In alignment with the country's strategic orientation of developing a sea-based economy and boosting fisheries exports, Vietnam’s central coastal province of Khanh Hoa is soliciting investments in seaculture.
Offshore seaculture imperative
The marine aquaculture sector has always received considerable attention from the Party and State. Following the issuance of a resolution on the sea-based economy by the Party Central Committee, the government has promulgated numerous decisions and decrees to direct the sector's growth.
Vietnam has only engaged in seaculture activities in coastal areas, predominantly lagoons, bays, and enclosed waters, said Nguyen Huu Dung, chairman of the Vietnam Seaculture Association (VSA), at a conference held in Khanh Hoa province on Friday.
The excessive development of conventional seaculture has resulted in adverse impacts on the environment and the fishing community itself. Therefore, a gradual transition to industrialized offshore seaculture is essential.
According to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country’s seaculture area has reached 85,000 hectares, with average annual growth of 23.3%. The total output increased by 3.5% year-on-year to 670,000 tons in 2022.
By 2025, the target is to expand the farming area to 280,000 hectares, and output to 850,000 tons, generating an export revenue of $800 million to $1 billion. By 2030, the goal is to augment the figures to 300,000 hectares, 1.45 million tons, and $1.8-2 billion, respectively.
By 2045, the seaculture sector will strive to adopt more sophisticated methods with modernized management, accounting for 25% of the fisheries sector’s output and obtaining an export revenue of over $4 billion.
Rob Garrison, an expert from the U.S. NewSeas LLC, emphasized the importance of selecting suitable species, farming locations, capital, operational costs, sustainability, logistics, and animal feeds.
Khanh Hoa seeks seaculture investments
Khanh Hoa boasts various advantages for seaculture, including a long coastline of 385 kilometers, over 200 islands, numerous lagoons, sheltered bays, and deep-water ports, said Tran Hoa Nam, Vice Chairman of the central coastal province.
In accordance with the Politburo’s resolution on Khanh Hoa’s development until 2030 with a vision to 2045, the province will implement high-tech and eco-friendly farming, exploitation, and processing of seafood.
By 2030, the province aims to enlarge its seaculture area to 1,500 hectares. Of which, the nearshore sector, or up to three nautical miles off the coast, will cover 800 hectares and produce outputs of 12,000 tons.
The offshore sector, or between three and six nautical miles from the shore, will account for an area of 700 hectares, output of 18,000 tons, and an export revenue of $1 billion.
Nam appealed to the VSA, scientists, and businesses inside and outside Vietnam to assist the province by providing advanced technologies and modern techniques, such as HDPE plastic cages, nets, cages, floats made of new materials.
“This support will gradually develop the sector to produce products meeting food hygiene standards, protecting the ecosystem, and adapting to climate change, while benefiting seaculture businesses and households,” Nam said.
One standout development in Khanh Hoa is Australis Holdings’ success in farming barramundi with a scale of over 10,000 tons a year using modern technology, the VSA chairman said.