Association (NAFIQUAVED)

 Mud crabs : Research Institute for Aquaculture No 2 (RIA2) ; Research Institute for

Aquaculture No 3 (RIA3) ; National Fisheries Assurance and Veterinary Association(NAFIQUAVED)

 Lobsters: Research Institute for Aquaculture No 3 (RIA3)

 Giant River Prawns: Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 (RIA1) ; Research

Institute for Aquaculture No 2 (RIA2) ; Research Institute for Aquaculture No 3(RIA3) ; National Fisheries Assurance and Veterinary Association (NAFIQUAVED)

Research Institutes and Universities

 There are over 20 Limited liability Companies and Stock Companies for Aquaculture

 The foreign organizations mainly includes DANIDA, IDRC, ACIAR

Estimate of finance for research in 2005

 About 6 billion VND (375000 USD) from the Government

 About 1 billion VND (93750 USD) from foreign fund

4.4 Major Achievements to Date

 Tiger shrimps: Develop high quality shrimp parent stock Environment and aquatic

disease situation are surveyed and forecasted Some different ecological areas areinvestigated and evaluated for production suitability Study on suitable feed for eachlarval stage and for juveniles Quarantine regulations for shrimp post larvae qualityand reduction of use of antibiotics in production market size shrimps

 Mud crabs: Juvenile production of mud crabs in some ecological areas in North,

South and centre Rearing of market products in extensive culture models in differentecological areas with achievement of production of 1ton per ha Study on nutrientrequirements of market size crabs

 Lobsters: Investigation of 3 technologies for harvesting and perseveration of natural

juveniles from sea Rearing for spine lobsters in cages and weirs in sea resulting inachievement of 45- 55kg per 18m3of cage Development of Lobster – blue mussels,seaweeds, spotted snails (babylonia snails) culture models resulting in income of 1billion VNS per 0,5 ha sea surface Development of community management modelfor management of the lobster resource

 Giant river prawns: Technological processes for a closed water cycle in juvenileproduction have increased survival rates from 30 - 60% Rotational cultivation modelbetween the prawns and rice increased crop yield from 500- 3.000kg per ha and 15-

60 millions VND per ha per crop in income Intensive culture systems increasedcrop from 1.5 – 1.8 tons per ha income from 39- 49 millions VND per ha and semi-intensive culture model produced 3 tons per ha 96 millions VND per ha per crop inincome

Strengths Weaknesses

 The resources, environment and weather in

Vietnam suit development of aquaculture

generally, culture crustacean species

particularly all year round.

 Established and growing export and

domestic markets – crustaceans account for

60% of aquaculture export income

 The potential area of suitable water surface

is very large.

 Diversity in production options suitable for

a wide range of aquatic conditions

 Many smallholders in shrimp production

with experience in production

 The live food sources in local areas are

plentiful.

 In Vietnam, employment is plentiful,

diligent and cheap.

 Experience technical personnel especially

in shrimp production.

 The governmental policies support

development of aquaculture.

 Provides employment in villages, coastal

areas with a relatively large number of

women employees.

 Provides improved income for poor

employees in villages to help improving

economic social life, eliminate hunger and

 Relatively poor supply of juveniles of high quality and quality of marketable product is not high enough to guarantee high prices

 The preservation techniques of the products after harvesting are low to reduce quality of productions

 Lack of good trademarks in the world market.

 Market research is weak and market fluctuation causes uncertainty for producers

 Apart from costs of production the comparitive advantage of Vietnam is low

 Sub- flock phenomenon in cultured shrimps and crabs decreases productivity and quality

 Further development of quality seed and

juvenile production systems to decrease

mortality and increase the volume and

quality of juveniles

 Development of the industry including

seafood processing, production of

commercial feed for shrimps and crabs, and

export of live crabs and lobsters.

 Development of suitable species for use in

a wider range of salinity conditions

especially in the salty marshes

 Post-harvest and preservation technologies

 Diversification of products bases to meet

the demands of the export and domestic

markets.

 Strategies for meeting world market

standards for aquatic products from VN

after entering WTO

 Competition and contradictions in community for use of water and land resources

 for suitable water and land with agriculture

 Unstable market and fierce competition between countries

 Fluctuation of cost depends on the chances

of supply and demand in the world

 The environment, epidemic diseases and sanitation and safety of food are not managed

 Natural calamity, typhoon, flood and drought

 Management of the environment and

natural resources to ensure bio-diversity

and availability of seed from natural

sources

 Development of food safety (HAACP)

standards and their implementation

of marine culture in the 21stCentury The global market has increased rapidly with theproportion of global market trade being 30% of total production and 19% of total value

of all trade Apart from food for human, mollusk bi-products have other purposes inagriculture, industry, medical and fine art

2.2 Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields

 The Tidal and Sub-littoral area with favourable conditions for culture is 760,000 ha

In addition there are more than 3000 big and small islands with tight bays and 112estuaries that create favourable natural conditions for coastal culture

Table 4 Salt-mash area in some coastal provinces of Viet Nam

area (ha)

Sea coast (km)

Littoral areas (ha)

Inundated tidal area (ha)

 In the Central and Southern area Main target species are: Abalone, Green mussels,

Scallop, Cockles, Babylon, Belchry oyster (Crassostrea belcheri), Clams (Meretrix

lyrata).

 In the Northern area: Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong provinces are ideal ecological areas for mollusk culture.

 In the Central and Southern area: The main mollusk culture areas are Khanh Hoa

province and Mekong river delta This area is anticipated to have god advantages ofnatural resources, farming techniques, and consuming market of the country

Production

 According to Ministry of Fisheries statistical data, total production of mollusk:

o In 1999 reached 115.000 tons, in which Clams and cockles contributed75%

o In 2002 reached 150.000 tons, in which Clams contributed 130.000 tons

Value and Markets

 The main consumer market for mollusk production is the domestic market

 Naturally, price varies from species to species of mollusks, specifically:

o Marketable size (3-7cm) having a price of 12.000-17.000 VND/kh at farmgate Whereas exporting price is much higher (20.000-25.000/kg) but nointernational certification of healthy product is issued

o Scallops are more expensive - 45.000 VND/kg

o In general mollusks production is less than market's demand

 In 2002 only, small percentage of total export fishery products including mainlydried squid and octopus were exported to US and Japan (0.61% and 6.1% respectively)

 Mollusk products consist of small proportion of total export quantity, mainlyincluding squid and octopus

Comparative Advantage

 Vietnam has long sea coast (of 3260 km) with a vast coastal inundated- area of about

1 million km2, which is an advantage to the aquaculture development in general andmollusk culture in particular

 Natural seed was generally very available early on in production

 Large area of flat tidal zone and ponds that are being used fro molluscs culture

 Water source with high nutrient concentration and less harmful algae event observed

 Availability of employment and low cost of labour

 Several bay, estuary with limited waves suitable for cultivation of molluscs

 In comparison to other aquaculture species such as fish, prawn and shrimps,cultivating mollusk has several significant advantages such as:

o Food supply is a natural resource and no energy is required for compoundfeeds

o Little or no pollution in the aquaculture environment

o Simple cultivating techniques

o Recognized as species that may improve environmental conditions andenhance the natural resource through supplying food as ephemeral larvae formarine species feeding zooplankton such as marine fishes, Shrimp larvae,crabs, squids

 Many countries such as China and Japan have well developed mollusk culturesystems and are major competitors in international markets

Government Policies

 Particularly, investments for laboratories, manufactories as well as promotingpolicies for mollusk cultivation are much concerned by Ministry for Fisheries and theGovernment

 The Target to be achieved in 2010 is total cultivating area of 20,000 ha, averageproductivity of 20 tons/ha, total production of 350,000-380,000 tons of molluscs,maximum export value of 350 million USD, and creating 4000-5000 employments

3 Industry Analysis

3.1 Structure

Households and Size of Holdings

There is some concentrated cultivation (Nam dinh, Thai binh provinces) but the size ofholding of molluscs culture is mostly at the family level Large area is fenced intosmaller area with different investment levels and technical application leading tounstable production and uneven product quality Initial investment (ground, raft, line,pillar preparation and seed) normally accounts up to 50% gross return, getting 50-100mil./ha

3.2 Supporting Infrastructure

 Mollusks are getting more and more attention from different economic markets.That's why a remarkable investment has been placing into the molluscs developmentand diversification of products Farmers has been investing much more money intoimprove culture condition (about 20 mil VND/ha for levelling culture ground withsand) while businessmen are investing in building processing units to improveprofits However, investment is still on a small scale with pre-treatment of frozenshelled products.

 In collaboration with pharmacy companies extracted health substances are beingintegrated into pills that sell for very high prices

 Molluscs culture in general, especially calm culture is making used of flat tidal zonethat is much available along the Vietnam coast line To be cultivable ground needleveling and flatting with sand that is very costly to farmers Other culture methodlike rafts, pillars, even on cages placed in water column is suitable for mussel,oyster

 Most of produced molluscs are used instantly by restaurants in cities Not too much

of them goes into factory for further processing it is due to a great demand formolluscs products

 Traditional oversea markets for mollusk products of Vietnam are:

o For squid: Japan, Italy, Taiwan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, US, France,Thailand, UK, Belgium, Denmark, Holland,

o For Clams: Japan, Italy, Taiwan, Korea, Holland, Thailand, China

o For Cockles: China, France, Korea, US

o For Scallop: Denmark, France, Belgium, Malaysia, and Japan

o For Conus: Japan, China

o Processed from Clams, Cockles, Conus and Scallop have been exported in lowvolumes to China, Korea, Belgium, Taiwan and USA

3.4 Future Trends and Key Market Issues

 Future emphasis will be on environmental enhancement Strong and unplanneddevelopment of several aquatic species has recently caused pollution of theenvironment This is likely to increase the support for development of molluskcultivation as it will utilize the abundant food source in the sea to create valuableproducts to make advantage of the seawaters for the national development

 Mollusk consumption over the world has increased over the last few years Thedemand for mollusk increasing rapidly

 To date the volume of exports is very low and likely to increase as market demandand production increases

 To meet the demand of the international markets, it is planned in next 5 years toraise the quantity and quality of the mollusk products both for domestic and

overseas markets, assure food safe sanitary, satisfy consumers, diverse kinds ofproducts both in design and quality.

4 R&D Information

4.1 Main Research Areas

 Research on artificial propagation and breeding for several species of molluscs:Abalone, Clam, green mussel

 Improving recently applied culture techniques: flat tidal zone, cage, integratedmodel with shrimps

 Investigation into geological distribution of seed source of molluscs in order to zoneprotected area

 Adaptive research on application of mollusk-extracted substances to pharmacyindustry

4.2 Major Research Providers

Ministry of Fisheries

 Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1,3 (Scallop)

 Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1, 2, 3; (Clam and Cockles)

 Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 (Oyster)

Universities

 University of Fisheries (Clams and Cockles)

 College of Fisheries 2, 4 (Oyster, Clam)

 Private- own clam seed production establishments in Nam Dinh and Thai Binhprovices

There has been some funding for molluscs development as following:

 Funding from MoFi for development of Abalone and Babylon: 2.5 Bil.VND

 Capital investment from CARD programs for clam production and developemt: 0.6Bil.VND

4.4 Major Achievements to Date

 Technologies of producing seeds of some mollusk species of high commercial valuehave been researched successfully, but this is still at the experimental stage, thusartificial seeds have not replaced natural seeds yet

 Intensive research on artificial seed manufacturing for large scale culture has been afocus of research organizations

 High-productivity cultivating technologies are also paid much attention by scientists

 Seed source of molluscs is a big deal of production development Though artificialproduction was successful but quite of survival rate (3%) gained Seed for growth

out culture is mainly dependent on natural seed so passive cultivation asconsequence.

 Vietnam is a tropical country with multi and

diverse aquatic species in general and

mollusk species in particular.

 Vietnam has a long sea coast ( of 3260 km),

with total coastal inundated area of 1 million

km2, which is a big advantage for fishery

culture development in general and mollusk

cultivation in particular.

 Large bio-diversity naturally available e.g.

about 2200 mollusk species belonging to 700

genera of total 200 families, of which more

than 80 species are of high commercial value.

 Mollusk cultivation does not require high

technologies and is appropriate for better

utilization of labour resources.

 Appropriate investments have been made by

the Government and Ministry for Fisheries

for research and develop mollusk culture.

 Many projects have been implemented

dealing with culture issues in which mollusk

is considered dominant species in the marine

culture development strategy of the nation.

 Poor technical knowledge of most farmers

 Reliance on use of natural seeds results in low and unstable productivity and yield.

 Declines in availability of seed from natural resource sources and reduction of bio-diversity though seed capture practices

 Only a relatively small proportion of the potentially suitable area is used for mollusk species and there is competition for most suitable areas from other aquaculture species

 Relatively low level of culture techniques

 Export markets not well developed, and likely to face competition from other countries

 Technologies of storage and frozen processing for mollusk products are not well developed.

 Expansion of seed production on a

commercial basis to reduce reliance on

natural seed.

 Improve culture and harvest techniques

 Quantify the positive impacts of mollusk

cultivation on the environment, its

contribution to other aquatic species

 Selection of high commercial value species

suitable for processing on a large scale

 Introduction and evaluation of new species of

mollusks

 Market research to identify suitable species

and specific market requirements

 Disease

 Adverse weather conditions

 Market unstable

ARDO 5 Fresh Water Fish

Tilapia: 300.000 tons of marketable size fish by the year 2015

Catfish: Production of 1.0 million tons by the year 2010

1.2 Research Scope:

Research into genetic improvement for higher growth rate in fresh and brackish water,selection for adaptability to higher salinity environments, improvement of seed stockquality and availability, improvement of culture technology, feeding systems, diseasecontrol and management, mitigation of environmental impacts, food safety andintensification of larger scale production systems

1.3 Coverage:

Tilapia: including O niloticus, O aureus, and Oreochromis spp.

Catfish: including Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, and Pangasius bocourti

2.1 Introduction

Vietnam has a long history and experience of fish culture Tilapia was fisrt known inVietnam since 1950s but really productive from 1990s, whereas catfish was first inoperation 1980s At the early stage they were mainly under household scale Up to datecatfish and Tilapia cultivation is getting more concentrated and more intensive givinghigh yield of 10-15 tons/ha for tilapia and 200-250 tons/ha for catfish However culture

of these species is experiencing some problems in term of technology, feed and seedinvestment, depredating seed quality due to inbreeding caused by poor maintenance ofbloodstocks For steady development culture technology and seed quality andavailability need further investigation

2.2 Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields

Tilapia

 Suitable for culture in areas of water temperature of over 18oC Year roundproduction in Southern Vietnam but cooler waters in winter in Northern Vietnam is adisadvantage

 At the present tilapia production is mainly coming from household's ponds

 A recently successful adaptation of tilapia into coastal area (brackish water) isopening a geat possibility to expand culture area and production accordingly.

Value and Markets

Estimated total value for Tilapia and catfish in the year 2004

Culture area (ha) Production (1000

tons)

% total production

Total estimated value (Bil VND)

 Diversity and availability of water body and resources: pond, reservoir, river, ricepaddy field, and so on Particularly running water system in the South that

significantly facilitate catch fish culture

 High quality and availability of tilapia seed (mono-sex), but still rather high in price

 Vietnam is a country of young population and comparatively low labor cost

 Inexpensive and much available of low cost feed that can make use for the food ofcatch fish

 But a disadvantage is high cost of in-country produced and imported feed leading to

an account of 60-80% total production cost

 Integration into WTO is bringing more opportunities to expand market

 Decision No 103/2000/QĐ-TTG dated 25/8/2000 by Prime Minister on seed development policies

 Circular No 04/2000/TT-BTS dated on 3/11/2000 by Ministry of Fisheriesinstructing the implementation of decision No 103/2000/QĐ-TTG dated on 25/8/2000 by Prime Minister on seed development plan

 Decision No 112/2004/QĐ-TTG by Prime Minister approving program on seed development for aquaculture up to 2010

 Decision No 188/2005/QĐ-TTG dated on 22/7/2005 by Prime Minister promulgating action plan of the government following circular No.50-CT/TW dated

on 4/3/2005 by Central Committee of the Party promoting the application ofbiotechnology for the Vietnam era of industrialization and modernization

 Decision No 694/QĐ-BTS dated 14/6/2005 by Minister of Fisheries approving Long-term programming for Tilapia development over 10 year period, from 2006-2015

 Decision No 10/2006/QĐ-TTG dated on 11/1/2006 by Prime Minister promulgating long-term development program for aquaculture by 2010 and an outlook to the year2020

 Long-term programming for Tilapia development up to 2015 by Ministry ofFisheries

3 Industry Analysis

The processing and packaging technology in a large number of private- investigatedestablishments applied in catfish and tilapia is far behind world's pace Frozen andvacuumed fillet are observed abundantly Additionally, product's label is not recognizedinformative enough and attractive appearance However, a newly run project hosted byRIA1 is putting a try to effectively commercialize aquaculture products, particularlytilapia.

Currently most catfish's production is for exporting to EU countries, Japan, and USAwhile presently Tilapia is consuming domestically as a main market Fisheriesauthorities and companies is setting a target to export 30 - 50% total tilapia production

by the year 2010 (targeted total production of 200.000 tons) However, facing difficulty

is competition from China with quite low export price for the same products Alsoquality of the exported product is problematic, it is due to high level of chemical andantibiotic residue in the products Unplanned utilization of chemicals and antibiotics isaccused for this disadvantage It is therefore that promotion of domestic consumption oftilapia is programmed by the year 2010

3.4 Future Trends and Key Market Issues