Mr. Tran Dinh Luan noted that while the 2026 growth targets are set against a backdrop of significant headwinds, the sector’s overarching approach is to identify risks early in order to formulate appropriate and proactive implementation plans.
To ensure a steady supply of raw materials for export, the Directorate of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance will collaborate with local authorities to organize solution-oriented conferences from the beginning of the farming season, focusing on key cultured species as well as new, high-potential species to maintain the industry’s growth momentum.
In parallel, the sector will strengthen environmental monitoring and early warning systems, tighten disease control, expand high-tech and recirculating aquaculture systems, reduce emissions and promote more efficient use of water resources. At the same time, food safety controls will be reinforced across the entire value chain, ensuring compliance with requirements for both domestic consumption and export markets.
The sector will continue to more concretely and forcefully shift from a production-oriented mindset to an economic approach to fisheries, moving away from single-value growth toward multi-value integrated growth. Particular emphasis will be placed on gradually embedding new market requirements, including circular economy, animal welfare, emissions reduction and socio-environmental responsibility - into aquaculture practices.
From an export perspective, Nguyen Hoai Nam, Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, noted that international markets increasingly require legal compliance for wild-caught products and mandatory farming area codes for aquaculture. However, the issuance of farm codes remains affected by regional planning complexities and administrative decentralization.
Accordingly, VASEP has recommended that the Directorate of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance continue to accompany and support enterprises by removing bottlenecks, accelerating implementation and promoting digitalization of certification and verification processes for caught seafood to enhance traceability and simplify export procedures.
The Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance reported that total aquatic production in 2025 reached 9.95 million tons, up 3% year-on-year. Of this, capture fisheries amounted to 3.83 million tonnes, slightly receding to 99.8% of the previous year's level, while aquaculture reached 6.1 million tons, up 5.1%. Seafood export turnover is estimated at over $11 billion, representing a significant 12.7% jump from 2024.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first months of 2026, IUU prevention models focused on communication and mobilizing fishermen to comply with fisheries laws and avoid encroaching on foreign waters—related to combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—have been implemented in coastal localities of Lam Dong province and have delivered initial positive results.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The sharp rise in raw pangasius prices to record levels is sending positive signals for the industry, but experts warn of potential supply–demand imbalances if production is not tightly controlled.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, the country’s total canned tuna export value in 2025 reached over USD 275 million, down 8% compared to 2024. Vietnamese canned tuna products were present in approximately 80 markets worldwide. However, the 2025 picture shows clear divergence: the U.S. maintained stability, the EU declined sharply, while several Middle East–North Africa (MENA) markets accelerated.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s crab exports reached nearly USD 86 million, up almost 6% compared to 2024. A notable feature of 2025 was the strong market concentration in the United States, which accounted for more than 81% of Vietnam’s total crab export value, up 10% from the previous year. In contrast, exports to several Asian markets declined significantly, resulting in only modest overall growth for the year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tilapia exports recorded impressive growth, with total export turnover reaching over USD 99 million, highlighting the increasingly important role of this product in the country’s seafood export structure. Of this total, tilapia fillets and other fish meat products accounted for USD 61 million, representing 61% of total export value and reaffirming their position as the key product category.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Shrimp seed quality is considered the “first link” and a decisive factor affecting the efficiency of the entire commercial shrimp production chain. High-quality seed directly influences survival rates, growth performance, and disease resistance, thereby determining production costs, productivity, and farmers’ profitability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As part of its agricultural restructuring strategy toward sustainability, Quang Tri Province is gradually promoting environmentally friendly aquaculture models. Among these, organic-oriented golden pompano farming is considered a promising direction, aligned with the goals of enhancing production value and building sustainable rural areas.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
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
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Trưởng Ban Biên tập: Bà Phùng Thị Kim Thu
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