Pangasius hypophthalmus/Pangasianodon hypophthalmus - Tra
Tra is a fish with long body, grey black back, little white belly, big mouth and two pairs of barbells. The raising period varies from 6 to 8 months to reach the weight of 0,8 - 1,3 kg/fish. Tra fish mainly live in fresh water but also in blackish water (with salinity percent of 7 - 10‰), can bear in alum water (with pH level > 5), in hot tempreture up to 39oC but be easily died at temperature below 15oC. The volume of red corpuscles in Tra fish are much more than other fish. As the fish has an accessory respiratory organ and can also breathe with air bladder and skin, they can bear in the water lacking dissolved oxygen. The oxygen consumption and activity level of Tra fish is three times lower that the ones of a silver barb.
Pangasius bocourti - Basa
Basa is also a fish with long body. The standard length of the body is equivalent to 2.5 times of the height of the body. It has a short, slight round and flat head, a wide forehead and a small mouth of which the width is less than 10% of the standard length and which is lightly askew the snout. Its teeth of the lower jaw are big and wide and can be seen when the mouth is close. It has two pair of barbells, the length of the pair at upper jaw is equal to the one of the head, and the whiskers are long to or over the end of pectoral fin. It has big eyes, belly and spleen, the back side of the body is flat, the back and the head have the grey green colour, and the belly has the silver-white colour. The height of the tail-end is more than 7% of the standard length of the body. The raising period varied from 10 to 13 months to reach commercial weight of 1 - 1.5 kg/fish.
As Basa fish has no accessory respiratory organ and requires an oxygen level higher than the one of Tra fish, it can poorly bear in water with low dissolved oxygen level. Basa mainly live in freshwater, can lightly bear in brackish water and in alum water with pH level > 5,5. The supported temperature is from 18 - 40oC and the minimum oxygen level is about 1,1 mg/litre. In general, Basa fish can not support in severe environmental conditions as much as Tra fish. Therefore, they are mainly raised in floating cage.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Lithuania surpassed $14 million, up 8% year on year. While the increase remains modest, it is notable given the continued pressure on Vietnamese tuna exports to the EU as a whole. More importantly, export turnover to Lithuania has shown a clearer recovery in recent months, making the market a destination worth monitoring for Vietnamese businesses in Europe.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s squid and octopus exports exceeded $527 million in the first eight months of 2026, marking a 15% year-on-year increase. This growth is particularly notable given the strong baseline established in 2025, when export turnover for the same period reached $458 million, a 13% rise from 2024.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese pangasius is gaining traction in Japan, where competitive prices and reliable supplies have helped the fish enter professional distribution channels and a major sushi chain.
(vasep.com.vn) A circular economy does not create a “new type of shrimp” or a new certification. Its value lies in helping the shrimp value chain use resources more efficiently, stabilize production, generate additional value from by-products and build the data and evidence needed to meet increasingly stringent market requirements. This was the perspective shared by VASEP at the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Forum on Promoting a Circular Economy in the Shrimp Industry in the Mekong Delta, held in Can Tho on September 21.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to CPTPP markets reached $264 million in the first eight months of 2026, up 12% year-on-year and accounting for 17% of the nation’s total pangasius export turnover. In August alone, export value reached $34 million, inching up 3%.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Golden pompano is being selected as a high-value species for the development of high-tech marine aquaculture in Lam Dong Province. In 2026, the provincial Agricultural Extension Center launched a golden pompano farming model using circular HDPE cages in Lien Huong Commune, opening opportunities to apply technology to marine farming at a scale suited to local coastal conditions.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached $3.3 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 12% year on year. However, growth momentum is moderating and market divergece is becoming more pronounced, while the US and EU continue to present significant challenges. The latest insights from the Global shrimp forum 2026 (GSF 2026), held in early September, also indicate that the final months of the year will remain highly competitive as global supply continues to expand and buyers place greater emphasis on quality, product specifications, supply consistency and the ability to meet market-specific demand.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports continued to grow in August 2026, bringing total export value in the first eight months of the year to US$1.5 billion, up 10% year-on-year. August exports alone reached US$205 million, up 6%. However, market performance has become increasingly divergent, with China and Brazil posting positive growth while the U.S. continued to record a sharp decline.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached US$1.14 billion in August 2026, up 6.4% year on year, bringing the total for the first eight months to more than US$8.0 billion, an increase of 11.9%. Monthly export value remained above US$1 billion, but August growth was only around half the rate recorded cumulatively through the first eight months. This indicates that the eight-month result was supported significantly by stronger performance in earlier months, while market conditions are entering a less predictable period.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius is attracting growing interest from Japanese seafood companies as prices of many traditional whitefish species remain high and supply becomes increasingly volatile. Notably, seafood group Kyokuyo has recently continued to feature pangasius among its priority products, highlighting its competitive pricing and stable supply.
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