Powering Aquaculture Progress; developing a R&D Aquaculture farm

Together with its projects partners, Fresh Studio is developing a Research & Development Aquaculture farm in Mekong delta. This innovative center is expected to bring the Vietnamese Aquaculture to the next level.

Background

In Vietnam, the aquaculture sector started in the early 1960s with small scale extensive culture systems. The rapid growth of the sector during the last two decades has been a direct result of adapting intensive production practices mostly for exportable species. Vietnam’s aquaculture production increased from aroud 160,000 tons in 1990, to nearly 500,000 tons in 2000. After 2000, due to the development of the pangasius and shrimp industries, the aquaculture production has increased fivefold (just under 2.5 million tons).

Despite this enormous success of the aquaculture sector in Vietnam, there are quite a number of challenges in order to achieve a more sustainable growth of the sector. For example:

• Reducing negative environmental impacts of farming, and especially water pollution and use of limited natural resources (fish meal)
• Control diseases outbreak and limit the use of veterinary medicines and chemicals
• Improve cost efficiency and productivity to be able to be competitive in the global market

Approach

Aiming to be major actors in the sector, Fresh Studio and projects partners (private sector and universities) are developing a Research & Development Aquaculture farm in the heart of Mekong Delta. At the start, researches area will be focused on innovations in:

• Fish nutrition
• Feed management
• Farm management Farming methods, including introduction of re-circulation systems

Aiming to be major actor of innovations in the sector, Fresh Studio and project partners (private sector and universities) are developing a Research & Development Aquaculture farm in the heart of Mekong Delta. This farm will be made of over 100 farming units from 200 liters to 2000 square meters. At the start, the area of research will be focused on innovations in:

• Fish nutrition and feed management
• New technologies in farming systems, including introduction of re-circulation systems
• Farm management

To ensure that the developed innovations will be adopted by the final user (the fish farmers), training and extension programs will be implemented, as well as demonstration trials all over the Mekong Delta with leading and influential farmers.

Expected outcome

This innovative Research & Development Aquaculture center is expected to bring the Vietnamese Aquaculture to the next level.