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.

Seafood sector aims to produce 6.4 million tonnes this year

Vietnam’s seafood farming and fishing industry is expecting to produce 6.4 million tonnes in 2015, according to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 A conference on seafood production in the first six month was held on June 29 in Hanoi by the directorate, revealing that in the first half of the year, seafood production reached 3 million tonnes, up 3.6 percent against the same period last year.

Of the 3 million tonnes, the farming sector contributed 1.8 million and the remaining was generated through fishing. Brackish-water shrimps posted a 21 percent growth with 200,000 tonnes.

In order to reach the expectations, the sector will need to face competition from other countries, technical barriers, and disease risks, according to the Directorate.

Nguyen Van Trung, Head of the Department of Fisheries Capture and Resources Protection under the Directorate, said the implementation of Decree No 67/2014/ND-CP on seafood development needs to be sped up to boost the output of seafood fishing.

Government Decree No. 67 provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic policies to encourage fishermen to build high-capacity and iron-covered ships capable of fishing offshore .

Nguyen Huy Dien, Deputy General Director of the Directorate, said that the agency would organise regional meetings to assign tasks and send working teams to localities to help farmers ensure high seafood quality.

(Source:VNA)


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