More than 6.85 million aquaculture floating cages made from foam in the northern province of Quang Ninh have been replaced by those made from high-density polyethylene plastic, benefiting both the environment and farmers.
As of November last year the province had more than 32,000ha of aquaculture farms, and they had replaced 98 per cent of foam cages with plastic.
HDPE plastic is environmentally friendly, durable, flexible, non-oxidising, resistant to big waves and strong winds and can withstand high loads.
Local authorities have destroyed the foam cages without causing pollution.
In Cam Pha City and Ha Long City, foam pieces have been sent to industrial zones and cement plants to be used as fuel to recover heat and save coal.
When burned at high temperatures, foam is converted completely to heat, and does not affect the environment.
It is then burned into clinker for cement production.
In Quang Yen Town, the foam cages that need to be destroyed have been transported by a HDPE cage supplier in Bac Ninh Province for recycling.
In Van Don District, over two million cages have been collected at Cai Rong Fishing Port, and will be processed by the VietCycle Joint Stock Company, which recycles domestic scrap for free.
The company uses a crushing, heating and pressurized gas compression line to create solid plastic, which is then converted into other products.
Pham Van Tung, a technical expert at the VietCycle Joint Stock Company, said on knowing that Van Don District wants to recycle more than two million pieces of foam, the company took the production line there since transporting millions of bulky foam floats would take a lot of effort and money.
In the one-odd month since it began, the company has recycled around 40 tonnes of foam and another 250 tonnes are awaiting processing, he said.
It is installing a new line with a higher capacity to increase efficiency, and expects to do so in the second quarter of 2024, he told Vietnam News Agency.
He said the line does not affect the environment or even cause noise pollution, and is easy to transport.
After being cleaned, the foam pieces are crushed, heated and compressed to form solid plastic pieces of more manageable size than the floats.
The pieces are transported to factories in Hai Phong and Ha Noi to clean them further before being used as inputs for waste plastic products, or so-called black plastic, he said.
He said Styrofoam is also a form of plastic, and so when processed by burning it normally gives off black smoke, polluting the environment.
Gathering more than two million foam cages at the Cai Rong fishing port not only occupies a lot of space but also affects the environment and poses fire and explosion hazards.
Dang Ngoc Thiet, head of the port and harbor section at the Van Don District Agricultural Technical Service Centre, said that a large fire broke out in the port’s temporary foam cage storage yard in May last year.
The centre has had to establish a 24-hour monitoring team with surveillance cameras to deal with fire risks.
Bui Van Huong, chairman of the Cai Rong Town People's Committee, hoped the company would speed up recycling of the foam stored at the port.
Local authorities hope the company will invest in more production lines with larger capacities to soon recycle the remaining foam floats.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius export value reached US$1.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. In September alone, exports totaled US$210 million, an increase of 16%. China, the United States, and Brazil were the three largest markets, accounting for 49% of total export value. While China and Brazil maintained their growth momentum, exports to the US remained below the level recorded in the same period last year.
(vasep.com.vn) On November 11, 2026, in Can Tho, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) will organize the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029: Opportunities and Headroom for Double-Digit Export Growth.”
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Business leader Do Ngoc Tai, General Director of Tai Kim Anh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company, was honored by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with the title “Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneur – Thanh Giong Cup 2026” at a ceremony celebrating Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13). The event took place on the evening of October 11, 2026, at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
(vasep.com.vn) The global tilapia market is becoming increasingly segmented, not only among producing countries but also by product type and destination market. Supply is divided into groups with distinct competitive advantages: large volumes of whole fish and frozen fillets from Asia, high-value fresh fillets from Latin America, and substantial domestic consumption in several major producing countries.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports to the UK grew in the first eight months of 2026, despite signs of slowing import demand in the market. However, sharp fluctuations in orders, competition from major suppliers, and new traceability requirements are creating challenges for Vietnamese exporters.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
Đơn vị vận hành trang tin điện tử: Trung tâm VASEP.PRO
Trưởng Ban Biên tập: Bà Phùng Thị Kim Thu
Giấy phép hoạt động Trang thông tin điện tử tổng hợp số 138/GP-TTĐT, ngày 01/10/2013 của Bộ Thông tin và Truyền thông
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 – (ext.203); email: kimthu@vasep.com.vn
Trụ sở: Số 7 đường Nguyễn Quý Cảnh, Phường An Phú, Quận 2, Tp.Hồ Chí Minh
Tel: (+84) 28.628.10430 - Fax: (+84) 28.628.10437 - Email: vasephcm@vasep.com.vn
VPĐD: số 10, Nguyễn Công Hoan, Ngọc Khánh, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 - Fax: (+84 24) 37715084 - Email: vasephn@vasep.com.vn
