(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the Responsible Seafood Summit and TCRS Shrimp Summit 2026, organized by the GSA (Global Seafood Alliance) in Bangkok, Thailand, the conversation about the future of the shrimp industry began with one of its most important foundations: seedstock quality.
Genetic Improvement in Farmed Shrimp: A Driver of Competitiveness and Sustainability
The session "Genetic Improvement in Farmed Shrimp: A Driver of Competitiveness and Sustainability" brought fresh perspectives on genetic technology in shrimp. The panel featured leading experts in the global aquaculture industry from Saudi Aquaculture Society, Aqualma & Unima Group, Vaisakhi Bio-Marine, Texcumar and Viet Uc Group.
Mr. John Buchanan, CEO of the Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT), emphasized that genetic improvement is a biological investment: gains accumulate across generations, so better selection today can create value for years to come.
According to CAT, among the four pillars of production (husbandry, health, nutrition and genetics), genetics has a response speed of slow to medium, but compounds with time. Many farm investments must be repurchased, whereas genetic improvement is inherited: each generation starts higher, and the benefits persist through time. The cost of waiting is not just the lost years, but the lost compounding on those years. Ecuador is one example. Its shrimp industry progressed from No Selection to Mass Selection, then Structured Mass Selection, and finally Genomic Selection, after facing challenges such as Taura, White Spot Disease Collapse, EMS and COVID-19.
Dr. Bryce Duc Lu, Vice President of Genetic & Genomic Research and Development, Viet Uc Group, shared practical perspectives on genetic selection in Vietnam.
On reducing disease, Viet Uc takes a notably different approach. Dr. Bryce Duc Lu explained that shrimp farming environments always harbor pathogens, but disease outbreaks occur in the pond only when the microbial balance is disrupted and/or the physical and chemical characteristics of water fluctuate beyond what the shrimp can tolerate, causing stress during grow-out. Rather than developing a shrimp line resistant to each individual disease, Viet Uc develops stress-tolerant shrimp lines. Combined with a controlled farming environment that minimizes stress, this reduces disease-related mortality and the use of antibiotics and chemicals in shrimp ponds.
Dr. Bryce Duc Lu added that combining genomic data with data collected from many different farming environments, covering soil, weather and production conditions, helps Viet Uc select shrimp lines with suitable environmental adaptability. "After the successful launch of the Super Growth and Super Low Salinity lines, we continue to develop seedstock suited to high-tech intensive shrimp farming that is green and clean and reduces the risk of disease outbreaks," he emphasized.
Shaping "the Shrimp of the Future"
Disease, climate change and growing demands for transparency and responsibility in production are pushing the shrimp industry to look at the "shrimp of the future" more holistically, with traceability as one of the key criteria. This was the theme of the session "What does it take to build the shrimp of the future?", initiated by Viet Uc Group.
Mr. Ton That De, Member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Viet Uc Group, shared that Genomics technology makes it possible to trace a shrimp on a supermarket shelf back to its original pond, provided the parent broodstock come from Viet Uc's breeding population. In Vietnam, Viet Uc is one of the few companies with this advantage, thanks to a closed-loop ecosystem built over 25 years. It spans Genetics & Breeding (V.U GGRD), Hatchery (V.U Hatchery), Nutrition & Health (V.U Health), Smart Farming (V.U Eco-Farm) and Consumer Products (V.U Consumer).
Viet Uc Group has taken strategic steps to become an Aquatech Group by 2030.
"Thanks to this closed-loop ecosystem, Viet Uc can provide full traceability from broodstock to plate, creating a clear competitive advantage in the international market," Mr De shared.
Looking ahead, Viet Uc plans to take its Aquatech capabilities to global markets, starting with China before expanding into Southeast Asia, South Asia and North America.
Viet Uc is seeking partnership opportunities in its target markets to bring Vietnamese Aquatech to the world.
Beyond shrimp, Viet Uc has also applied Genomics technology to Pangasius (Ca Tra) in the Mekong Delta Region since 2015, demonstrating that its genetic capabilities can extend to other aquaculture species.
The Responsible Seafood Summit 2026 was not only an occasion to share strategic directions on science, technology and the future of the shrimp industry. It also gave Viet Uc the chance to strengthen exchanges with experts, research institutes and global partners. The Group is actively seeking partnership opportunities in its target markets, laying out the foundation for its global expansion and bringing Viet Uc's technology solutions closer to the global seafood industry.
For further information, please visit https://vietuc.com/en/