GENERAL INFORMATION

Vietnam, with a coastline of over 3,260 kilometers (km) and more than 3,000 islands and islets scattered offshore, plus up to 2,860 rivers and estuaries, has been geographically endowed with ideal conditions for the thriving fishery sector which currently exists.

Great potential of fishery sector in Vietnam is embedded in water bodies of 1.700.000 ha in which 811.700 ha freshwater, 635.400 ha brackish waters and 125.700 ha coves and 300.000 - 400.000 ha wetland areas might be employed for aquaculture development.

The Mekong River Delta in the south and the Red River Delta in the north have been used for wild catch fishing as well as extensive fish farming.

Shrimp and pangasius mostly farmed in the Mekong River Delta, in which, shrimp farmes located in coastal provinces such as Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Ben Tre..

Pangasius farming is developing in many provinces in Mekong River Delta such as Can Tho, Vinh Long, Tien Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Tra Vinh....

Production in the fishery sector grew at an average rate of 7.05% from 1991 to 2000, and 10% from 2001 to now. Vietnamese fisheries production increased steadily YoY. Aquaculture output tent to sharply rise while capture ouput tend to slow down. In 2023, aquaculture occupied 59%, fishing output occupied 41%. From 2018-2023, ratio of fishing output has decreased from 46% to 41% of total fishery production in Vietnam. In 2023, total aquaculture area was 5.408 million tons, up 3.5%; total fishing output was 3.861 million tons, equal to 2022.

Jan-Aug 2016: A 1.2% rise in Vietnam aquaculture output

16:35 09/14/2016

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In August 2016, Vietnam aquaculture output estimated at 338 thousand MT, up 0.3% year on year. This drove total figure in Jan-Aug 2016 to 2,303 thousand MT, up 1.2% year on year.

The superficies for pangasius rearing in the Mekong Delta estimated at 4,505 ha, down 2.6% year on year. The decline in the farming area was due to rise in raw material price but fall in export price. The harvest production estimated at 741,071 MT, up 4.4% year on year. Some provinces reported the increase in production like Tien Giang 25,400 MT (+38.4%), Can Tho 98,825 MT (+28%), Ben Tre 135,630 MT (+14.2%).

Thanks to favourable weather condition, farming area of brackishwater shrimp in the Mekong Delta rose. In which, area for whiteleg shrimp reported the sharp growth of 17.3% with 55,254 ha; area for black tiger shrimp estimated at 561,504 ha, up 2.1% year on year. The harvest production of whiteleg shrimp hit 107,007 MT (+4.1%) and that of black tiger shrimp was 135,844 MT (-10%).

Compiled by Kim Thu