Vietnam Aquaculture Overview
A Growing Aquaculture Industry
Vietnam is geographically endowed with ideal conditions for its thriving aquaculture sector. Accordingly, the sector plays an important role in the country’s economy. Vietnam is ranked as the world’s fourth largest aquaculture producer, behind China, Indonesia, and India. In 2017, Vietnam produced 3.84 million tonnes of aquaculture products, including 2.69 million tonnes of fish and 723,800 tonnes of shrimp. Aquaculture accounted for more than 53 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood production of 7.23 million tonnes.
With its coastline of 3,260 kilometers and an Economic Exclusion Zone of 1 million square kilometers, Vietnam is an ideal country to boast seafood industry, including both aquaculture and open ocean fishing. Aquaculture and open ocean fishing. Aquaculture systems are diversified according to geographical and climatic conditions:
» Northern Region is dominated by freshwater fish ponds, rice-cum-fish and marine cage culture.
» Central Region concentrates on the intensive culture of giant tiger prawn and the marine cage culture of fin fish or lobster.
» Southern Region has the most diversified farming activities that include pond, fence and cage culture of catfish as well as several indigenous species such as snakehead fish and climbing perch and giant river prawn, various intensification levels of shrimp culture and integrated culture such as rice-cum-fish, rice-cum-prawn and mangrove-cum-aquaculture.
Key aquaculture sectors include pangasius, shrimp, tilapia and increasingly also bivalves and marine fishes such as cobia, seabass and grouper. Aquaculture is concentrated in the Mekong River Delta provinces – accounting for around 75% and 80% respectively of the total national pangasius and shrimp production.
Aquaculture Production by Region 2015p (tonnes)
