Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Aqua Exploiting and Protection Department Nguyen Ngoc Oai, Vice Chairman of Phu Yen People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc An and Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Tri Phuong participated in the dialogue.
Experts agreed that sea resources were very important industry for the province, which had a coastline of about 190km with many deep-water bays with great potential for expansion of lobster farming.
Last year, the province had its peak crop of 29,000 cages of lobsters with an annual output of more than 500 tonnes. By this August, 35,000 cages of lobsters have been set up with an estimated output of over 950 tonnes per year.
However, in recent years, many fishermen rushed to raise lobsters in cages that suffered from outbreaks of disease due to the high density of lobsters. This resulted in big losses for local farmers, as many cages were set up in the same areas.
The same situation occurred a few years ago when people flocked into investing in lobsters after two years of bumper crops.
In addition, the raising of lobsters raised another problem for onshore aquaculture farmers, who also supplied the main feed for lobster farms. Development of lobster farming therefore threatened the exhaustion of aquaculture resources.
So far, onshore aquaculture farms have been the only food source for lobster farmers as Viet Nam have yet to produced lobster feed on an industrial scale.
"There were shortcomings in the master plan on sustainable farming development," said Vice Chairman of Phu Yen People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc An. "A specific plan on dividing zones for raising lobsters to better ensure against outbreaks of epidemics was also needed."
According to the experts, providing out-of-work fishermen with new jobs was among the key strategies in the coming time and the province needed to focus on developing industrial zones, tourism and services to create these jobs.
Currently, there are three economic zones in the province that bring job opportunities to tens of thousands of labourers. The province has approved the VND370 billion (US$17.7 million) project on providing vocational training to 30,000 labourers in the 2010-15 period and strengthened dissemination on vocational training and jobs for young people.
Deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Tri Phuong said that after a survey of fishing communities who either wished to switch jobs or continue earning a livelihood from the sea, the department developed three models.
Firstly, fishermen could move from fishing to farming or exploit offshore instead of onshore resources. They would need capital to buy offshore fishing vessels and the authority should ensure a system to help offshore fishermen cope with any financial problems.
Most of fishermen can not afford offshore vessels while a bank fund offering loans at a favourable interest rate of 6.5 per cent remained inadequate. Currently, the average interest rate of loan is about 15 per cent.
Secondly, those who volunteered to switch jobs should be given land for production and business. However, shortages and restrictions in the land fund made it difficult to implement.
Finally, a non-agriculture model would provide vocational training for former fishermen to work at economic and industrial zones.
In terms of build-up of sedimentation at some major ports such as Tam Quan Port in central Binh Dinh Province, Ward 6 Port in central Phu Yen Province and Hon Ro Port in central Khanh Hoa Province, Oai said the ministry had mobilised a research group to these provinces to study the situation, while the Institute of Scientific Research Irrigation was also tasked to solve the situation.
Phu Yen is a south-central coastal province with exploitation of seafood as its key economy activity. The value of seafood products accounted for 30 per cent of the total value of the province's agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietfish 2026, the Vietnam International Seafood Exhibition, will officially take place from 19–21 August 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. As Vietnam’s largest annual seafood trade event, organized by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietfish 2026 will once again bring together leading seafood companies, industry experts, and international partners from across the global seafood value chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached USD 1.1 billion in July 2026, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first seven months of the year totaled nearly USD 6.86 billion, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year. Exceeding the USD 1 billion mark in July further reinforces the prospect that Vietnam’s seafood exports could surpass USD 12 billion in 2026. However, the July figures also send a clear signal that the most favorable growth period may have passed: overall export growth slowed to just 4.8%, pangasius exports fell 6.1%, tuna exports were virtually flat, while exports to the EU, South Korea, and the Middle East all recorded double-digit declines.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the seminar "Global Seafood Market and the Future Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainable Development Pathways for Vietnam's Seafood Industry" will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on August 19, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first of five specialized seminars at Vietfish 2026, focusing on key issues that are shaping the long-term development of Vietnam's seafood industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese seafood exports recorded impressive growth, generating nearly 6 billion USD in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 13% compared with the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Fishermen in Ha Tinh are gradually overcoming difficulties to maintain the efficiency of seafood exploitation. In the first six months of 2026, the entire province achieved a production of more than 23,000 tons of seafood, worth more than 1,200 billion VND.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) June 2026 brought encouraging signs for Vietnam's tuna exports, with export value rising 20% year-on-year to nearly USD 72 million. However, this increase has yet to offset the prolonged slowdown seen in key markets such as the European Union (EU), where import demand remains weak. The outlook for the second half of the year is expected to become more challenging as freight rates continue to climb.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Agency for Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will organize the Domestic Seafood Supply–Demand Matching Program on the morning of August 20, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. The program aims to foster direct business connections between Vietnamese seafood producers and processors and domestic distributors, retailers, and foodservice channels.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Cooking Show will be one of the most engaging experiential highlights of Vietfish 2026. Taking place over three days, from August 19–21, 2026, at Hall B1, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City, the event will offer visitors a vibrant culinary space where Vietnamese seafood is showcased through its flavors, stories, and real-life culinary applications.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's pangasius exports reached USD 205 million in June 2026, up 5% compared with the same month in 2025. Cumulative export value for the first six months of the year totaled USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand from China and CPTPP markets, while exports to the United States and Brazil continued to decline.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first six months of 2026, Ha Tinh province continued to implement comprehensive solutions to combat IUU fishing; strictly manage the fishing fleet, control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, operate vessel tracking devices, trace the origin of seafood, and severely punish violations.
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