Aquaculture in Vietnam:

from small-scale integration to intensive production

David Dean

Environmental Studies, Brown University, Undergraduate Thesis

This thesis is accepted in its present form as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts program of Environmental Studies at Brown University. The undersigned accept the current status of the document.

SIGNATURE: ____________________________________ DATE: _____________ Caroline Karp Senior Lecturer Brown University

Table of Contents
Executive Summary Acknowledgments List of figures and tables 1. Introduction/Statement of Problem 1.2: Background: Aquaculture in Vietnam 2. Lit review/background, inc. Definition of terms 3. Case Study/results/Presentation of data 3.1: The transition from integrated systems to intensive monoculture 4. Conclusions: IRAI (integrated regional aquaculture industries (a model) 5.1 Unsustainability of Feeds 5.2 BMPs 5.3 Need for IRAI Appendix 1: Implications of the transformations of Vietnamese aquaculture for the future development of Rhode Island aquaculture Appendix 2: Catfish industry in Vietnam Appendix 3: Shrimp industry in Vietnam Appendix 4: Lobster industry in Vietnam Appendix 5: Site visits in Vietnam Review of literature Research Bibliography

Executive summary

IAAS (Integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems) have played a major role in traditional Vietnamese aquaculture (Edwards 2004; Le 2001) although it has largely been replaced by intensive monocultural, industrial scale aquaculture production over the past years (Edwards 2011). The intensification of aquaculture in Vietnam has endangered the sector, placing it on the verge of collapse if alternative approaches are not instated. In this thesis, I describe over 40 aquacultural operations in Vietnam and outline a new approach that I call Integrated Regional Industrial Aquaculture (IRAI). IRAI applies the principles of IAAS to regional issues of industrial scale aquacultural production. These findings are based on site visits to over 40 aquaculture production facilities all over Vietnam, and interviews with over 20 research specialists in Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, conducted in the summer of 2010, and a review of the literature on aquacultural production in Vietnam. The sites visited fall into three categories, corresponding to three stages in the development of aquaculture in Vietnam (small integrated farms, mid-size integrated farms, and large intensive monoculture farms). The rise of intensive monocultural fish farms (for catfish, shrimp and lobster) in the past ten to fifteen years in Vietnam has resulted in skyrocketing production. However, there are clear signs in all these industries that the ecological limits of this mode of production have been surpassed (DeSilva 2006; Phong 2010). DeSilva, and Davy (2008) There is a great need to develop a new integrated regional aquacultural model to respond to the grave problems of the Vietnamese aquaculture industry, which, considering the dire environmental consequences and decrease in production capacities discussed in this essay, can now be seen as victim of its own success. This thesis should be of interest to scholars, officials, and industry shareholders interested in comparative approaches to aquaculture, to those studying the limits of intensive monocultural production methods, and to those interested in the future applications of IAAS at industrial level of production. This paper has implications for the future planned development of aquacultural production in many areas of the world, including Rhode Island.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my advisor in the Brown University Environmental Studies Department, Caroline Karp, for her invaluable supervision and her patience with what has proven to be a long and complicated process of writing this thesis. Thanks also to Katherine McMaster for having introduced me to the field of food security and Mark Bertness, for sharing his passion for marine biology. I would like to thank the Jack Ringer Foundation (administered by the Watson Center for International Studies) for a grant to travel to Vietnam and Southeast Asia for 10 weeks in Summer, 2010. The data in the thesis is drawn from three kinds of sources, namely site visits to over 40 aquaculture farms in Vietnam and Thailand in the summer of 2010, interviews with over 20 aquaculture specialists and researchers in Malaysia (Worldfish), Thailand (AIT, NACA), and Vietnam (RAI 1 and 2, La Trang and Nong Lam Universities), and finally, a review of the extensive scientific literature on the field of aquaculture around the globe and in Vietnam specifically, carried out over the course of an Independent Study (Spring 2010) guided by my advisor Caroline Karp. I greatly appreciate the time and assistance of the following specialists, who allowed me to interview them in their offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam: Prof. M. Berry, Center for Tropical Marine Biology, NUS, Mohammed Sultan (NTU), Minh Hang (PhD candidate, NUS), Michael Philips, Senior Scientist in Aquaculture and Genetic Improvement, Jharendu Pant, Scientist, Aquaculture and Genetic Improvement; Kam Suan Pheng, Senior Research Scientist, Natural Resource Management; Marie Caroline Badjeck, Scientist, Policy, Economics, and Social Science (all at the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia), Prof. Peter Edwards (Emeritus

professor of aquaculture, AIT); Dr. Wenresti Gallardo; Dr. Amara Yakupitiyage; Dr. Thamarat Koottatep; Dr. Ram Bhujel, Dr. Dhirandra A. P. Thakur (all at AIT, Thailand), Director of Bac Nihn RIA 1 (Research Institute of Aquaculture 1) Dr. Li Thanh Luu, Dr. Phoung of Can Tho University, Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc: Chair, Dept. of Fisheries, Dr. Nguyen Nhuh Tri, Integrated systems, Feeds, Dr. Hung: PAPUSSA Project, (all of Nong Lam University), and Dr. Sena DeSilva, Director General of Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA). In addition, I greatly appreciate the help of several researchers at Vietnamese aquaculture research centers, who hosted me on my visits, and helped translate for me on site visits. I also want to thank the many fish farmers I met in Vietnam, who gave generously of their time, experience and wisdom. Back in Rhode Island, I would also like to thank Prof. Barry Costa-Peirce for his helpful suggestions prior to my trip to Vietnam.

List of figures and tables Figures Figure 1: Aquacultural production in relation with marine capture production in Vietnam between 1991 and 2005 Figure 2: Production of catfish in Vietnam, 1999-2007 Figure 3: Production of shrimp in Vietnam 1991-2005 Figure 4: Rise and Decline in Production of Lobster in Vietnam 1999-2007 Figure 5: Relation between Number of lobster cages and productivity Figure 6: Traditional Vietnamese VAC system: upland integrated farming system Figure7: Seasonal calendar of agriculture-aquaculture activities in the uplands and lowlands Figure 8: Model of Ecological Interactions within Narragansett Bay Figure 9: Average annual energy flow and compartmental biomass in Narragansett Bay Figure 10: Rise in production of shrimp (1991-2005) Figure 11: Salinity Range of Vietnam Figure 12: Continuum of different shrimp farm production systems Figure 13: Relation between No. of cage and productivity Figure 14: Productivity of Lobster per cage Tables Table 1: Terms Table 2: System Classifications Table 3: Existing Integrated Aquaculture Systems Table 4: Environmental Externalities

Table 5: The growth of production of aquacultural products in Vietnam from 2000 to 2005 Table 6: Overview of aquacultural production levels in different regions of Vietnam Table 7: 2007 Marine Lobster Culture in Vietnam Table 8: Economic costs of nitrogen discharge on lobster production Table 9: Interview Variables subset Table 10: Sites Visited in Vietnam by Category Table 11: Catfish Table 12: Shrimp Table 13: Estimates of trash fish used to produce freshwater and marine species in Vietnam. Table 14: Major information on the tra catfish grow-out farms Table 15: Summary of assessed financial and economic indicators of pond culture (per ha) (Hien 2008, in US$) Table 16: Size of average shrimp ponds in different regions of Vietnam Table 17: Characteristics of shrimp farming from extensive to semi-extensive to intensive aquacultural systems in the Ganges and the Mekong deltas. Table 18: Marine Lobster Culture in Vietnam Table 19: Characteristics of Different Lobster Species in Vietnam Table 20: Decline in value of lobster in cages in different regions of Vietnam

Table 21: Comparison of the estimated optimal level and current investment of some input level:

Glossary and Definition of Terms TABLE 1 Terms EAA (ecosystem approach to aquaculture) : strives to balance diverse societal objectives, by
taking account of the knowledge and uncertainties of biotic, abiotic and human components of ecosystems including their interactions, flows and processes and applying an integrated approach to aquaculture within ecological and operational meaningful boundaries

INTAQ (integrated aquaculture) : is the culture of aquatic species within or together with the undertaking of other productive activity including different types of aquaculture or capture fisheries. IAAS (integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems): can be narrowly defined as: on-farm
integration in which crop, livestock and/or fish enterprises or subsystems on a farm are linked through waste or by-product recycling, and improved utilization of space (Edwards 1998). However, IAAS can be more broadly extended to be encompass the integration and linking of multiple agricultural production sectors and industry, such as the fertilizer, feed, and processing industries.

IMTA (integrated multi-trophic aquaculture): in which the by-products of one aquatic species are used as feed for another species operating at a lower trophic level IAEG (integrated agriculture energy-generation ): in which the waste by-products of an agricultural operation (be in crop, livestock, or fish) (or any stage within) are used to generate electricity, methane gas, or biodiesel. SI (sequential integration): is the integration of different species in distinct and separate time and place IPUAS (integrated peri-urban agriculture system): is a food-production system in the surrounding land of a growing urban center. These systems often take advantage of large streams of nutrient wastes coming from urban centers. Monoculture: the culturing of a single species within a production system Polyculture: the culturing of multiple species within the same production system Ecological carrying capacity is defined by the thresholds of viability for continued healthy
ecosystem functioning

Productive carrying capacity describes the ways in which the physical and ecological carrying
capacities determine the potential level of production.

Social carrying capacity is the tradeoffs among all stakeholders within a certain region using common
property resources.

Rural Aquaculture : the farming of aquatic organisms by small-scale farming households or communities, usually by extensive or semi-intensive, low-cost production technology appropriate to their resource base. (Edwards (1999)) Rural Development: the management of human development and the orientation of technological and
institutional change in such a manner as to improve inclusion, longevity, knowledge and living standards in rural areas in the context of equity and sustainability. (HARVEY DEMAINE)

TABLE 2 System classifications Extensive System Organisms farmed in extensive systems depend on natural food produced within the system without nutritional inputs provided intentionally by humans. Natural food consists of plankton suspended in the water column and organisms in sediments (insect larvae, snails; and worms). Annual fish yields are usually less than 1 t/ha/year. Semi-Intensive Organisms farmed in semi-intensive systems depend on intentional fertilization to produce natural food in situ and/or on the addition of supplementary feed to complement high-protein natural food. Natural food remains a significant source of nutrition for fish in semi-intensive systems, and may be increased by fertilization. Annual fish yields range from 15 t/ha for systems employing low-quality fertilizers and feeds, 510 t/ha for highquality fertilizers and feeds and 1020 t/ha for fertilized ponds supplemented with manufactured formulated feed. Intensive Fish farmed in intensive systems depend on nutritionally complete feed with little to no contribution from natural food. These are high density systems that require large amounts of inputs of feed, water, and energy, and generate the most acute environmental problems. Annual fish yields range from 550 t/ha for carps and tilapia up to 700 t/ha for air breathing fish such as striped catfish.

TABLE 3

Existing integrated aquaculture systems

POLYCULTURE PONDS SYSTEMS INTEGRATED POND-FIELD SYSTEMS Herbivorous polyculture Herbivorous-Carnivorous polyculture Rice-Fish integration Rice-Shrimp integration Rice-Fish-Shrimp integration Mangrove-Shrimp integration Pig-Fish integration Duck-Fish integration Chicken-Fish integration Cattle-Fish integration Frog-Fish integration Fish-Mollusks-Seaweed integration

INTEGRATED LIVESTOCK-POND SYSTEMS

OPEN FLOW-THROUGH CAGE SYSTEMS Co-culture, Sequential culture

10

TABLE 4 Environmental Externalities

Nutrient loading of grow-out system
uneaten food and detritus causes particulate accumulation in the water column (nutrification/ Eutrophication/turbidity of water column) and sedimentation excretory waste causes accumulation of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous in the water column pharmaceutical and chemical contamination of water and sediments, these toxic compounds are released into natural surroundings affecting wildlife, these compounds also end up in the fish we eat stress upon fish in grow-out ponds leads to outbreaks of diseases and parasite infections, greatly raising farmers risk, and endangering natural populations Escapees from net operations are common and breed to produce hybrids with local populations, endangering genetic diversity. Likewise, escapees may act as invasive species, edging out native species Many aquacultural developments have been situated in ecologically rich and sensitive regions such as mangrove forests or wetland estuary systems. Not only do these lands provide livelihood to many, but also many other invaluable ecosystem services such as nurseries for juvenile wild stock Due to the high demands of intensive aquaculture, farmers must get hold of a constant supply of freshwater to maintain adequate water conditions for their crop, these water uses however conflict with other users needs, both for agricultural production, industrial use, and urban use. In areas of brackish shrimp culture, the conversion of rice paddies in the inter-salinary zone leads to the salinization of sediments, which are then dumped, as well as the intrusion of saltwater further into freshwater reserves. While many species life-cycles have been closed, many species (especially of marine fish) still require the harvesting of wild juveniles in order to be stocked, thus cutting into wild stock and wild fishery production Not only are fish used to feed upper trophic fish such as salmonids, but fishmeal composed of wild caught pelagic fish or low value trashfish is a major component of commercial pelleted feeds for species of all kinds, severely depleting our supplies of pelagic fish and conflicting with other human food needs both feed manufacturers and the fish processing plants generate large amounts of nutrient-rich wastes, much of which is dumped into convenient waterways or incinerated

Nutrient loading of ecosystem

Use of Chemicals and Antibiotics

Transmission of Disease and Parasites Reduction of Genetic Diversity

Clearance of Natural Habitat

Overuse of Freshwater Reserves

Salinization of Aquifers and Soils

Harvest of Wild Seedstock

Reliance on Fishmeal-based Feed

Production of processing wastes

11

Introduction

1.1 Thesis statement: Village scale integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems (IAAS ), the primary mode of food production in Vietnam for centuries (Le 2001), has played a major role in traditional Vietnamese aquaculture. Although aquacultural production has expanded rapidly in Vietnam through the development of intensive monoculture, this mode of production is proving unsustainable (Edwards, 2011, DeSilva, et.al., 2006). Aspects of IAAS will have to be reworked in a new context to respond to the imminent collapse of intensive monocultural industrial scale aquaculture production in Vietnam. A new form of IAAS must be developed to meet the new challenges facing aquaculture in Vietnam. In this thesis, I outline a new approach which I call Integrated Regional Industrial Aquaculture (IRAI), which brings the principles of IAAS to regional issues of industrial scale aquacultural production.

1.2 Hypothesis: IAAS plays a major role in the future of aquaculture in Vietnam.

1.3 Data: After exploring more than 40 sites, I found that only traditional, small scale farms practice something close to IIAS. Mid-level farms producing for local markets still manage to use elements of IIAS systems in many cases. Larger scale, industrial intensive monoculture sites have abandoned IIAS principles. As a result, many of these sites are now experiencing stress, and generating ecological problems for neighboring sites. This general view of recent developments was confirmed by several local expert theorists of IIAS, aquaculture specialists, and many fish farmers. The literature on the rise of intensive monoculture in Vietnam is divided between celebratory accounts and more critical accounts. The latter bring out many of these problems, and provide quantitative data to demonstrate the overreaching of ecological capacities.

1.4:

Findings: My hypothesis holds, but not in the way I had expected. When I first

planned my visit to Vietnam, I assumed I would find IIAS systems at all levels of production. Instead, through my site visits it became clear that there was a need for an entirely new level of the adaption of IIAS principles at the level of integrated regional aquacultural industry (IRAI).

12

Section 1.1: Global Context to the Rise of Aquaculture

As the worlds population swells to some 9 billion by mid-century, mankind will be hard-pressed to produce and provide the required amounts of calories and nutrients to sustain such a population. While per capita food production has increased, this increase has been achieved through an exploitative relationship to the earth, requiring great inputs of energy, fertilizer, and water; a relationship which has degraded more than one-third of the worlds arable land through serious erosion and nutrient leaching, as well as hypernutrifying waterways as small as creeks and as large as gulfs. While overall production of grain (which accounts for approximately two-thirds of the worlds energy) has risen, per capita production has leveled off since the mid 1980s, requiring ever more new land to keep up production. Likewise in the seas, we have transformed what prior decades regarded as an endlessly renewable and fertile crop into bare stretches of ocean desert. The peak of wild fisheries occurred more than 30 years ago, when the annual harvest came in at 100,000,000 tons per year. This number has since dropped 20%, as trawlers and factory ships have had to venture further and further into the last un-exploited seas (such as the southern Antarctic seas). As shortages of land and water and living resources become ever more pronounced, the ramifications of our systems will become more dire, and seriously threaten the peaceful advancement of our global society. It is clear that the continuation of current food production techniques is inadequate. The current paradigm of extractive, linear waste-producing agriculture is not sufficient to provide for the needs of the coming decades. Rather, we must develop a new relationship to food production, adopting a new paradigm based in ecological concepts of extreme resource efficiency and the closing of nutrient and waste cycles. By adopting ecological concepts of nutrient cycling and resource-use optimization, mankind will be able to use the limited resources at our disposal to generate a larger and more secure flow of calories and nutrients to the population of the world. The act of balancing a maximum benefit to all, while simultaneously minimizing negative impacts of food production to the environment is no easy task. Many experts look towards aquaculture as the solution to increasing hunger around the world (see the detailed Review of Literature, on pages 9093 below). Indeed, aquaculture worldwide has experienced a massive boom during the 13

past 50 years, growing from an industry producing less than a million tons in the early 1950s to more than 60 million tons with a value of US$ 88.8 billion in 2006. As aquaculture systems have evolved over the decades, new technological and organizational strategies have allowed for ever more intensive culture of fish. The pace of development is startling. Aquaculture has experienced average annual growth rates of 8.7% per year, world-wide, since the 1970s, and has been in fact the fastest growing food production system in the world, over the past two decades. While fish currently makes up 20% of global animal-based protein, the trends of growing global demand for fish shows no sign of slowing, and the FAO predicts the demand for fish to rise by 17% over the next 15 years. (In real numbers this would equate to a rise in production of 20 million tons.) Aquaculture has shown itself to be a rapidly increasing source of foods and proteins. In 1985 Bailey coined the term blue revolution (Bailey, 1985) to describe the expansion of fish-farming in tropical regions, and its hoped for effects in solving problems of world food security and alleviating poverty. However, the sectors growth threatens its ability to continue to provide increasing yields in a sustainable manner, and concerns with the ecological damage resulting from fish-farming have led to calls for the greening of the blue revolution (Clay, 2010). The trends of development of current aquacultural practices have mirrored those of industrial agriculture, emphasizing an intensive and extractive use of our water and land, requiring huge quantities of water, land, and feeds. Along with the issues associated with the procurement of feeds are the clearing of natural habitat, (often extremely biologically rich areas such as mangrove forests, wetlands or estuary ecosystems), the salinzation of soils and ground water reserves, the polluting and nutrient-loading of waterways, the introduction and transmission of diseases and new genetic material, amongst others. (Stickney 2009) Polyculture aquaculture has its origins in Asia, where multiple species of fish and crustaceans were raised together in the same pond. These ponds were fundamentally integrated into their surroundings, as terrestrial farming systems found linkages to aquatic production and processing, finding ways to ensure on-farm wastes and by-products were recycled in relatively closed nutrient cycles. Such integrated agri-aquaculture systems (IAAS) evolved in China as a means of increasing food production on small-scale farms, 14

which had limited resource bases. This ecologically based concept of production reemerged in the 1970s and 1980s, as China and South-East Asia began promoting IAAS as a way to provide income and food for their people. However, as aquaculture has grown as an industry, emphasis has been placed on the gaining of foreign exchange, as aquaculture development in the past two decades has taken the shape of ever more intensive monoculture. My reasoning for going to South-East Asia was therefore to see to what extent traditionally practices still existed, and to learn whether traditional concepts have relevance for the modern industry of global aquaculture production. At the end of this thesis, (see Final Conclusions, Section 5, pages 40-46 below) I reach the conclusion that in order for us to meet the needs of the coming decades, we will need 1) to embrace concepts of extreme resource-efficiency and on-farm nutrient cycling, and further 2) to adopt a broader definition of integration when considering our farming systems. That is, we will need to look beyond the single-farm to the entire system of production within a specific region, in order to integrate intensive aquaculture with agriculture and other linked sectors, such as farming, pellet-manufacturing factories, and fish processing plants. 1.2. Background: Aquaculture in Vietnam: Vietnam has an overall territory of approximately 331,68 square km (128,065 square miles). The coastline of Vietnam extends in an S shaped curve for 3,260 km from the borders of China to the edge of Cambodia. Vietnam has a maritime territory of 226,000 sq km, and claims exclusive rights over a total of one million sq. km. Along the coast there are more than 4,000 inhabited islands and islets, as well as many rivers, bays, and inlets, and more than 400,000 hectares of mangrove. Overall, rivers, rice-irrigation canals, and hydro-electric dams and reservoirs occupy some 1,700,000 ha of the total land mass. Vietnam has a tropical climate. The northern provinces are more humid (averaging 22 C), while the central and southern regions are slightly warmer (averaging 26 C); the country receives more than 2000 hours of sunlight each year (Di 2006). The population reached 89,571,130 in 2010, and per capita income is projected to reach $1,300 USD in 2011 (CIA factbook, 2011: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/vm.html). 15

Vietnam is one of the global leaders in aquaculture production and has experienced extraordinary growth rates in recent years, far surpassing the aquacultural growth rates of other leading countries. Ranked fifth in world production by 2006, Vietnam produced 1.7 million tons of aquaculture products in 2006, more than a fourfold increase from 1996 (FAO 2008). Last year, in 2010, aquacultural production in Vietnam reached 2.8 million tons, surpassing their wild fisheries catch of 2.4 million tons (VASAP 2011a). Vietnams climb to one of the top market positions in world aquaculture production is a result of extraordinary growth rates in recent years. From 1996 to 2006, Vietnams aquaculture production grew at rates unmatched by any other major producer. Of all other major aquaculture-producing countries, none averaged more than a 16 percent annual growth rate in the 11 years from 1996 to 2006, while Vietnam achieved 45 percent average annual production growth during this span (FAO 2008).

Table 5: The growth of production of aquacultural products in Vietnam from 2000 to 2005 (source: Nguyen (2007))

The setting for this growth must be understood, as Vietnam has been undergoing a program of economic renovation called doi moi for the past 20 years (Dieu 2006). This program was initiated in the late 1980s to shift the Vietnamese economy from a centrally planned one to a market-based economy, with the key goals of economic growth and social development. The reported achievements are substantial, with annual growth rates in GDP rising from a low of 2.3 percent in 1986 to 8 percent three years later; poverty levels declining from 70 to 53 percent of the population by 1993; and exports increasing by 30 percent and more per annum after 1988. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) estimates the 16

total value of Vietnamese aquaculture production in 2006 was US$3.3 billion, of which US$1.7 billion worth of aquaculture products were exported. By 2007, shrimp exports alone reached US$1.33 billion, followed by US$736 million of catfish. i Total fisheries (capture and aquaculture) exports reached US$3.35 billion, a 59 percent increase from the previous year (US$2.1 billion). An estimated 34,402 aquaculture farms existed in Vietnam as of 2005, more farms than for any other type of agriculture. Southern Vietnam, mostly in the Mekong Delta, is where the bulk of aquaculture takes place in the country, followed by the northern region, where significant aquaculture takes place along the Red River Delta and the eastern part of the region (FAO 2008). The aquacultural sector can be divided into three main categories: 1) freshwater rivers and pond systems, 2) coastal brackish water systems, and 3) marine finfish, crustaceans, and shellfish systems. Each of these three systems can be divided into intensive, semi-intensive, and traditional extensive systems. These three systems will be further discussed in terms of their three main geographic settings and ecological niches. These are 1) the northern Vietnamese rivers and ponds; 2) the coastal waters of the long shoreline of Vietnam; and 3) the rivers and ponds of the Mekong delta.

Table 6: Overview of aquacultural production levels in different regions of Vietnam. region). (source: Nguyen, 2007) (Note the preponderance of the Mekong Delta

The total aquatic production of Vietnam in 2004 was 3,073,600 tons. Aquacultural production reached 1,150,100 tons, or 37.4 of the total. The aquacultural production from freshwater facilities was 639,700 tons, while that brackish water and marine facilities was 510,400 tons. Aquacultural production in northern Vietnam was 17

124,243 tons in 2003. Marine finfish production in central, coastal production involved over 40,000 cages, of which over 30,000 were used for lobsters. Finfish production was up to 2,327 tons. 1,800 tons of lobsters and 130,500 tons of shellfish were produced in central and southern coastal regions. From 2004 onwards, there has been a huge increase in the production of giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), white shrimp, and two species of catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus and Pangasius bocourti) (MoFI, 2005a). These species are mostly produced in the Mekong River delta. 315,000 tons of both kinds of catfish were produced in 2004, and this amount has gone up very quickly over the past few years. Shrimp production in 2004 reached 290,000 tons (Le 2004, see table below). In 2010, foreign exports of shrimp totaled over 195,000 tons of shrimp (94,443 tons were black tiger shrimp), and which reached a value of over $2 billion USD. In terms of catfish, over 600,000 tons were exported in 2010, for a total value of $1.28 billion USD. Foreign exports from Vietnam reached a total of 70.8 USD billion in 2010, of which 18.6 USD billion were from agricultural and seafood products.(Vietnam Business News 2010).

Figure 1: Aquacultural production in relation with marine capture production in Vietnam between 1991 and 2005 (source: Nguyen, 2007)

(The middle column [in purple, although the legend states it should be in black] shows the minor addition of freshwater capture from rivers on top of the marine capture [in white]. Note that by last year, in 2010, aquacultural production had actually exceeded 18

total capture production by a rate of 2.5 million tons to 2 million tons respectively (see discussion below)). The following figures reveal the rise of production in the catfish, shrimp and lobster industries. (For further details on these industries, see Appendices 3, 4, & 5). Catfish production rose 45% over ten years from 1997 to 2007, from 22,500 tons to 1,200,000 tons, which was worth $1 billion USD in 2007.

Figure 2: Production of catfish in Vietnam, 1999-2007

Figure 3: Production of shrimp in Vietnam 1991-2005 (Vietnam Team, NACA, 2009)

Note that production rose to 349,000 and 347,000 tons in 2006 and 2007. In 2010, over 160,000 tons of shrimp were exported at a value of over 1.2 billion USD. 19

Table 7: 2007 Marine Lobster Culture in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2009)

Figure 4: Rise and Decline in Production of Lobster in Vietnam 1999-2007 (Nguyen 2009)

. (The lobster industry in Vietnam earns over $100 million USD annually).

20

1.3. The transition from integrated systems to intensive monoculture, and the transgression of the limits of carrying capacity: ecological, social and economic consequences Many traditional practices have been abandoned with the transition to big aquabusiness model. SSA (Small-scale aquaculture) is intensifying. This means that farmers are beginning to make use of factory produced pellet feed, rather than relying on traditional feed sources. This has allowed them to increase production from their ponds, and to introduce higher value new species. Some small-scale farmers are abandoning traditional polyculture systems for ever-more intensive monoculture. Changes in market and policy have moved away from central planning, allowing some to invest capital in ever larger and more intensive farms, whose effluents are polluting nearby waters sources. Meanwhile the rapid overall increase in production is leading to the unsustainable exploitation of low-value, so-called trash fish (less expensive, smaller species that are cut up and fed to larger, more valuable fish). This leads to a conflict between using these species for aquaculture or for human consumption (see the Review of Literature, pp. 90-93 below, for additional sources). From the point of view of many small-scale producers, the real problem is that the promotion of aquaculture in Vietnam has not led to greater food security for the Vietnamese people. Rather it has led to a paradoxical situation in which the more that is produced, the less the value of the product. The key goal has been to earn more foreign capital from exports and outside investment. Large processing plants have sprung up, and new export companies now control most of the crop. The essence of the labor experience of aquaculture production has fundamentally changed. This can be described as a

process of vertical integration, in which the value chain is being flattened and stretched thin. Not only are grow out farmers no longer making the same profit as they did several years ago (mid 2000s), but in the past two years they are facing considerable losses depending on lower prices for fish and higher prices for feed. Production continues to rise, but the number of smaller scale producers is falling. Vertical integration is edging out small, intermediate farmers who had established themselves in specific niches in the production chain. Bush (2011) claims there are still some viable niches left for these farmers, but that they have to be able to take on considerable risks. In my observations, many farmers complained that they were being 21

forced to produce more fish for less profit. Processors now control more and more power in the production process. These developments are particularly clear in the catfish industry. I had assumed before visiting Vietnam that the effluents from intensive catfish grow out ponds could be engineered into some kind of multi-trophic bio-system. However, given the practical, financial constraints and the system constraints (the need to exchange up to 30% of water per day), I was forced to conclude that so far it appears highly unlikely that integrated systems can flourish in such a precarious high-risk industry, without significant changes to current aquaculture systems and both local and international business models. Tremendous creativity and large investments would be needed to engineer solutions to these effects of intensive monoculture. The shrimp industry may soon follow developments in the catfish industry, as traditional modes of integrated shrimp/rice systems are being abandoned in favor of semiintensive and intensive monoculture systems. So far little has been done to deal with the increased effluents from these systems. Vast stretches of highly ecologically diverse mangrove forests along the coast have been cleared to make way for intensive shrimp farms. Destruction of mangrove ecosystems and other natural habitats has also led to the salinization of land and depletion of freshwater resources. Other problems include

nutrient pollution in intensive shrimp farms, widespread use of chemicals and antibiotics, and the very common sudden mass death of shrimp in epidemics, leading to a loss of economic security. Nonetheless, there is more scope for creative application of

integrated systems in shrimp farming, as much of it is still conducted on semi-intensive or extensive farms. As shrimp culture has intensified, the quality of water in the ponds has declined, leading to greater amounts of effluent discharges into natural ecosystems. These waters are rich in nutrients and organic matter, especially towards the end of the production cycle. Thus, as intensification and the practice of dumping effluents has increased, so too has the use of chemicals and medicines to keep shrimp healthy and ward off disease. As the quality of water both in ponds and in the water supply have degenerated, the spread of epidemic diseases have grown. Due to the lack of pre-treated water reservoirs, disease outbreaks often affect entire regions at a time. For example, in 1995 a disease broke out in the southern provinces of the Mekong Delta, and within several months affected more than 85,000 ha of shrimp with near 90% mortality (MoFI, 1996). Diseases continue to be an issue, as is apparent from a case last year when some 22

650 farms in Thua Thien-Hue province were affected by an outbreak of disease, which had 100% mortality (Phuong, 2010). Drugs and other chemicals are routinely overused, as the costs of over-treatment are less than the devastating losses of full crop-failure (Anh et. al, 2010). It is unclear as of yet what the effects on the wider ecosystem are of intensive use of antibiotics, yet the indiscriminate use of antibiotics proliferates antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and makes diseases more serious as a consequence (Black, 2001). Due to the high investments required for intensive shrimp farming, outbreaks of disease are a factor in creating social instability and rapid buildup of private debt. Often an entire region will have converted their rice-fields to shrimp culture, the consequence being that a single outbreak of disease can de-stabilize an entire region (Chu et. al, 2006). There have been negative consequences to overproduction in the lobster industry as well, as they have already reached the limit of per cage productivity (which has been decreasing over the past few years) although overall production has risen (Le, 2005). This decline in efficiency is related to the loading of marine waters with nutrients from cage discharges (Nguyen, 2009).

Figure 5: Relation between Number of lobster cages and productivity, (Nyugen 2009)

This figure shows that maximum productivity occurs at lower densities of marine cages. This suggests a great potential for development of integrated multi-trophic systems 23

for lobsters. The use of trash fish as feed is leading to a high volume of wasted feed, which is discarded directly into the sea, contributing to marine pollution. Le A.T. (2003) demonstrated that in the Xuan Tu lagoon, lobster feed accounted for 59-80% of the nutrient inputs. This lagoon is a major production center of marine lobsters in the Khanh Hoa province. As a result, this degree of excess nutrients is generating adverse ecological effects affecting the production of lobster. In fact, recent studies (Nguyen 2009) have shown lobster-cage productivity to be decreasing over the past several years, as seawater pollution becomes an ever more serious issue and challenge. Much of the pollution takes the form of nitrogen discharged from the decomposing trash-fish feed at the bottom of the lobster cages, or on the seabed below (Le, 2005). In 2007, the negative effects of nitrogen loading on productivity was

computed by Nguyen (Nguyen 2009), based on her findings that in producing 1 ton of lobster, 389 kg of nitrogen are produced. The following table presents her findings on the economic costs of this problem:

Table 8: Economic costs of nitrogen discharge on lobster production (Nyugen 2009)

Location Nihn Thuan province Phu Yen Khahn Hoa province Total

Number of Lobster cages

Value of lost lobster 673.2 million VND

28, 038 22,173

151.4 million VND 143.0 million VND 295 million VND = $16 million USD

The social effects of all these changes have been profound. Many small households face ruin from sudden spread of disease leading to mass death of their exclusive fish, shrimp, or lobster crops. The need for higher capital input for equipment, dredging of ponds, factory produced feed, aeration and water flow, labor and operations, processing and marketing, etc., have led to the proliferation of borrowing strategies. Many farmers ask for small loans from multiple banks. This spreads the risk to a broader range of financial institutions, but it does not fully resolve the precariousness of the farmers new situation. The gradual abandonment of the traditional polyculture VAC 24

farms also means the abandonment of food security and self-sufficiency, in exchange for the possibility of rapid income growth. So far, there has been relatively little effort to cluster small-scale producers into cooperatives which could try to deal more effectively with the increased ecological problems of intensive production.

Gender effects of these changes are also mixed. Labor was shared in VAC traditional polycultural systems (Quisumbing, 2008), and women played a major role in marketing and selling agricultural and aquacultural products. Currently, more women are finding work in the processing plants that have sprung up around intensive farms, but many male farmers are losing their positions in the production process (personal communication with Jharendu Pant, summer 2010). With the rise of processing plants and export companies, some new business opportunities have risen for women, but men seem to dominate this sector for the most part.

Of course, aquaculture in Vietnam is an industry in transition, and although intensive catfish farmers have abandoned IAAS systems for more industrial models of production, a very large number of agricultural growers continue to use various kinds of IAAS systems, especially at lower levels or scales of production. While much of the

catfish effluents from intensive farms are going to waste, one continues to finds many pig farmers still using waste to feed fish on ponds on their lands. Most of what has been said here about catfish farms could also be said for shrimp farms and lobster farms as well. In each of these cases, we see a clear trend away from traditional, polycultural practices, some of which can be said to include elements of IAAS or IMTA systems, towards intensive aquacultural models. In each sector this has led to ecological problems as well as socio-economic dislocations.

To give an indication of the rapid fluctuations in the catfish industry in Vietnam, I quote from an article entitled Vietnam forecasts catfish exports down 45% in 2011posted Dec. 31, 2010 on the Vietnam Business News website:

Vietnam expects to reduce catfish exports next year to US$1 billion, down from $1.5 billion in 2010, according to the Vietnam Association Exporters and Producers (Vasep). Vasep estimates that basa catfish shipments may decline by 45 percent to 360,000 tons next

25

year from this years 640,000 tons. The industry association told a conference in Ho Chi Minh City Wednesday that catfish production in 2011 would take a nosedive due to falling profits and capital shortages. According to the association, the Mekong Deltas farms and fish processing companies have had difficulty in accessing bank loans. Vietnam shipped abroad some 640,000 tons of catfish this year, worth US$1.4 billion, failing to achieve its $1.5 billion target set by the government due to decreasing value in export price. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recently approved the allocation of 350 billion dong ($7.4 million) for the Mekong Delta region to raise 100,000 breeding catfish to ensure there are five million of them by 2012. The allocation is part of a 1.34 trillion dong ($72.6 million) national program to promote the regional catfish industry through 2020. It will also provide funds for developing irrigation works, scientific research, and environmental protection.

In another example taken from the lobster industry, in 2006 an outbreak of milky disease caused total production levels of lobster from Vietnam to drop from 1,900 tons in 2006 to 1,400 tons in 2009 (Williams, 2009). This was due to the surpassing of the ecological carrying capacity of the protected bays along the central and south coast of Vietnam. In this case, the culprit was most likely trash fish feedbased marine pollution which has generated instability for Vietnamese lobster farmers and the industry as a whole. (Ngyuen 2007).

As for the shrimp industry, there is clear evidence that it has led to serious environmental degradation, the spread of disease, pollution, debt and dispossession, illegal land seizures, local theft and violence, and heavy use of antibiotics and growth hormones. In Vietnam, more than 80% of original mangrove cover has been deforested in the last 50 years. The most important cause of destruction since 1975 has been shrimp farming. Read the following quote as evidence:

"Only the rich make money, the big outside investors, who come because they have already polluted their own land and they need virgin territory. Then when it goes wrong here, they move on," Dr Tran Triet, a leading ecologist at Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City says. Smaller farmers have no technical expertise and rarely survive. The environmental damage and social dislocations, which come with shrimp farming, make it completely unsustainable in its current form, Triet believes.Dr Duong Van Ni, a Vietnamese hydrologist at Cantho University, who has studied the social impact of prawn farming, is gloomy about the immediate future. "Shrimp farming will be Vietnam's final

26

choice, because it is so damaging to the environment and so polluting to the soil, trees, and water, that it will be the last form of agriculture. After it, you can do nothing." In a study Dr Ni conducted in the west of the Mekong, nearly half of shrimp farmers had lost all their money in the past four years. Of those who did make money, 80% were outsiders. F. Lawrence, Is it OK to eat tiger prawns, The Guardian, Thursday, 19 June, 2003

Summary This section has outlined the incredibly rapid increase in aquacultural production in Vietnam over the past fifteen years (1996-2011). Data was presented that demonstrated the rapid growth in catfish, shrimp and lobster production in different parts of Vietnam over this period. This section also noted grave social and environmental costs of the primarily monocultural, intensive modes of production that has led to such extraordinary increases in aquacultural yields. A growing number of scientists, journalists and fish farmers have pointed to the dangers of intensive monoculture, and called for new solutions to what they find to be an unsustainable development model.

27

Section 3: Data Presentation This section presents data gathered from site visits throughout the country throughout Summer 2010. Methods In order to gather data on the present state of Vietnamese aquaculture operations throughout the country, I relied on a combination of approaches including reviews of the scientific literature, analyses of trade/business network data, as well as in-field first hand observations and informal yet structured- interviews with farm owners and workers. Sites were selected through expert-recommendations from researchers at the various Aquaculture Research Centers and Universities visited. Field trips into the countryside were carried out for several days at a time accompanied by staff members of the institutions visited. These staff members acted as guides and capable translators. Due to restrictive policies in the Vietnamese countryside, I chose to carry out informal, conversational interviews with aquacultural specialists and practitioners. Though no printed official questionnaire was presented, each site underwent the same conversational questioning, based on applicability. Raw data was attained through asking a series of questions in similar order to individuals at each site, covering the topics of physical farm characteristics, economic
Table 9 Interview Variables subset
Description intensity / species Farm size (ha/farm) Stocking Density (Fish/m2) Stocking Size (cm) Survival Rate at harvest (%) Fish yield/ha/year (t) Fish yield/ha/crop (t) Total cost/ha/crop (VNDooo) Total net income/ha/crop (VND ooo) Water Source Presence of input screening Presence of input treatment Presence of output treatment, settlement pond Use of Medication Use of Lime Use of Farm-Made Feed Use of Factory Pellet Feed Communication / Coordination System

characteristics, and operational and management characteristics. Under the category of farm

characteristics, questions relating to pond size (both area and depth), composition of species raised, stocking density of fish (fish/sq.m), size of fish when stocked (cm), survival rate of fish at harvest (% of stocked), as well as total fish yield (per ha/per crop/per year) were asked, in addition to questions relating to ownership and labor. Further economics metrics were measured such as total operational costs and expenses (per ha/per crop), as well as total net

income (per crop). Farmers were then asked questions relating to management practices, 28

such as source of water and degree of water exchange practiced, presence of input water screening, presence of input water treatment, presence of output water treatment or use of settlement ponds. Farmers were asked as to their experiences with eutrophied waters or the appearance of parasites. Farmers were further questioned as to the presence (or history of) diseases in the fish crop, and the types of medication or remedy employed. Farmers were asked as to their own history and motivations, as well as to their relation to other neighboring farmers, specifically regarding communication or collaboration amongst farmers. Finally, questions pertaining to the farmers general sense of change in the industry were posed, in an attempt to gain an understanding of the how farming practices and the livelihoods of farmers are changing in response to the intensification and vertical integration of the industry at large. Data from each of these site visits was recorded in notes and later compiled and assessed, with a specific emphasis on practices of integration of crop species and management techniques. The use of a photo and video camera was employed in order to make a visual record of sites visited.

Site Visit Data This section of the thesis presents in Tables 10-12 below provide an overview of the site visits conducted in Vietnam. The first column provides the site reference numbers and date (see Appendix 2 for full site visit accounts). The second column gives the site location. In the third column, the culture technique is indicated (shallow ponds, river cages, marine cages, etc.). The final column lists the species found at the site. A series of columns then indicates whether the site practices are extensive (EXTN), semi-intensive (SEMI), intensive (INTN), monocultural (MON), polycultural (POLY), show signs of integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA), pond co-culture of species (PcCUL), sequential integration (SEQINT), crop integration (CRINT), livestock integration (LVINT), integrated energy generation (IAEG), show signs of best-management practices (BMPs), show signs of waste treatment (WSTRT), signs of input water treatment (INWTRT), presence of diseases (DIES), or the use of medicines or antibiotics (MEDS). Tables 11 and 12 divide the sites up according to species (catfish, shrimp) and habitat.

29

Table 10: Sites Visited in Vietnam by Category Note: All sites listed are privately owned.
Site Reference & Date Location Culture-Technique /species E X T N S E M I I N T N M O N O P O L Y I A A P C C U L S E Q I N T C R I N T L V I N T I A E G B M P s W S T R T I N W T R T x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x D I E S M E D S

Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Site 5 Site 6 Site 7 Site 8 Site 9

North, Tuyen Guyan North, Tuyen Guyan North, Tuyen Guyan Hai Phuong Hai Phuong Ben Tre Ben Tre Ben Tre Hai Duong

River-Cage --carp/rivercatfish River-Cage --carp/rivercatfish/tilapia Reservoir-Cage --carp/rivercatfish/tilapia Earthen Pond --shrimp Shallow Pond --shrimp/rice Shallow Pond -shrimp/mudcrab Shallow Pond --shrimp Earthen Pond --Shrimp Earthen Pond --Pig/Duck/Fish Earthen Pond --Duck/Fish Earthen Pond --Pig Fish Earthen Pond --Pig Energy Fish Earthen Pond --traditional VAC/IAA Shallow Pond --traditional VAC/plant Concrete Pond --Improved VAC Small Pond-Mid-Grow-Out, Panga Earthen Pond, Panga Earthen Pond, Panga Marine Cage, Finfish Marine Cage, Lobster Multi-Linked Production --Chicken-MosquitoFightingFish

x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x

x x x x x

x x x x x

Site 10

Hai Duong

Site 11

Hai Ling

Site 12

Hai Ling

Site 13 Site 14 Site 15 Site 16 Site 17 Site 18 Site 19 Site 20 Site 21

Nakhon Pathom, Th. Peri-Urban Hanoi Peri-Urban Hanoi Vinh Long Vinh Long Vinh Long Nha Trang Nha Trang Jarinporn, Th

x x

x x

x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x

x x

x x x x x x x

x x x

30

Table 11
Catfish Description Farm size (ha/farm) Stocking Density (Fish/m2) Stocking Size (cm) Survival Rate at harvest (%) Fish yield/ha/year (t) Fish yield/ha/crop (t) Total cost/ha/crop (VNDooo) Total net income/ha/crop (VND ooo) Water Source Presence of input screening Presence of input treatment Presence of output treatment, settlement pond Use of Medication Use of Lime Use of Farm-Made Feed Use of Factory Pellet Feed Communication / Coordination System TABLE 12 Shrimp Description Farm size (ha/farm) Stocking Density (ind/m2) Survival Rate at harvest (%) Shrimp yield/ha/crop (t) Total cost/ha/crop (VNDooo) Total net income/ha/crop (VND ooo) Water Source Presence of input screening Presence of input treatment Presence of output treatment, settlement pond Use of Medication Use of Lime Use of Farm-Made Feed Use of Factory Pellet Feed Communication / Coordination System Northern White-Shrimp, BioSecure Intensive Monoculture <1 80 90% 7 Treated-water pond Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Northern Extensive Polyculture 8 N/A (natural recruitment:2-3) N/A (see above) 0.015 Inland canal No No No No No No No No Southern, Semi-Intensive Monoculture 3 10 60-80% 3 Settling pond, canal Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Inland, Close river proximity 1.5 45 1.8 75 650 375 4,250 800 Mekong Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No Inland, Close river proximity 4 38 1.7 65 450 280 3,250 605 Mekong No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Coastal, Close river proximity 0.75 43 1.8 70 500 300 3,750 710 Mekong Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No

31

Section 4: Selected Site Visits In this section, I introduce several sites visited in Vietnam, along with related readings from the literature in the field. These sites range from small, to mid-sized integrated farms, to large scale, intensive monocultural sites. Approximately 40% of sites visited were small, 25% were mid-sized integrated farms, and 35% were large scale, intensive monocultural sites. In some ways, this sequence is also a historical sequence, as the small integrated farms were common in the 1970s (and before), while mid-sized farms emerged in the early 1980s in response to the opening up of the market system. In the 1990s, intensive monoculture sites developed in response to the rise of a global market for carp fillets, tiger shrimp, and lobster.

4.1 Integrated Sites Of the surveyed sites, some stand out above the others in terms of their effort to incorporate concepts of nutrient cycling, integration of farming activities, or best management practices. This section introduces three such sites. No. 1: Old Woman : Small Household : Ducks : Pond : Garden /Traditional household level subsistence; No. 2: Two Brothers, Thailand: Cow, Goat, Chicken : Pond : Garden : Field, in a traditional household subsistence economy. No. 3: Peri-Urban farms outside Ho Chi-Minh city: Household, subsistence economic, Mimosa growth; chickens: pond. i.e., all traditional, rural.

4.2 Traditional VAC systems Integrated, environmentally sustainable polyculture systems in ponds known as VAC systems have been cultivated in Vietnam for centuries. The integration of the home, the garden, livestock and a fishpond is called the VAC system (VAC in Vietnamese stands for vuon (garden), ao (pond), and chuong (livestock)). Former President Ho Chi Minh advocated the VAC systems, in order to improve the nutrition of the rural poor. The system continued to be promoted even after the turn to the market economy in the 1980s. Le (2001) estimates that up to 90% of rural household have their own gardens and keep some livestock, and that at least 30% of these family farms also raise fish in ponds. The ponds also are used to raise aquatic weeds for feeding the pigs or ducks. The waste from the animals is used as fertilizer for the gardens, but some also goes into the ponds to feed 32

fish, especially carp, tilapia and catfish. (See further discussion of traditional Vietnamese aquaculture in the Review of Literature below, pp. 90-93). An example of such small VAC systems was presented to me in a visit to an elderly womans home in the countryside of Hai Duong.

SITE 1 (Old Womans farm) Photo link: DSC 6620-6636 At this site, an old woman lived in a small brick and concrete house, with a garden containing a pond in the front yard surrounded by small walls. The garden was small, approximately 800 m2, with a small pond measuring approximately 100 m2. In the garden grew green onions, bananas, sweet potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables I could not identify. In the pond, several species of fish were stocked, such as red tilapia, grass carp, silver carp, and gourami, numbering approximately a total of 40 fish. Directly next to the pond a small chicken coop had been constructed, holding some 10 chickens. The old woman explained that she fed her chickens a combination of rice bran and chopped vegetable scraps, the rest of which she throws into the pond. Every week she gathers the manure accumulated in the pen and washes it into the pond as well. [This information was gathered in conversations with local farmers, kindly translated by specialists from RAI] These farms, especially at the lower levels, are relatively low risk, as it is easy to adapt the VAC principles to local circumstances. In the upland VAC system, the pond is dug near to the house, so domestic and kitchen waste can drain into the fishpond. Livestock pens (for water buffalo, pigs, ducks, or chicken) and gardens are also placed nearby. Gardens average 1,000-1,500 m2 and grow sweet potato, watercress, and green onion, while bananas, oranges, and other fruit trees are grown around the pond. Sometimes sugarcane, tea or other crops are also grown. Manure is used for gardens, trees, and the pond. Ponds average 100-1000 m2, and are usually 1 m deep. They are drained in February, after the final harvest, then they are cleaned, limed, manured, and refilled with water and restocked with fish. Kitchen scraps go into the pond everyday. Manure is added twice a month (av. 1 kg/m2). Farmers begin to harvest fish with small nets once a week after three months, while continuously restocking the pond. Pond silt, removed every 3 to 4 years, is used as fertilizer. A portion of the livestock manure is used for manuring the trees and vegetables. Trees are manured once or twice a year; vegetables 33

are manured according to their needs. Pond silt is removed every 3-4 years and used as fertilizer. (Lowland farms have smaller gardens (av. 400-500 m2) and smaller ponds (4050 m2) (Le 2001).

FIGURE 6: Traditional Vietnamese VAC system: upland integrated farming system (Le 2001)

Figure 7: Seasonal calendar of agriculture-aquaculture activities in the uplands and lowlands (Le 2001) shows the ways in which farming continues throughout the year, moving from one activity to the next in an integrated cycle.

34

Site Set 2: EXPANDED LIVESTOCK INTEGRATION SYSTEMS During the post-war years, Vietnam went through a cooperative period (much like China), where household agricultural activities were consolidated, expanded, and intensified through communal reorganization. Traditional pond culture and VAC cycling systems also expanded and grew to new levels in the center and south of the country (especially within the Mekong River Delta). However, in the Red River Delta of the north, they remained primarily a household level activity. Useful lessons can be learned from these small-scale, relatively well integrated, Chinese style farms. Similar

integrated livestock and fish-farming systems also play an important role for the more resource-poor farms in Cambodia, Laos and northeastern Thailand. The VAC system has been promoted as a strategy to improve food supplies and nutritional standards in rural farming communities. However, the more recent overall trend has been towards the culture of high value fish requiring large quantities of off-farm inputs. This has undermined the essence of the VAC systems, which achieve integration through the cycling (and recycling) of nutrients between the various subsystems. This breakdown of the traditional VAC system was observed at a site in Hai Phoung, where the garden component had been omitted from an integrated pig, duck, fish green water system and supplementary feeds where needed to support the crop.

SITE 2.1: 7/6/ Hai Phoung, morning visit; DSC 6636-6770 In countryside of Hai Phoung an elderly woman has two 2,000 sq meter ponds producing 4 tons of fish a year. She co-cultures a mixture of fish species in the pond, namely Red tilapia (60%), silver carp, green and common carp. She also keeps some 30 pigs in a small concrete pigpen, as well as 200 ducks. The pigpen is designed so that waste flows directly into the two ponds. There is no treatment of the pig manure, and the woman flushes out the pen with a hose daily. The ducks are free-roaming, and are free to swim in the ponds. Both the source and the outlet for pond water is the canal. This has lead to problems in past with eutrophication of her pond, due to her inability to control the amount of nutrients entering the pond through combined fertilizer and canal water sources. Operating on a limited income of $5000 USD net/year, she feeds the pigs with aquatic plants naturally growing in the canal, but she has to purchase some feed both for 35

her pigs and for the fish on credit from a local supplier. She hires laborers (mostly neighbors) for pond preparation (pumping out of waters, scooping of the mud, drying out of ponds, liming of the earth, and the pumping of new water back in. Collected muds and sediments are not integrated back into a vegetable plot or crop of any sort, but rather are dumped onto an empty field. [Based on field-notes and interviews with local farmers]. It is important to note that this operation is not subsistence-based, but an entrepreneurial activity producing fish for the local market. Middlemen come daily on motorcycles with a specially constructed, battery powered aerated box, to collect fish she catches with a small net. These middlemen are often women, who buy from fish farmers and sell at the market at a 10% markup from the farm gate price. In the case of this farm, middlemen buy fish at 20,000VND per kg, while they sell at 22,200 VND in the market. Note that these fish are not for export, but for local and regional consumption. Note: Everywhere in the region there are fishponds of varying sizes from mid- to large size, to very small, 5 sq. meter ponds in backyards. These ponds serve as a source of protein for poor farmers engaged in other activities. There are no formulated feeds used in these small systems, rather, kitchen scraps are tossed in. Carp is the usual fish, and one is taken every ten days, on average. Another site visited that showed the rising intensification of integrated fishlivestock systems was SITE 2.5 (SITE 16: 7/20 JULY: TY NINH; [DSC0737907411; 07413-07431]) TYPE: INTEGRATED PIG-FISH POLYCULTURE SYSTEM: The farmer is one Mr. Minh, a Vietnamese Army Captain, retired. Has been cultivating fish for 18 years. He has a mid-scale pig farm. The pig waste separated into solids and liquids, as the urines high ammonium content would be toxic to fish and is so dumped into the neighboring woods, while the solids are channeled into two large ponds (1.5 hectares each), where they are converted into algae and zooplankton. These food sources are then consumed by tilapia, catfish, kissing gourami, Indian carp, and common carp. This farm system is composed of a pig pen holding 1000 pigs integrated sequentially to two large fish ponds, measuring approximately 1.5 ha each. Each year, the farmer must feed his pigs some 200 t of pig feed (dry matter), and is able to produce 100 t of pig meat (wet matter). From the wastes, he is able to produce nearly 110 t of fish, from a total of 3 ha. Pigs digest only 15-19% of their feed, thus, the other 80-85% of nutrients (in the form of waste) goes to the pond, where it is reabsorbed into fish biomass. 36

The farmer keeps the following polycultural ratio or proportion of fish : 50% Catfish, 20% Tilapia, 5-10% Kissing Gourami, 20-25% Carps. The ponds experience no water exchange, (they are filled once at beginning of season). Some probiotics are added, thus treatment by naturally occurring biotic mechanisms are relied upon. The pond must be guarded at night to prevent theft of fish. Further, guards are instructed to shoot birds, primarily to prevent predation but also to minimize the introduction of foreign pathogens. [Based on field notes and on-site interviews].

The transition to intensive cultivation There are clear limits to small-scale traditional VAC farms, which are primarily designed for subsistence. Once the desire to produce for a market nearby sets hold, some form of intensification is inevitable. There are many intermediate forms in the gradual transition into market economy oriented production. I have provided an example above of a system that combines livestock with an integrated, improved green water pond culture. Here the intensity of species requires a high level of dissolved oxygen (DO). Many factors combined to push the transition towards large-scale intensive cultivation in Vietnam, including, in the mid-2000s, the bird flu which lead to the mass killing of fowl, and to concerns over export of waste-fed pond fish. These worries in turn led to a realization of the benefits to be gained from formulated feeds, including the abandonment of cycling, and the possibility of production of export species. The following sites exemplify this transition to intensive culture:

Industrial Intensive Catfish Monoculture: Site 22: 7/22 Vinh Long, along the Mekong River: [DSC07717-07779] (Video 7724 feeding of 5 tons of feed to massive swarms of catfish) (Video 7753, harvesting, weighing, and transporting the catfish) (Video 7760, dumping catfish into transport boat hulls) TYPE: CATFISH FARM This was the largest fish farm I visited in Vietnam. One could almost walk on the fish in the ponds. The ponds are 5000 sq meters x 3 to 4 meters deep (15,000 -20,000 cubic meters), half hectare large earthen ponds just alongside the Mekong, separated by the 37

river bank. In each pond 200,000 fish are stocked. The density of fish is between 10-13.5 fish per cubic meter. The farmer here produces 200 tons per half hectare (400 tons/ha). Each season, he stocks 250,000 fingerlings, and grows them out. By the time they are nearing harvesting, he feeds the fish some 5 tons of feed per day (that is 125 bags per pond per day x 5 ponds, or 625 bags of feed per day). All this feed is purchased, at a rate of 8000 VMD/kg. When they are fingerlings, for the first month and a half, the feed has 28% protein. Once they reach 200 grams, the protein content of the feed decreases to 26%. They take two to three months to reach 500 grams From 500 grams onwards, the protein content is reduced to 22%. They take another two to three months to reach 1 kg, when they are harvested. There are two types of catfish raised here Pangasius bocoustii (basa), or Pangasium hypophthalimus. There are specialized transport boats, with empty, water-filled hulls, to move the fish to processing boats. Sometimes, the processing plant boats visit the farms, docking alongside some of the farms. Fish are transported directly to the processing plant, where they will be filled. [Based on field-notes and on-site interviews].

While the intensive catfish model above did not employ many aspects of best management practices (BMPs, discussed in further detail below) , some farms do in fact take great precautions to ward off disease and ensure high productivity. Such a farm was visited in Hai Phoung province:

Bio-Secure Shrimp Farm, Hai Phuong Unlike all the other shrimp farms visited, this farm in the countryside of Hai Phuong actively employed several best-management practices relating to managing water supplies and transmission of disease, and in such are able to operate at intensive levels of production while experiencing low mortality rates. Of particular interest is the farms practice of making use of separate input and output canals, as well as the use of settling ponds to treat input waters prior to their use in the grow-out ponds. Of a total of four ponds, two are grow-out ponds, and two are settling ponds, each 2000 meters sq. The farm produces white leg shrimp at an intensity of 80 shrimp/sq meter, yet does not suffer from the white-spot disease. The reasons for such low rates of disease are that input waters were first brought into settling ponds, which are isolated from the ground by 38

tarp fabric. The water is then treated with probiotics. This leads to a reduction of pathogens and a regulation of basic water quality parameters. The water from the settling ponds is pumped into the grow-out ponds as needed. Water from the grow-out ponds is later pumped into the output canals. The farm uses short-net fences around the grow-out and settling ponds to prevent mud-crabs and invertebrates from contaminating the water. Likewise, colorful, fluttering flags are strung around and across the ponds to deter birds. I visited several other interesting sites in Vietnam which combined aspects of IAAS or polyculture in one site. These include an Integrated Chicken-Mosquito-

Ornamental System, an Integrated Intensive Pig-Fish System, and a Waste Reuse Energy Production Processing Plant. Appendix 5. For more details on these sites, please see

Section 5: Conclusions The need for a new approach - regional integration of integrated approach to aquaindustry (IRAI) There is still a role for the principles of integrated agriculture-aquaculture to play in the Vietnamese aquaculture industry. Despite increasing signs that the ecological limits of the carrying capacity of regions such as the Mekong delta and the former mangrove forests, now shrimp farms along the South Vietnamese coast, there is still time to develop a regionally integrated approach to the aquacultural industry of these regions. An

integrated system does not have to exist within a single property (indeed, in the cases of intensive monoculture operations it cannot!). Rather, a regional model in which materials flow from one producer to another, across and through multiple sub-industries is called for in order to obtain the best use of resources and minimization of unaccounted for externalities. The recognition of the interconnectedness of several industries will allow for broad industry-scale integration allowing for the creation of opportunities for higher overall productivity and profit, more sound environmental protection, as well as new rural employment. For this to happen, a paradigm shift in business models must occur, where waste is no longer seen as an expensive cost and hassle but seen as an income 39

producing item integral to boosting productivity and profit of the system as a whole. Such a shift in thinking will require a combination of governmental regulation and local organization of farms and other industries such as feed mills, processing plants, and energy generating operations into cooperatives and associations. In order for the current environmental issues to be properly addressed, regions must develop methods to ensure organic waste streams be converted into valuable products. These products will be diverse and present multiple opportunities for different industries, and will present cost-saving opportunities for some of the larger wasteproducing industries such as the commercial livestock rearing farms and the processing plants. Key to such an integrated model will be the emphasis on making nutrients available for algal and fish production and the conversion of wastes into valuable products. Furthermore, in water-stressed regions, the treatment and re-use of water into food production systems. The meat, poultry, shrimp and catfish industries of Vietnam all produce large quantities of wastewater, whose direct emissions have real ecological and social consequence. Given the sectors resources, it is of utmost importance that a low cost solution based in natural systems thinking be implemented. Thus, the recycling of nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon from wastewaters into new productive products such as aquatic plants, fish, and fertilizers is critical. Likewise, large amounts of carbon waste can be converted into methane gas through widespread adoption of anaerobic bio-digesters. Many opportunities for new employment exist through the development of regional integration, as the gathering and transporting of wastes or converted products (algaes, small pelagic fishes, micro and macro planktons, etc) will require labor. Through various levels of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment and conversion, large waste flows from intensive animal production or processing can be converted into methane, algaes, zooplanktons, fish, or any number of other horticultural or agricultural products. Thus, the main key products of an inter-regional integrated agriculture system in Vietnam would be fish, fertilizer, feed (fishmeal and livestock feed), clean water and biogas. The multiple products of such a system demonstrate its flexibility. As rising environmental externalities become more evident, and the costs of conventional waste disposal rise, it will make sense for industries to seek new ways to lower these costs. IRAI presents such a solution, as a low-energy and environmentally 40

sound system that can turn expenses into profit. Furthermore, the sustainability of Vietnams primary production industries (its food production and processing industries) would be greatly enhanced. Algae should be used as the primary mode of nutrient removal from gathered wastes. From there, zooplankton are used as a secondary level of treatment through the consumption of algae. These zooplankton then represent a source of feed for aquaculture of fish, which represent a third level of waste treatment and recycling of nutrients within the system. These fish can then either be consumed directly, or cycled further back into the system through their sale to feed-mills and their conversion into high-protein livestock or fish feeds. Algae have been successfully demonstrated as bioremediation tools, and zooplankton have been shown to be capable of mass-production through integration. The selection of algae and zooplankton will depend upon what wastes are being treated. Likewise, the feeding of these inputs into freshwater ponds for tertiary treatment through aquacultural production will require careful selection of fish. Herbivorous and detrivirous fish and shellfish species should be employed, such as grass or silver carp, capable of recycling nutrients into higher trophic levels. These species are also very tolerant to high nutrient levels and relatively high densities, and have fast growth rates and established simple hatchery operations throughout the country. As mentioned, freshwater mussels can be paired with polyculture of carps and cyclids and used as biofilters. All these organisms can then be fed back into the production cycle, either through direct consumption or conversion to new feed. Thus, the processes which must be developed at regional scales in Vietnam should include: 1) the gathering of wastes from pig and poultry farms 2) the widespread development of anaerobic digesters and algal and zooplankton growth operations 3) the distribution to these products into fish farms within nearby areas; 4) the monitoring and regulating of water supply and quality to fish farms and shrimp farms; 5) the

development of centralized fish feed capable of using these products rather than depending upon foreign purchased or wild-caught inputs. These should gradually move away from trash fish as the basis of fish feed towards more sustainable forms of feeds. This is an area in which aquacultural experts and NGOs need to work with local farms and regional cooperatives to help persuade the local government to take sustainable practices seriously, and to move away from a free market, laissez-faire approach to 41

unsustainable growth. The greatest obstacles to overcome in this regard are government greed and graft, pressure from international markets, and a certain tendency towards risky, individualized projects that neglect community responsibility that I found to be fairly widespread amongst Vietnamese fish farmers. However, with enough evidence of the increasing precariousness of the aquaculture industry, more and more local shareholders will become aware of the need for cooperative approaches to an integrated, regional approach to aquaculture in Vietnam.

5.1 Sustainability of Feed It is commonly agreed upon that the adoption of factory-produced pelleted feed is a key factor in increasing productivity of aquaculture operations while also reducing the amount of organic matter in effluents. This is due to the much lower amounts of pellet feed required as input to ponds or cages compared to farm-made feed, as pellets have much more efficient FCRs. However, the preferred protein source in most pellet feed is fishmeal or trash fish (small fish and by-catch forming the low-value component of commercial catches), and supplies of trash fish are declining. There is concern that the future rapid expansion of aquaculture may be constrained by its dependence on marine trash fish and trashfishbased fishmeal. Increasingly, fishing boats need to fish at increasing distances and for longer periods of time, which has led to degraded quality of trashfish due to improper storage techniques.
Table 13: Estimates of trash fish used to produce freshwater and marine species in Vietnam.

Vietnam has witnessed a dramatic rise in the use of trash fish in aquaculture in the past few years with the development of marine cage culture of lobster, of upper-trophic-

42

level species such as grouper and cobia, and of catfish in intensive ponds. It is estimated that nearly 364,000t of trashfish are being demanded for aquaculture feed. This number is expected to be doubled or tripled in the coming decade (Phuc 2007; Tuan 2005, Edwards 2004). There are also conflicting uses for trashfish in other sectors, such as for livestock feed, and fish sauce, and also for human food. All these sectors are expected to increase their use of trashfish in the years to come. Find some other way to describe this group of species that is in-/directly harvested for all these various commercial purposes However, supplies of trashfish are not without limit, and as exploitation of a diminishing resource continues prices will rise. Already in the past 3-5 years Vietnam has witnessed a significant rise in the price of trashfish (Phuc 2007). Thus, as prices rise it is unlikely that aquaculture based on traditional use of trash fish as a direct feed can expand in any significant way. As the price of trashfish rise, so too do the price of fishmeal-based pellet feeds. Thus, while high market value species such as grouper, lobster and shrimp may be able to compete for fish meal on the international market and continue operating with a profit, it is highly unlikely that low-profit-margin aquaculture operations such as catfish or tilapia will be able to profit. Thus, the replacement of trashfish-based-fishmeal with cheap plant-based proteins (from soybean and rice bran) in aquaculture diets is a major research priority for global food security.

5.2 Best management practices recommended by local aquacultural specialists Various recommendations concerning best management practices in this section are drawn primarily from the following sources, including both local and Western scientists and specialists I interviewed in the field: De Silva, S., Amarasinghe, U., and Nguyen T., 2006, Umesh, N.R., 2008, AusAid, 2009, and Kumaran, M., 2007, as well as from my discussions with research scientists in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, and my observations during field-site research visits to fish farms in Vietnam. BMPs refer to best management practices, which are a series of science-based tools and practical steps developed from risk factor studies in farming systems around the world with the goal of altering daily farm operation that increase efficiency and productivity, or reduce or mitigate negative impacts. These practices will vary according to pond size, intensity, and 43

species cultured. The purpose of developing BMPs and implementing them throughout the aquaculture sector is not to establish a criteria or certification standard (of which there have been a multitude developed in the past few years, from a multitude of different organizations, including Eurepgap, GTZ, WWF, Naturland, and a variety of others). Rather, the purpose of BMPs are to promote responsible and sustainable aquaculture practices, so that the best management practices of today are the norm of tomorrow (De Silva, 2006). BMPs can also be used as a criterion for the purpose of certification. While BMPs are applied to individual farms, groups of farms located in the same geographical area (or who share a common water supply source and outlet) should form into clusters or associations in order to implement the BMPs as a group, and maximize the benefit for all. The aquacultural sector in Vietnam can and should be able to improve on production through the adoption of better management practices (BMPs). These practices can be broken down into many categories, and for the purpose of brevity I will mention only several of the broad categories rather than providing details. (for additional details see Appendixes 2, 3, 4)

5.3 The inadequacy of the BMP practices in light of the volatility and imminent collapse of the industry the need for IRAI approach

Technical BMP solutions on an input by input, or a case by case, or farm by farm basis can not resolve the issues facing aquaculture in regions of intensive production, such as the Mekong River. What is needed is an approach which applies the principles of integrated systems to an entire regional aquaculture industry. To achieve this, there must be understanding and enforcement from state regulatory agencies and support from locally organized cooperatives. Under such a system, waste from local intensive pig farms could be gathered for use in intensive catfish farms. Scraps from processing plants could be gathered for the production of fish feed in centralized units, which could be checked for quality control. Water resources could be regulated and tested regularly, by either government agencies or collectives. However, many current rules and regulations will need to be modified to ensure that prohibitive fees and surcharges do not overwhelm productive capacities (see the discussion of these issues in Truong Duc Toan and Steven G.M, Schilizzi, 2010. Modeling the impact of government regulations on the performance 44

of reservoir aquaculture in Vietnam. Aquaculture Economics and Management. 14.2, 120-44) Currently, virtually every economic niche in the aquacultural production process is filled by some stakeholder, but at the cost of incredible uncertainty and frequent economic disaster for the farmers. Rather than ignoring the increasingly deregulated, ecologically unsustainable developments in the aquaculture production process, both government and local cooperatives need to work together to recycle wastes within a larger regional integrated aquacultural industry. The results of aquaculture production should be measured by sustainability and solutions to hunger issues, rather than profit margins for the companies and middlemen that leave farmers and farmland behind. Risks of individual farm failures and the dangers from diseases and monocultural crashes that could devastate entire communities should instead be balanced by an integrated, sustainable, and co-operative approach to aquacultural development.

Final Conclusions This thesis has provided an overview and a sectorial analysis of the status and trends in aquaculture production in Vietnam, with particular emphasis on catfish, shrimp and lobster production (see Appendices 3, 4 , and 5). The thesis has given an analysis of

issues, trends and challenges in the aquacultural sector. Particular emphasis has been placed in this conclusion on feed and fertilizer resource use, and their implications for sustainable aquaculture development in Vietnam. The thesis also examines various best management practices, including technical answers to some of the ecological problems arising from rapid increase in production and trends away from traditional polyculture to intensive farming of catfish, shrimp and lobster. The thesis has also suggested that there is a need for a renewed application of IAAS principles at the level of regional integrated aquaculture industries (IRAI). Such an approach would involve government regulation as well as local organizing. It would strengthen the capacity of farmers to organize into cooperatives in order to deal with the effects of pollution and the insecurities of market conditions and disease vectors. Based on local experts, I have made concrete recommendations above about the manufacture and use of feed. The need for additional research into feed technology and aquacultural nutrition has been noted. Clearly there is a great need to improve on-farm feed 45

management.

The promotion of interregional cooperation between all the levels of

production, from small-scale farmers to mid-level producers and processors, and on to large-scale intensive farms, must occur in the context of greater ecological understanding of the effects of each sector, level, or niche upon the others, and with more attention paid to the long term effects, both environmental and social, of neglecting diversification.

46

Appendix 1: Implications of developments in the Vietnamese aquaculture for other areas (such as RI): planning a regional integrated industrial aquacultural model
The overly rapid development of aquaculture in Vietnam sheds light on the kinds of ecological problems that can result from the pursuit of intensive monoculture. There are important lessons for Rhode Island as well. At first sight, comparisons between Vietnam and Rhode Island may seem impossible. In 2005, Vietnamese aquaculture earned $1,437,300,000 compared to $492,351,000 for the US as a whole, or almost three times as much. In fact, that year, Vietnam aquaculture earned more than the entire Northeast coast, including Canada ($1,398,534,000). Of course, the US wild catch was worth much more, at $4,892,967,000 versus Vietnams catch of $1,929,900,000. In all the US, there were 4,309 aquaculture farms, compared to over 43,000 aquaculture sites in Vietnam. In the US, some 2700 farms used ponds or streams, 750 used tanks, almost 200 had cages or pens for fish, 450 raised crawfish in cropland, 775 grew mollusks on the bottom, and another 330 grew mollusks off bottom. In that year, Rhode Island had only over 20 farms, and most of these were oyster beds, and they generated $744,310 in earnings (FDA 2005). When it comes to the issue of integrated regional aquaculture industries, again, comparisons with Rhode Island may seem far-fetched. According to FDA records, Rhode Island had over 1200 farms on over 70,000 acreage in 2010, representing just over 10% of the land in the state. Many of these farms raise cattle, hogs, and poultry. This is again a small number of relatively isolated farms as compared to the ubiquity and intensity of subsistence agriculture in Vietnam, as we have shown in the discussion of the VAC system of household sustenance agriculture in Vietnam, which integrate livestock raising with fish cultivation in ponds. Nevertheless, because Vietnam has experienced very rapid expansion of its aquaculture industries in the very same time period that Rhode Islands oyster industry has expanded, there may be some interesting lessons to learn (FDA 2010). Demand for fish products growing For decades, aquaculture in Rhode Island was dormant. But in recent years, more attention has gone towards aquacultural production. The demand for fish is growing. More than 80% of the seafood Americans consume is imported. And almost half of seafood imports are farmed. Americans consume between 6 and 7 million tons of wild and farmed seafood a year. Demand continues to grow as more Americans seek the health benefits of eating seafood. The United States may need to import as much as 4 million tons of seafood by 2025, based on demand and population growth projections. (2008-2009 NRAC Annual Report).

History of aquaculture in Rhode Island First let us review the unique history and contemporary situation of aquaculture in Rhode Island. According to the Rhode Island Aquaculture Initiative. 2004. Rhode Island Aquaculture Initiative: A Shared Vision for the Future.( Rhode Island Sea Grant, Narragansett, R.I.) 16 pp., Aquaculture has a long history in Rhode Island. In the early 1900s, oyster culture generated the equivalentin todays dollarsof $50 million to $90 47

million in revenue. In those years, one-third of the Bay bottom was leased for oyster culture, According to Micheal A. Rice, A Brief History of Shellfish Aquaculture In Rhode Island, http://www.crmc.ri.gov/aquaculture.html#anic, at its peak in 1911, there were 20,846 leased acres in the Bay, with peak production of 1.4 million bushels of live oysters & 1.3 million gallons of shucked meats (1908); worth >$50M in todays dollars. Labor in oyster growing was organized into a Mill Town labor system similar to the textile mills. All this declined from the 1920s to the 1950s due to the: increase in raw sewage inputs, the cumulative effects of continued soil erosion, the increase of metal finishing effluents, the destructive effects of the great hurricane of 1938, labor shortages during WWII, and Gov. T.F. Greens bloodless revolution of 1935 and associated socio-political changes. In 1952 the last oyster farm, the Warren Oyster Company, gave up its leases. (RIAI, op.cit.). But by mid-century, pollution, political problems, turf conflicts between aquaculture lease holders and capture fisheries, and natural disasters notably, the hurricane of 1938had decimated the states aquaculture industry. Limited growing space and intensive competition for coastal access have hindered reestablishment of the industry over the years. Conflicts stemming from multiple uses of aquatic resources along an increasingly crowded coastline have thwarted accommodation of still more demands on coastal areas. (Rice, op.cit.). Revival of Aquaculture in Rhode Island Aquaculture slowly revived in Rhode Island in the 1970s and 1980s. But the real growth began in the 1990s. The following table shows this growth: Table 14: Rise of aquaculture in Rhode Island 1996 6 farms 9 acres $90,000 2003 20 farms 61 acres 550,000 2007: 28 farms 123 acres $1,587,857 2008: 30 farms $1,692,195 2009: 33 farms 134.5 acres $1,785,135. (drawn from Buetel, David, in his report entitled Aquaculture in his Rhode Island: 2009 Annual Status Report, Coastal Resources Management Council, www.crmc.ri.gov/aquaculture/aquareport09.pdf,). Buetel points out that the number of farms in Rhode Island increased from 30 to 33 in the past year, and that the total acreage under cultivation increased from 123 to 134.5 acres. Her further notes that oysters remain the number one aquaculture product with 2,821,166 oysters sold for consumption, and that the farm gate value of aquaculture products for consumption rose to $1,785,135. He goes on to state that the value of aquaculture products for restoration (primarily research funding) was $936,243 in 2009, thus the combined farm gate value of aquaculture products for consumption and

48

restoration was $2,721,378. This represents only a 5.27% increase from the year before (which had also grown by 5.7% from 2007). But the increase from 2006-2007 was 18%. Buetel (2009) notes that the dominant species in the RI aquaculture industry continues to be the American oyster, with 2,680,036 pieces sold in 2008 and 2,821,166 pieces sold in 2009. Hard clam production was a distant second with 25,150 pieces sold in 2008 and 52,000 pieces sold in 2009. The number of farms active in Rhode Island aquaculture at the end of 2009 was 33, with cultivation of 134.5 acres, the result of three new farms added in 2009. In Narragansett Bay, out of a total of 87,723 acres, some 60.5 acres are used for aquaculture, representing 0.069%. Of the South Coastal Ponds (listed below), which total 3963.70 acres, some 66.95 acres are used for aquaculture, a total of 1.67%. However, the ecological carrying capacity of salt ponds has now been determined to be 5% (see discussion of the research of C. Byron below). Actual pond usage in 2009 was as follows: Ninigret Pond - 0.67% Winnapaug Pond - 1.69% Potters Pond - 1.91% Pt. Judith Pond - 2.68% The majority of the shellfish industry relies on purchase of hatchery seedstock, but there is some wild spat collection. Still, in terms of employment, less than 65 people work in the aquaculture industry, on a fulltime or part-time basis. Nevertheless, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council assessed the gross value of the states aquaculture harvest at more than $8,000 per acre for 2003. In comparison, landbased agriculture in Rhode Island earns a little more than $640 per acre (Beutel 2009). There is thus great potential for growth in this sector. New Research Initiatives The $1.42-million Rhode Island Aquaculture Initiative brings many research projects to bear on the Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The Working group of CRMC has a total of 28 members, and is comprised of representatives from Aquaculture industry, Commercial and recreational fishing industry, Save The Bay; Salt Pond Coalition; Sierra Club, Rhode Island Farm Bureau, University of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University, Brown University, United States Department of Agriculture, State legislators, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management; the Department of Health; and the Coastal Resources Management Council. One project they are supporting is a mapping of the seabed of the Narragansett Bay, along with maps of the nitrogen concentrations and flows within the Bay. MapCoast uses a variety of procedures and technologies, some extremely technical, which together create a clear picture of our underwater environments. These include: Sediment Pro ling Imagery (SPI), Coring, Bathymetric Mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Aerial Photography, Underwater Imagery, and Side-scan Imagery. These approaches mean that there is great potential to carefully study and to model the growth of the aquaculture industry in the region, and to monitor the impact of aquaculture on the ecology of the Bay. Another major source of information for aquaculture in the Northeastern states is the Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center of the University of Maryland, which brings out the Northeastern Region Aquaculture Center Publications 49

(http://wwsw.nrac.umd.edu/publications/index.cfm) These cover topics such as NRAC #120 Aquaculture Systems for the Northeast, NRAC #130 Aquaculture Species for the Northeast, NRAC #102-2008 Freshwater Aquaculture Species for the Northeast, NRAC #103-2008 Marine Aquaculture Species for the Northeast (PDF), NRAC #104-2008 Aquaculture Systems for the Northeast (PDF), and many other relevant materials.

New Challenges to the Future Expansion of Aquaculture in Rhode Island In a disturbing article entitled A Climate Changed Bay, Barry A Costa-Peirce and Alan Desbonnet, (No. 41. No. 1, 2007, 14-17) discuss the rise in water temperatures in Narragansett Bay over the past few decades of 2 degrees in winter and 1 degree in summer. They estimate temperatures will continue to rise several more degrees, until the Narragansett Bay becomes similar to the waters of South Carolina. Rising temperature augment already increasing rates of nutrient loading which fertilize the waters leading to growth of algae which lowers oxygen levels and blocks sunlight to lower levels. Warmer temperatures lead to greater precipitation (30% increase since 1900), washing more nutrients into the Bay. Macroalgae blooms are widespread in the North Bay, where eelgrass has difficulty growing. This impacts plankton, shellfish, bottom-dwelling organisms, macroalgae, eelgrass and fish. Most clearly affected is the winter-spring annual production of phytoplankton (diatoms), the ecological foundation of the Narragansett Bay ecosystem. The numbers of theseorganism have been drastically reduced, leading to a drastic reduction in the level of copepods. In fact, in recent years, these minute crustaceans that eat diatoms have not been found in the summer in Narragansett Bay. Thus an important link in the food chain has been broken. Warmer waters have led to an abundance of ctenophore (comb jelly) which eat zooplanktons in summer months, leading to a summer phytoplankton bloom in the upper Bay. This in turn leads to hypoxia (low oxygen) because more organic matter decomposes on the bottom waters. Other new invasive species add additional challenges. The authors also cite the finds of Fulweller et. al. (2007), who recorded a 40% decrease in primary production in Narragansett Bay over the past three decades. For the first time anywhere in the world, these authors found that the sediments of a rich, shallow-water estuary during summer months switched from their traditional role as nitrogen sinks to being a source of nitrogen. They calculated that the Bays sediments now release a huge amount of nitrogen to the Bays water column, equal to as much as 60 percent of all the nitrogen being added by sewage to the Bay! This massive output from the sediments has many potential ramifications for the ecology of the Bay of the nearby Rhode Island Sound. If this finding is accurate, there may need to be extensive efforts to transform the seabed of the Bay to prevent further eutrification. (Costa-Peirce and Dubonett, 2007). Comparison with neighboring states: It is instructive to compare aquaculture in Rhode Island with that in neighboring coastal states of Massachusetts and Connecticut. In Massachusetts, according to the Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report 2009: Massachusetts, compiled by Diane C. Murphy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant & Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, William Burt, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, Joseph K. Buttner, Salem 50

State College, Cliff Goudey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant, and Craig Hollingsworth, University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension, the total value of commercial aquaculture in Massachusetts in 2007 exceeded $18 million. Commercial aquaculture in Massachusetts occurs in freshwater and marine waters. Freshwater finfish and marine shellfish are also cultured by governmental agencies for release into public waters. In 2007, Massachusetts was the seventh largest producer of cultured shellfish in the U.S. with almost 1,500 acres cultivated. Reported sales topped $11.2 million and over 172 million oysters and quahogs were marketed by over 230 shellfish farmers. According to the Census of Aquaculture (2005), the number of shellfish farms in Massachusetts grew by 47% from 1998 to 2005 with an increase in sales of 57% over the same time period. Oyster sales, in particular, exploded, increasing 165% during that time, reflecting production from both established and new farms There are a dozen freshwater finfish producers in Massachusetts. These growers utilize ponds, flow-through systems, and recirculating aquaculture systems to grow fish for the food, live bait, ornamental, and recreational facilities. Among these producers is Australis Aquaculture, Ltd., which employs 50 workers to operate one of the largest indoor aquaculture facilities in the world, growing 1,000 metric tons (2.2 million lbs) of barramundi annually valued at $8 million in 2009. According to the Aquaculture situation and outlook report 2009: Connecticut, compiled by Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant and Cooperative Extension, University of Connecticut and Robert Pomeroy, Connecticut Sea Grant, University of Connecticut The combined value of aquaculture and fisheries production is greater than $25 million dollars.. Shellfish production currently represents the largest segment of the aquatic farming industry in Connecticut. In fact, the state's largest farms are underwater and encompass greater than 77,000 acres of leased and franchised shellfish grounds managed by the State Department of Agriculture. Connecticut is a major producer of shellfish, including the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) The freshwater finfish industry grows mainly trout and baitfish, and contributes a small percentage of total State aquaculture revenues. Thus the value of aquaculture in Massachusetts ($18M) and Connecticut ($25M) far exceeds the production value in Rhode Island (under $2M). Maine reports values in excess of $50M. There is clearly room to grow for aquaculture in Rhode Island.
Source: Fisheries of the United States, 2007. National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology. Fisheries Statistics Division, David Van Voorhees, Chief, Elizabeth S. Pritchard, Ed., Silver Spring, Maryland July 2008.

Research Findings Supporting the Growth Potential for Rhode Island Aquaculture The research of Carrie Byron, URI PhD, and other scholars has led to the acceptance of a standard of 5% carrying capacity for oysters in salt water ponds in Rhode Island. Based on a comparison of New Zealand data on the carrying capacity of a bay there, she concluded that Narragansett Bay could support the growth of 1.3 tons of oysters per acre, whereas just .002 tons of oysters per acre are currently being harvested from these waters. The carrying capacity of the salt ponds is 3.2 tons per acre, and farmers now harvest about .05 tons per acres. At present farming density rates, this means that nine percent of the surface area of Narragansett Bay and 46 percent of the surface of the salt ponds could be leased for oyster aquaculture before the waters would suffer adverse 51

effects. Less than two percent of these waters are being used for aquaculture today. For further details see: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/07/08/uri.study.rhode.island.waters.can.support.co ntinued.growth.oyster.aquaculture Carrie Byrons 2010 URI dissertation is entitled Working Toward Consensus: Application of Shellfish carrying capacity in management of Rhode Island Aquaculture. In this thesis, and in related papers, she justifies the 5% carrying capacity claim, and also discusses the conflicts with wild-catch shellfish gatherers concerned about the impact of the spread of oyster farming in the Bay.

Conclusions: Possible links with agriculture in Rhode Island in a regional integrated model The literature reviewed above raises contradictory messages. On the one hand some specialists claim that there is clearly the ecological carrying capacity to expand aquaculture in the Narragansett Bay. On the other hand, the extend of pollution and the damage to the sediment levels in the Upper Bay may make it extremely difficult to add any additional nutrients to an already over-extended ecosystem. Beyond further expansion of oyster beds and quahog beds, is there any potential for the development of finfish farms (both freshwater and marine) in Rhode Island? Freshwater fish farms could be developed on existing farms, using IAAS systems to make use of animal waste to fertilize fish ponds, as found in the traditional Vietnamese VAC farms. According to Buttner, J., Flimlin, G., and Webster, D., Freshwater Aquaculture Species for the Northeast, NRAC Publication No. 102-2008, major species such as rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, minnows, striped bass, widemouth bass, yellow perch, carp, barramundi (raised with great success in one massive facility in Massachusetts), several species of ornamental fish (raised very successfully in Connecticut), and a range of species of aquatic plants could be raised successfully in Rhode Island. Other species, such as the catfish and tilapia grown in Vietnam, would have difficulty surviving the winters in Rhode Island. Some of these species are higher up on the trophic chain and do not necessarily consume phytoplankton, zooplankton, or other green water food, but rather feed upon benthic organisms and other small aquatic organisms (insects, minnows, fingerlings). Thus, there exists room to develop multiproduct farms able to produce these specific feeds. For example, the cultivation of frogs can be incorporated into the same pond as the cultivation of small aquatic insects or fish, fed from waste-fertilized green water. For an example of paired cultivation, refer to site visit # 4 and # 29 in Appendix 5. Site visit 4 discusses a farmer who has incorporated the cultivation of frogs into a fish-producing pond, while site 29 describes a farm that uses chicken waste fertilization to produce vast amounts of mosquito larvae and daphnia, subsequently used as feed for ornamental fighting-fish. Farms are widely distributed around the state. In 2004 the number of farms in Rhode Island was 850. These farms were distributed over 60,350 acres, or 9% of state, at an average farm size of 71 acres. By 2009, the number of farms had increased to1,220 on 67,819 acres, or 10.3% of the state. There is adequate number and variety of livestock in Rhode Island to begin pilot projects of this kind. According to USDA statistics, in 2004, cattle and calves in Rhode Island earned $938,000, almost twice the aquaculture 52

earnings of $564,000, and well above the sale of hogs worth $344,000. There are also several large poultry farms that could be involved in pilot projects testing IAAS aquacultural experimental ponds. Marine finfish farms (in cages in the Narragansett Bay, and in Rhode Island Sound) would contribute to the nitrogen overloading of the Bay, especially the upper Bay. This problem would be exacerbated by the run-off from the fish ponds located on farm lands around the state. As noted above, the Bay is already threatened by rising temperatures and algae blooms. How then could an integrated approach be developed for RI that would not further exacerbate these problems? Several studies have demonstrated the important role of bivalve fields and seaweed fields in clearing nitrogen and other waste from water flowing through these facilities. Indeed, the Canadian research of Cranford ,P.J., Hargrave, B., Strain, P., Dowd,M., Grant, J., Li, B., Strand, O., & Stroheimer, T. Intensive Mussel Aquaculture: Research Applications (June, 2008) http://aquaculture.noaa.gov/pdf/shellfish/shellfish_cranford.pdf, has gone further than the speculative eco-modeling in Rhode Island as to the real eco-carrying capacity and actual impacts of bivalve populations. If the Rhode Island oyster and bivalve and seaweed fields could be designed to integrate with the treatment of animal wastes, an integrated local industry could develop. This industry would have to use the scientific literature on IIAS to persuade US federal and state regulatory agencies that this was a clean and sustainable form of feed for the oysters and quahogs. There is also a lot of interest in placing cages around Block Island and raising marine finfish there, where the impact on the Bay would be limited. Here the main lesson to be learned from Vietnam is how to develop better feed (perhaps the remains of the wild catch squid harvest which others have proposed should be converted to fertilizer?). However, as explained in the thesis above, the use of smaller, less valuable fish as a source of food for larger fish is ultimately non-sustainable. Alternative feeds based on the reuse and conversion of farm and agricultural wastes could and should be experimented with for marine finfish in Rhode Island. In conclusion, when we compare the history and future prospects of Rhode Island with aquaculture in Vietnam, and particularly with the Mekong region, we can see many similarities, and draw some lessons from the Vietnamese experience. Rhode Island aquaculture has already experienced one tragedy in the precipitous decline of the earlier very productive oyster beds during the 1950s. As Prof. Caroline Karp has pointed out (personal communication) Rhode Island is pursuing a "traditional", privately owned, subsidized culture of a "gentry" species (oysters) that relies heavily on free ecosystem services, as does the Mekong system. What are the dangers of this process? We have seen in Vietnam that the Mekong region saw the development of industrial scale aquacultural monoculture that has led to severe ecological problems, and now threatens the industry with collapse. In the case of Rhode Island, diversification of aquacultural production would be one way to respond to this lesson. Rhode Island should also beware of any additional sedimenting in of the inner bay area, which could rapidly spread to further reaches of the bay. Much greater attention has to be paid to the agricultural runoff into rivers emptying into the Bay. I also recommend adding seaweed fields to offshore oyster beds, and further recommend greater diversification of the aquacultural system including experimenting with marine aquaculture, and attempting the regional integration of farm waste, bivalves, seaweed beds, etc., into a more fully integrated regional aquacultural industry. 53

Figure 8: Model of Ecological Interactions within Narragansett Bay (source C. Byron 2009) This model would have to be modified for an IRAI system by adding a line of inputs from animal waste that would be eaten by certain fish species and bio-processed by filter feeders.

54

Figure 9: Average annual energy flow and compartmental biomass in Narragansett Bay

From Monaco, M. E. & R. E. Ulanowicz, 1997: Comparative ecosystem trophic structure of three U. S. mid-Atlantic estuaries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 161: 239 254. Volume 3, Issue 2, June 2006, Pages 104-108.

55

56

Appendix 2: Catfish Industry in Vietnam

Catfish is raised across the country, in the Red River Delta to the North, in the central coastal provinces, and in the Mekong River Delta in the South. Vietnams tropical climate and rich water resources have allowed for the Mekong Delta to become the worlds most productive area in the world. Two main species of catfish are raised in Vietnam, namely Tra (Pangasius hypophthalmus) and Basa (Pangasius bocourti). The vast majority of production occurs in the Mekong Delta, specifically in the three provinces of An Giang, Can Tho and Dong Thap, which together account for more than 80% of the countrys total catfish production (Kam, S.P., et. al, 2010). The water areas under catfish production totaled around 6,000 hectares at the end of 2008, and created 16 millions jobs relating to the catfish industry. Catfish are a freshwater species now largely cultured using intensive practices in earthen ponds, though alternative polyculture systems including catfish are present throughout the north of the country. The favored species is Stripped Catfish (Tra), an extraordinarily air-breathing fish capable of tolerating a wide range of environmental conditions. These characteristics make Tra fish ideal for extremely high density culturing. Furthermore, Tra fish is a very rapid grower, capable of reaching 1kg (the desired market weight) within only six months in Vietnams tropical climate. Vietnamese farmers in the South are capable of raising catfish year round, and can thus produce two crops per year. Catering to increased international demand for cheap white fish, catfish is rapidly becoming one of the main sectors of the Vietnam aquaculture and seafood export industry. In ten years, from 1997 to 2006, the area under cultivation increased only 7 times, but the annual commercial production of fish increased by 36 times (from 22,500 to 825,000 tons) and the volume of exported fillets shot up more than 40 times, (from 7,000 to 286,000 tons). In 2008, raw fish production amounted to 1.65 million metric tons, while exports amounted to 657,000 tons of processed fillets and value-added products. Vietnamese processors exported cultured catfish to 117 countries, bringing in more than US$ 1.48 billions in foreign capital (VASeP, 2011). The explosive growth of the Vietnamese catfish industry has been influenced by several factors, namely the endlessly-growing demand for exports by the world market, the improvement of farming techniques and practices, and the ideal climatic conditions of the Mekong delta for production. However, the catfish farming industry is starting to show signs of strain as farmers have pushed pond ecosystems carrying capacity to their limit, as foreign importing countries have begun imposing requirements and quality standards on catfish products, and as the industry itself undergoes a process of transformation and vertical integration. History Catfish was first farmed commercially in Vietnam more than 50 years ago and has been a traditional means of livelihood for farmers in the Mekong for generations. Before reunification of Vietnam in 1975, catfish were sold domestically, as well as exported to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Exports started to grow in the 1980s, initially in the form of fillets to Australia. In the 1990s, catfish farmers began expanding the market in Hong Kong, Singapore, North America and the European Union. While catfish had traditionally been raised semi-intensively in ponds dug into ground along the main branches of the Mekong Delta, the expansion of export markets led to the development of new culturing techniques and technologies. Starting in the late 1990s, catfish farmers began adapting their operations in order to raise productivity, adopting the use of high-density submerged cages. This practice became widespread in the early 2000s, and production levels and exports continued to rise. However, the industry continued to grow and productivities continued to rise, cage aquaculture was abandoned in favor of river-side deep earthen ponds, able to produce much higher quantities of tra catfish at a lower cost. In 2002 the catfish farmers of the USA complained that Vietnamese catfish were being produced in a non-market economy, and thus should be penalized (at the time, Vietnamese catfish was selling at 50% the price of American-grown catfish). The United States ruled in favor of its own catfish farmers, and in 2002 instituted harsh anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese catfish. While the 2002 US anti-dumping decision immediately hurt the Vietnamese catfish industry for several months, it led to new approaches and strategies on the part of the industry which greatly benefited the industry in the longer-term.

57

First was the promotion of domestic consumption of catfish. This was achieved through the launching of marketing campaigns throughout the country promoting Vietnamese-produced catfish. These campaigns were considered successful, as demand for fish increased within the country. It is worth noting this increase in demand for fish coincided with the outbreak of avian flu in Vietnam. The second strategy was the diversification of markets. While exports had previously largely depended upon the US market, the anti-dumping tariffs and fines led Vietnamese exporters to look to the EU market, the Russian market, and other Asian markets. International trade to new markets was promoted through international fairs and promotional events. Third was the diversification and development of new products. The Vietnamese catfish industry had previously exported only white-meat fillets and red-meat fillets, but now began experimenting with new value-added products such as smoked-catfish sausages and breaded-fillets. These combined efforts on the part of the Vietnamese catfish industry to promote domestic consumption, to diversify foreign markets, and to develop new value-added products was greatly successful, and led to a boom in production. Between 2000 and 2007, catfish production in Vietnam rose from 1,000 tons to 387,000 tons, (a value rise of US$ 2.6 million to US$ 970 million.) Farm Characteristics While the catfish aquaculture industry in Vietnam (and specifically the Mekong Delta) is one of the most productive industries in the world, it presently consists of about 60% small-scale producers operating independently. Ponds range from 2,000 square meters to several hectares on average, and are most often 3.5-5 meters deep with a high level of water exchange (approximately 20-30% per day) in order to maintain the health of the fish and to keep the color of the catfish flesh white; if exchange is insufficient the flesh takes on a yellow cast which is regarded as undesirable by processors. Nearly all farms are developed with supportive systems such as water supply and drainage systems, feeding stations, and water pumps. The average stocking densities of striped catfish in pond were was 20.5 fish m2 in 2004 (Phuong et al. 2004), but it has been increased remarkably up to 52.8 fish m2, and even up to 75 fish m2 (Liem 2009). TABLE 14: Major information on the tra catfish grow-out farms

Production Farmers in the delta commonly harvest super-intensive crops of between 300-400 tons/ha, with some reports of yields of up to 700 tons/ha (Liem, 2009). Tra grows rapidly, reaching a marketable size of1 kg within six months, thus allowing farms in the delta to produce two crops per year, equating to a productivity of over 600 tons/ha/per year. Though the profit margin is small typically around US$ 0.10.15/kg total return to the farmer can reach up to US$ 60,000 90,000 per hectare (Phan et al., 2009). This figure is massively superior to any other crop, and represents a huge improvement to the standard of living of farmers, many of whom were formerly growing rice. It should be noted that increase in pond area has not increased significantly even though total production has been rising, showing that gains in productivity have been achieved through intensification of existing operation (Thanh et al. 2004).

58

Processors The structure of the Vietnamese catfish industry is unusual in that there exists no middlemen between grow-out farmers and large processing and exporting companies. Farmers crops are sold directly to the processor, the later of whom has the option of buying from a wide selection of farmers. In order to ensure quality purchases, processors collect samples of farmers crop prior to purchase to assess flesh quality (the whiter the flesh, the higher the price). Processors also then conduct laboratory tests to detect any chemical residues. If satisfied, the processor company will offer a price to the farmer, based on the quality of his crop. If the farmer agrees to this price, a contract is signed and the crop is harvested. Processors agree to cover the costs of their testing as well as the costs of transportation from farm to processing plant. This transportation is carried out by large hollow-hull company-owned boats, which dock by the farm and load the crop before transporting it to the processing plant. Farmers are expected to undertake the harvesting of their crop themselves, and pay for hired labor in this lengthy and physicallytrying process. Refer to Site Visit 24 (Appendix 5) for details of this process. It is important to note that feed manufacturers and processing plants are undergoing a rapid expansion throughout the Mekong delta region, with new facilities being constructed and existing facilities adding capacity every day. This growth in the processing side of the industry is generating important employment opportunities in rural areas, especially for women (Quisumbing, A.R., 2008). One processing plant alone is capable of employing more than 3,500 workers (personal communication, RIA 1, Bac Ninh). While traveling in Vinh Long province I personally witnessed multiple plants being developed, as well as others which were building accommodation housing for its workforce. Feed Today, the grand majority of catfish farmers (97%) make use of commercially produced pellet feeds. These pellet feeds are purchased from feed mills or middlemen merchants. However, many farms simultaneously make use of farm-made feeds in order to reduce costs, as feed is the most expensive component of production costs, accounting for more than 75% of total costs. Phan et.al. (2009) observes that while (on average) 37% of farms make use of farm-made feed, this number is deceptive in that some regions rely much more heavily on farm-made feed than others. It was observed that 67, 80.0 and 17% of farms surveyed in An Giang, Can Tho and Dong Thap used farm-made feeds, respectively, yet none in Vinh Long. (Phan et.al. 2009) While many farmers produce their own farm-made feed, others buy it from neighbors or nearby producers. However, capitalizing on the growth of the catfish industry many international feed-miller companies have established and begun expanding operations within the Delta, putting small-scale feed producers out of business. Farm-made feeds are prepared in a variety of ways, but most contain the same main ingredients. These are: trash fish (from marine landings), fishmeal in the form of crushed dried fish (from freshwater or brackishwater landings in the Delta flood plain), broken rice, rice bran, and soybean meal. Some farmmade feeds include added vitamins and probiotics. While catfish can survive on these farm-made feeds, growth rates are higher using factory-produced formulated pellet feeds, due to their higher protein contents (up to 30% rather than 20% for farm-made), lower moisture content, and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR=[amount of feed employed] / [increase in biomass] ). The FCR for formulated pellet feed is on average 1.69 while the FCR for farm-made feed is on average 2.25. (Phan, L.T., et.al. 2009). Thus, while fish fed on farm-made feeds will still grow to market size, it will normally take 4-8 weeks longer. Fish are generally fed two times per day, though this ranges upwards of 6 times a day in some farms. Feeding rates are between 1-18% of body weight/day, depending on the maturity of the fish and the quality of feed. Feeding rates are greatest at the beginning of the production cycle. (Phan, L.T. et al. 2009). The following table, Table 7.1: Summary of assessed financial and economic indicators of pond culture (per ha), taken from Hien 2008, provides details on the average costs of grow-out operations. Note the high percentage cost of feed, followed by the costs of seed, and then the costs of medicine.

59

TABLE 15: Summary of assessed financial and economic indicators of pond culture (per ha) (Hien 2008, in US$)

Seed Catfish were traditionally cultured using wild-caught seed harvested from the Mekong River and its tributaries. However, since the closing of the catfishs lifecycle in 1996 (Bui, et.al. 2010) and the opening of the first commercial hatchery in 1998, the catfish industry has depended upon hatchery-produced fingerlings and fry (seedstock) to supply grow-out farmers with fish. Seed production was originally based around An Giang and Dong Thap provinces, but has spread throughout the country as hatcheries have been developed in the past five years. Hatchery production of fry and fingerlings is able to take place year-round due to the favorable tropical climate of the south. (For an overview of seed production techniques, see Site Visit 18 in Appendix I). Total production of fry is estimated to be somewhere in the range of 10 billion fry (though hatcheries experience high mortality rates, up to 90%). Seedlings are raised in nursery facilities till they become fry (sized 4.5cm), or until they develop further into fingerlings (average size 8.6cm) (Bui, et. al. 2010). Farmers place orders on fry or fingerlings to be purchased, most often by the kilo but occasionally per fry. Seed in most occasions accounts for 10-20% of total production costs. Rarely will farmers purchase fry or fingerlings from hatcheries or nurseries more than 100km away, as transportation is stressful on the young fish and leads to mortalities. Farmers stock their ponds in multiple batches over a short period, at densities ranging from 18 to 125 fingerlings per m2, or 5 to 31 fingerlings per m3 (Phan, L.T. et. al., 2009). The stocking density is determined by the availability of fry (or fingerling) as well as the financial capacity of the farmer. Water Supply and Treatment Most farms draw their water directly from the main river or canal they are located by. Very rarely is there any form of screening of inflowing waters or treatment through the use of sedimentation ponds. According to Phan, L.T. (2009), only 6% of farmers in 2008 felt it essential to screen waters, and nearly all farmers agreed that the cost of land made the use of sedimentation ponds prohibitive. Between grow-out cycles, all farmers undertake a process of pond-bottom treatment. However, the duration and techniques of treatment vary by farm. Nearly all farmers drain the pond, remove the accumulated sludge (with rented mechanical equipment), and apply lime to the pond-bottom. These ponds are then left fallow for two weeks (on average) before being refilled with water from the river or canal. Prior to stocking, a variety of treatments are employed by farmers, with approximately 30% of farmers adding chlorine to the water, 25% adding lime, 15% adding benzalkonium chloride, and 11% adding salt (Bosma, 2009). The application of these various substances to treat ponds is done mostly from experience rather than from specific guidelines. Aware of the need for proper water management in intensive pond grow-out operations, nearly all farmers monitor the quality (pH, DO, and ammonia) of their pond water, often daily. In order to maintain good water conditions and prevent the buildup of dangerous amounts of nutrients or the depletion of dissolved oxygen, frequent water exchange is necessary. While for the first two months of growth, water exchange is minimal (once a week), the need to exchange water grows with time. In the last few months of growth, the frequency of exchange must rise dramatically, up to twice a day close to harvest. On average, farms required a daily water exchange rate of 30-100% during operation. (Phuong et.al, 2009)

60

Wastewaters are discharged (in more than 80% of farms) back into the main river or canal from which pond water is drawn from. Some farmers have devised ways to pump their wastewaters into rice fields or gardens (Bosma, 2009), but this practice is not widespread due to the practical constraints of space and land prices. The treatment of wastewaters prior to discharging is very rare, though some farmers screen outflowing wastewaters or treat them with chlorine or lime. However, these farmers are few and far between. Disease and Mortalities Most farmers normally experience mortalities in the early weeks of the production process. In the first week following stocking farmers expect mortalities between 0-30%, averaging out around 7% (Dung, et.al, 2004). In the subsequent following weeks, mortalities hover around 30% but then drop down below 10% in the later months of production. These mortalities are most often attributed to outbreaks of disease correlated to shifts in weather conditions. This is especially true in the months of June and July, which mark the beginning of the wet season and associated increases in rainfall. The most common diseases or ailments include: Edwardsiellosis (otherwise known as bacillary necrosis of pangasius (BNP) ), parasites ; fleshy redspot ; white gill ; and slimy disease (Dung et al., 2004). While most of these diseases are treatable, BNP and white gills are severe and can lead to 50-90% mortality rates (ibid). In order to safeguard their crops, farmers make use of a series of preventative techniques, including the addition of pro-biotics and vitamins to feed and the regular exchange of pond water. Beyond that, in the case of disease outbreak, farmers have access to and make use of a wide variety of antibiotics and other medicines. Farmers will often apply medicines based upon their own personal experience, rather than basing treatment on technical manuals or veterinarian advice. It is worth noting that many farmers will sell dead fish to other farmers for feed. This is a dangerous practice as it opens a strong passageway for the spread and transfer of disease. Environmental issues While the rapid development of the Mekongs aquaculture industry has greatly contributed to the economic wellbeing of many of the inhabitants of the Delta, it has also raised concern over the ecological impact of intensive (and super-intensive) monoculture farming practices. Of most concern regarding the catfish industry is the unregulated discharge of nutrient-rich wastewaters, the use of chemicals and medicines, and the transmission of disease. Wastewater Discharges The most immediate ecological issue associated with the rise of intensive pangasius ponds in the Mekong Delta is the unguided discharge of pond wastewaters. The water in catfish farms is extremely high in nutrients and organic matter, due to the high stocking densities and high rates of feed associated with intensive production. Nutrients in the water derive from the fishs metabolic functioning as well as from the breakdown of undigested food (Bosma, 2009). Over-feeding is common practice amongst catfish farmers in the Mekong. Due to the rapid accumulation of organic matters and the depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) from the water, farmers must keep pumps in constant activity, especially towards the end of the grow-out cycle, in order to keep a certain level of water exchange to maintain tolerable conditions within the pond. As mentioned above, the effluent waters are rich particulate solids from faces and waste feed, dissolved nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and other organic matter. If pumped out of ponds without treatment, as commonly practiced in the Mekong catfish-production region, hyper-nutrified wastewaters can lead to the eutrophication of lakes, rivers, or other ponds. Eutrophication is an increase in nutrients compounds (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) in an ecosystem, which cause a sudden bloom of algae and other microorganisms. During the process of decay of this algal bloom, oxygen is robbed from the water. This may lead to waters lacking oxygen, and other reductions in quality. These effects may seriously harm aquatic organisms and the people who depend upon them. Calculations have been made estimating the gross amount of nitrogen discharged per ton of catfish produced (De Silva et.al. 2010). Based on an FCR of 1.69 for formulated feed with protein content of 25%, and working with the assumption that 30% of nitrogen in the feed is converted to fish weight, it is estimated that 47.3kg of nitrogen are released into wastewaters for every 1 ton of catfish produced. Thus, taking into account that in 2007 there were 638,000 tons of catfish produced in the Mekong Delta, then approximately 32,306 tons of nitrogen were released into the Mekong River (Phan et.al., 2009). As noted in De Silva, et. al. (2010), stripped catfish compared favorably to other cultured fish species in terms of

61

nitrogen and phosphorus emitted. This is likely due to stripped catfish feed and growth efficiencies, as well as their (comparatively) low-protein diets. However, the gross amount of nitrogen and other nutrients and compounds being released into the aquatic environment is still very large due to the density and intensity of production in the region. Chemicals The vast majority of chemicals employed by catfish grow-out farmers are for the treatment or prevention of various diseases, be they bacterial, viral, or water quality-related in nature. Specific diseases and symptoms are listed in the section on diseases. In contrast to land-based animal-production systems, where antibiotics or other medicines can be applied to individual animals, the nature of aquatic fish farming makes it such that farmers must apply treatments to their entire crop at once, either through mixing medicines into feed or applying medicine directly to the pond. This use of antibiotics and other chemicals has raised concerns in Western markets as to the safety of catfish fillets from intensive farms in Vietnam, though many such claims are considered sensationalist (Phuong, N.T., Oanh, D.T.H., 2009). The main environmental concern regarding the use of chemicals and antibiotics in intensive fish ponds that these compounds are released into the wider ecosystem through pond-effluent discharges. As these effluents go untreated, chemicals find their way into natural ecosystems and have the potential of remaining active and affecting wildlife, especially aquatic, which are sensitive to chemicals. The over-use of antibiotics is of special concern as it is possible for bacteria to develop immunities or resistances, making treatment more difficult and infections more dangerous. Disease transmission Of high concern in the catfish industry is the ease with which diseases or infections pass from one farm to another. Parasitic, viral, and bacterial diseases have all been known to infect neighboring farms of those first affected. This is likely due to the practice of pumping effluents back into the common water supply (the river or canal) from which other neighboring farmers draw their input water. Diseases are also spread by the practice of selling dead fish to other farmers for processing into home-made feed. While there is starting to be more awareness amongst farmers as to the need for proper disposal of infected fish, this has yet to become fully implemented. Status of Integration While up until recently, there used to be widespread integration of fish production (including catfish) and livestock rearing (duck, chicken, pig), with Catfish raised in mixed polycultural ponds, in recent years there has been a shift towards specialization, intensification, and the monoculturing of Pangasisus catfish. Most farmers who have chose to focus on pangasius as their cash crop have abandoned to co-culture of alternate species of the integration of livestock with fish ponds. However, pig farmers still do practice integration of livestock with ponds, as a method of turning a waste product into an economic good (from pig waste to marketable fish). There exists in some cases the practice of buying back offal from processing plant ceasing (due to high FCR of offals). Thus there exists potential for the use and streamlining of factory wastes into edible fishmeal products, most likely through the culturing of algaes and lower trophic fish. Issue: Effluent Discharges Impact: Hyper-nutrification and degradation of aquatic environments As discussed earlier, pollution in the catfish industry comes from the untreated discharging of effluents from ponds and wastewaters from processing plants into the river. These effluents present a danger to surrounding aquatic ecosystems, as they can lead to eutriphication or other reductions in water quality. Present in these effluents are high levels of ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, and other organic matter and particles released from fish fecal matter and undigested foods. While most of the wastewaters are pumped into the Mekong River and so no effect is seen (due to the vastness of the river), in some occasions effects are felt. This is most often the case when farmers are not located directly in proximity to the river, and are forced to find other locations for their effluents. While it is theoretically possible to pump wastewaters into large sedimentation treatment ponds, the extreme land prices and large quantities of wastewaters pumped per day make the application of such treatments financially unfeasible for individual farmers. While little impact is felt due to the diluting effect of the Mekong River, with increasing intensities and densities of farms, effects may become more pronounced. There is no apparent understanding between neighboring farms as to the timing or location of intake and discharge waters, which raises the risk factor of farmers

62

pond waters becoming hyper-nutrified and their crop suffering as a result. As water quality declines, as does fish health and value. Issue: Vertical Integration of Catfish Industry Impact: Loss of livelihood, Loss of integrated practices Currently, the catfish farming systems in the Mekong Delta is horizontally integrated. This means there are many interlinked groups, such as specialized hatchery producers, fry to fingerling nursery rearers (of multiple sizes), and grow-out phase operators. All of these interconnected players work together to produce a good that is then purchased by large processing plants for the purpose of exporting. This horizontally integrated system offers many employment and livelihood opportunities, at multiple scales, and is an integral part of the Mekong regions economy and underlies its social structure. However, in recent years the Mekong region has witnessed a dramatic expansion of feed manufacturers and processing plants, eager to profit from the ever-growing international demand for catfish. These companies have understood that in order to maximize profits, control over the multiple stages of production is required. Thus, the process of establishing vertically integrated systems in underway, as processing/exporting companies develop their own feed mills, construct their own hatcheries and nurseries, and arrange partnerships with the largest farms producing. The goal is to become as independent as possible from small producers. This corporate model of vertical integration is having real effects upon the industry, as more and more small producers find it difficult to make a profit. While most catfish farmers will say that their standard of living has increased since taking up catfish farmers, few have plans to expand their operation. Many cite low and unstable fish prices and increasing production costs (especially of feed) as their reasons. Even though total catfish production continues to rise, the number of farmers engaged in producing is declining. Many small-scale nursery owners who made their livings by exploiting a specific and small niche are now being forced to find new forms of employment (personal communication, fish farmers in Vinh Long province, Mekong Delta, summer 2010). Best Management Practices for Catfish Of particular concern to the catfish industry are the issues of water management and disease control. Specifically, practices related to the intake and discharge of waters to and from the grow-out pond, and the treatment of dead or diseased fish. The following are a series of practices related to these critical issues. They fall under the categories of water-exchange, sludge management, pond water quality improvement through aeration, and the management and disposal of dead or diseased fish. Water exchange The first step is for farmers along a 2km (or so) stretch of river to self-organize a water intake and discharge schedule for all farms, in order to coordinate the intake and discharges of nutrified water from ponds. Farmers should develop a communication strategy amongst each other in order to facilitate the transfer of operational information regarding times and quantities of discharges, thus minimizing crossfarm contamination and ensuring better quality intake water. Farmers should work together to establish a system of reservoir tanks or canals to store waste water before discharge back into the main river (though this is difficult to implement due to the high prices of land along the Mekong Rivers banks). All intake water should first pass through a series of screens and filters before entering a pond. Water exchange should be minimized during the first month of production (when the young fish are very sensitive to change). In later months, approximately 25-30% of pond water should be exchanged daily. In the case of an outbreak of disease, water exchange should be completely halted (or brought to a bare minimum), and other farmers be informed of the outbreak. Sludge management During initial pond preparation prior to pumping and stocking, sludge should be removed from the pond bottom and lime should be applied to disinfect. Once in the production cycle, bottom sludge should be siphoned out and placed onto gardens of into storage ponds, starting in the third month of production. This siphoning should occur two or three times during the course of the 6 8month grow-out period.

63

Improvement of pond water quality through aeration While catfish are capable of breathing air as well as extracting oxygen from water (and thus the reason they can survive at such high densities), heavily stocked ponds accumulate fish waste metabolites which are decomposed by bacteria, reducing the oxygen levels in the water and building up hydrogen sulphide (which is toxic to fish). In order to provide a healthy aquatic environment for catfish to grow in, an aeration device at the bottom of the pond should be installed and operated for 3-5 hours each night to maintain appropriate oxygen levels and circulate the water. This is especially important in the second half of the production cycle, when vast quantities of feed are added each day. Management and disposal of diseased or dead fish In order to reduce the occurrence, severity, and spread of disease, diseased and dead fish must be carefully managed. Farmers should regularly observe fish (drawn from a random sample in the pond) for any signs or symptoms of disease or odd behavior. If any diseased or dead fish are discovered, they should immediately be removed and sent to the nearest laboratory for a diagnosis of the disease. Chemicals or antibiotic treatments should not be used without first understanding the true nature of the disease in question. Farmers should construct and install specialized containers to collect dead fish. These containers must have lids, in order to prevent birds or other creatures from scavenging and subsequently passing on disease to other farms. Farmers should never sell diseased or dead fish to other farms (for the purpose of producing farm-made feed). Rather, collected dead or diseased fish should be removed and buried with lime in a determined and fixed location on the farm, far from the pond. Finally, when discharging water from diseased ponds (if absolutely necessary, as in the final months of production), farmers should inform all other farmers in the area. Following these practices will greatly reduce the spread of disease, allowing for a reduction of chemical use and more stability in the sector.

64

65

Appendix 3: Shrimp industry

Shrimp cultivation is practiced throughout Vietnam, in coastal areas with brackishwater systems. As is very well known, shrimp cultivation at differing levels of intensification has expanded at an incredible rate in central Vietnam and in the Mekong Delta. In 2003, semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farms made up 3 % of the total number of farms in the Mekong region, while 22% were extensive systems, and the overwhelming majority, or 75%, were extensive or semi-extensive farms (MoFI 2004). These different kinds of shrimp farms had different levels of productivity: improved extensive produced .25-.30 tons/ha; semi-intensive farms produced 2.5-3 tons of shrimp per hectare, while intensive shrimp farms produced 5 to 7 tons per hectare (MoFI, 2004; 2005). The following graph, taken from a NACA team study in 2009, shows the levels of shrimp production in the Vietnam as a whole versus the expanding production of the Mekong region over the past few years. FIGURE 10: Rise in production of shrimp (1991-2005)

(taken from Vietnam Team, NACA, 2009)

The Mekong delta has a large area of 1.72 million hectares that are affected each year by salt water, creating the ideal brackishwater conditions for shrimp cultivation. The rapid growth of the shrimp industry has radically transformed the economies of the coastal areas, and led to incredible foreign exchange earnings of over 2 billion USD in 2010. The development of the shrimp industry has transformed Vietnams coastal areas. The southern provinces have a series of sluice gates and canals to regulate the inflow of seawater and brackishwater. This enables the region to regulate saline intrusion in the dry season while engineering a salinity range from east to west along the coastal region. Another important factor is weather, which is tropical, with monsoons, and a dry season from late November to April, and a wet season from May to November. The area affected by saline intrusion can be seen on the map below, taken from Vietnam Team, NACA, 2009.

66

FIGURE 11: Salinity Range of Vietnam (Vietnam Team, NACA, 2009).

History In Vietnam, one can follow the development of settlements and the spread of rice-based agriculture, which required the dredging of canal networks. Many canals were dug under the Ngyuen dynasty in the 19th century. Irrigation work continued under French colonial rule (Catling, 1992; Biggs, 2004). Shrimp culture was first introduced into the Mekong in the late 1980s. Brackish water was considered by the central government as a constraint to improved rice cultivation in the deltas coastal provinces. Thus, between 1990 and 2000 the Vietnamese government invested in irrigation and water control infrastructure (such as sluice gates, canals, and embankments) in an attempt to stimulate rice production in the saline intrusion area. The purpose of the infrastructure investments in these areas was to intensify food production such as rice (considered crucial to greater food security by the Vietnamese government), rather than the improvement of brackishwater aquaculture. However, small-scale farmers continued to adopt shrimp farming, and between 1991 and 2003 the shrimp culture area in the Delta grew from 89,605 ha to 429,114 ha (Vo, 2003), and has now exceeded 550,000 ha (Do, 2009). The coastal region of the Mekong Delta developed from a rice-oriented production area to the largest area of saltwater aquaculture in all of Vietnam. While extensive shrimp farming and riceshrimp systems supplied by wild-caught shrimp larvae were the initial forms, and still make up the overwhelming majority of shrimp farms (90%), semi-intensive and intensive systems began to arise as hatcheries developed and provided giant tiger shrimp postlarvae, larger than wild caught varieties. The size of these hatchery-reared giant tiger shrimp brought in a very good price. At the same time, other inputs such as feeds started to be produced in factories and were more and more available. However, the technological demands of intensification require not only knowledge but financial backing and investment. It is thus significant to note that much of the growth in production of black tiger shrimp in the Mekong delta provinces was in fact attributed to widespread area expansion of extensive (and semi-improved) systems, rather than due to acute intensification. In 2010, only 10% of shrimp farms in the southern coastal provinces were considered intensive (personal communication, Can Tho University, Dept. of Aquaculture, Summer 2010).

67

Traditional extensive practices did however shift, as farmers adopted shrimp monoculture, or the alternation of shrimp with rice cropping, or even the integration of shrimp and mangrove culture. Farmers began applying fertilizers and limestone to promote plankton growth, which served as the primary component of their shrimps diet. Farmers improved shrimps diets with the addition of homemade feed, prepared from a variety of low-value sources, or with the addition trash fish (Brennan et al., 2000; Hossain et al., 2006). Spurred onwards by the fast and high profits to be gained through shrimp farming, many Vietnamese decided to get into the business or to expand their current operations. This surge in demand for fields and land led to a jump in land prices (Luttrell, 2006). Furthermore, while land reform in the early 1980s had granted farmers their own land through a system of land certificates, these certificates did not allow for the conversion of rice-fields to shrimp ponds. Thus, the bulk of shrimp pond growth occurred in the coastal region mangrove forests. Between 1983 and 1995, the total mangrove area of the Mekong Delta was reduced by more than 55%, from 117,745 ha to 51,492 ha (Phuong and Hai, 1998). As the Vietnamese government began realizing the economic benefits of shrimp culture, (by 2000 the income to farmers and revenue to the government already reached US$319 million, [FAO, 2003]) more investment flowed into shrimp culture, land-use policies were changed, and inland fields where rice productivity was low were converted. Current Modes of production As mentioned above, there are many co-existing forms of shrimp cultivation found currently in Vietnam, including both monoculture and polyculture forms of extensive farming. Many shrimp farms are examples of integrated rice-shrimp cultivation, which yield shrimp at rates between 70 kg/ha to 300 kg/ha. In these farms, rice is grown in flooded fields in the rainy season, and shrimp are raised in the same fields in the dry season, by allowing in brackish water by opening up sluice gates to saline water in the rivers and canals, while also bringing in some wild shrimp stock. In the rainy season, fresh water from the rivers and canals is let in to flush out the fields, and prepare them for rice planting. Sometimes trenches are dug around the rice paddies to raise shrimp. In the Mekong delta, where saltwater enters in for more than six months or the year, many farms are integrated rice-shrimp-fish systems, in which mud crabs and fish such as sea bass, goby, and grass carp are raised alongside shrimp (and in beds also used for rice). The choice of the species to raise depends on many issues, including the availability of postlarvae, cost, knowledge, and the length of the period of salinity. Some farmers stock fish to achieve sanitation by cleaning the bottoms of the ponds (especially grass carp), or to kill off weaker shrimp to avoid the spread of disease (sea bass or tilapia). This region also has many integrated mangrove-shrimp farming systems along the coast, although mangrove forests are increasingly being cleared away to make space for intensive shrimp farms. The range of these farms, from traditional extensive to semi-intensive to intensive systems, as is summarized in the figure below: FIGURE 12: Continuum of different shrimp farm production systems (Clay 1996)

As can be seen from the above figure, the traditional extensive farms tend to be smaller and to have less

68

dense stocks of shrimp per hectare. As farms become semi-intensive or intensive, they grow in size and density of stock, and include more fertilizers, aeration and water flow, begin to use formulated feeds, and sometimes have closed recirculation systems installed. The following table shows the range of average shrimp ponds across south, central and northern Vietnam (and Thailand) in terms of size, stocking rate, survival rates, use of artificial seed and antibiotics, and the degree to which tiger shrimp are cultivated:

TABLE 16: Size of average shrimp ponds in different regions of Vietnam

Note that the northern ponds are much larger in general than those in the south, and that both northern and southern shrimp ponds are still primarily extensive systems, with low stock ratios. The following table provides additional insight into the range of shrimp farms in Vietnam (and along the Ganges), identifying the labor inputs, the kinds of equipment needed, size, density and yield, and whether there is need for drainage of ponds or not. Once again, the intensity of operations intensive shrimp farms is obvious in terms of additional man hours, need for drainage, and the need for additional equipment and inputs, but also in terms of the high levels of output and shrimp production.

69

TABLE 17: Characteristics of shrimp farming from extensive to semi-extensive to intensive aquacultural systems in the Ganges and the Mekong deltas

The next table shows even more varieties of shrimp farms, and helps trace the evolution from extensive shrimp farms to extensive shrimp and mud crab farms, and then on to rice and shrimp co-culture systems, and rice, aquaculture and shrimp co-culture systems. All these tables demonstrate the range and variety of shrimp farm production in Vietnam, which must be born in mind when we turn to a discussion of the phenomenal productivity of the intensive shrimp farms which have generated 2 billion USD in foreign exchange for Vietnam in 2010.

70

Starting roughly twenty years ago, many farmers in southern Vietnam began to turn towards an intensification strategy for aquaculture production. This involved investing in higher level of inputs, equipment and knowledge. This strategy could only succeed given access to technical knowledge, adequate salt water, drainage facilities, and loans and investments. They also had to have access to markets for inputs, as well as to educated technicians and pond operators. All this meant higher labor costs (yearround) for the maintenance of the ponds. These intensive systems also need aeration and the monitoring of water quality. One study found that 83% of the farmers interviewed in the Mekong Delta used semiintensive or intensive techniques.

71

Shrimp species The main species of shrimp grown in Vietnam are the black tiger shrimp and the whiteleg shrimp. Starting in the 1980s, Black tiger shrimp was the first species of shrimp cultured commercially in Vietnam, and remains the main focus of the Vietnamese shrimp industry with over 613,718 ha of culturepond area. While black tiger shrimp is cultured in the northern as well as in the central provinces, more than 92% of production is in the Mekong Delta. In 2010, farmed black tiger shrimp production levels totaled 330,000 tons, of which 129,926 tons of which were exported, earning over 1.3 billion USD (VASeP, 2010). Whiteleg shrimp was introduced in 2008, and it has spread to over 25,000 hectares, producing 135,000 tons in 2010. Over 300 hatcheries raise whiteleg shrimp, which when grown out can produce 9 to 13 tons/ha. In 2010, over 60,000 tons of whiteleg shrimp were exported at a value of over 400 million USD. (VASeP, 2010). Shrimp markets The market for shrimp in Vietnam is complex. Most of the large tiger shrimp is sold to middlemen and processors who freeze it and sell it to the export market. In 2003, shrimp exports were worth 1.14 billion USD, out of a total of $2.2 billion in fisheries exports. By 2010, shrimp exports alone were worth more than $2 billion USD. The majority of the shrimp exported are black tiger shrimp. The main export markets are the US, Japan, the EU. As in the case of catfish, the US placed tariffs on shrimp imports in 2004, forcing the exporters to diversify their product and their market. Vietnamese shrimp is now exported to over 90 countries around the globe. As summarized by VASeP: Black tiger shrimp remain the main force behind the success of Vietnamese shrimp industry. In 2010, the area of black tiger shrimp farming was 613,718 ha, up lightly over last year, concentrated in 6 Mekong Delta provinces (these are Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang. with 92 percent (564,485 ha).. Of this, the area of industrial farming accounted for 10 percent (nearly 63,000 ha). Total production of farmed black tiger shrimp was nearly 333,000 MT, only up 4 percent over 2009. In 2010, the continuous lack of raw material shrimp led its price to increase, reaching the highest level in last 10 years. In 2011, shrimp export will remain a level of over US$2 billion as in 2010 and reach about US$2.1 billion (up slight compared to 2010). (VASeP, 2010).

SHRIMP ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES There are many serious environmental issues that have come up in the shrimp sector. These are listed here but will be discussed in more detail in a subsequent section of the thesis 1. Destruction of mangrove ecosystems and other natural habitats 2. Salinization of land and depletion of freshwater resources 3. Nutrient pollution in intensive shrimp farms 6. Chemical Use 5. Sudden mass death of shrimp in epidemics and economic security Issue: Clearing of Mangroves and destruction of natural habitats Impact: Loss of Livelihood, Loss of Ecological Services Most extensive shrimp farming takes place in or just above the intertidal zone along the coast, in tropical estuarine systems dominated by mangrove forests. Mangroves and estuaries provide a series of ecosystem benefits from which many people make their livelihoods. Estuaries and mangroves provide zones for fisheries of shrimp, crab, and fish, while simultaneously assimilating organic matter and turning it into sediment. Many species of aquatic organisms rely upon mangrove forests as nurseries and natural recruitment zones. Mangroves produce a series of forest products such as various types of wood employed in many aspects of traditional life, as well as providing a buffer against large storms and floods. Mangroves especially play a key role in slowing erosion and increasing sedimentation, of utmost importance in a delta region. The clearing of mangroves leads to the reduction of biodiversity in the region, increased coastal erosion, the salinization of agricultural land, and the loss of important fishing resources. As described earlier, the large-scale clearing of mangrove forests in Vietnam occurred mostly in the mid-to-late-1990s, when shrimp pond development first began its explosive growth. Due to the public-access nature of these areas, development was able to take place without official oversight or

72

planning. It should be noted that shrimp farm developments were not the sole cause of mangrove clearances, as these ecosystems were also exploited for wood, fuel, agricultural conversions and salt farms. The government of Vietnam became aware of the consequences of mangrove clearances in the early 2000s and implemented restrictions to protect what forests remained, but some clearances continued to occur. A more coherent regulatory framework is still required to slow the degradation of these critical ecosystems.

Issue: Freshwater use / Salinization: Impact: Loss of livelihood, Conflicts with other users There is a wide range of different intensities of water use in Vietnams shrimp farms (correlated to the range of intensities of ponds). Water uses ranges from simply compensating for evaporation and seepage to high rates of exchange per day. Especially in the cases of intensive or semi-intensive ponds, freshwater must be consistently added to mix with seawater in order to provide the optimum salinity, as salinity would otherwise increase with time as water evaporated. Thus, many farmers are forced to rely upon freshwater resources meant for agricultural irrigation, creating conflicts with other users, especially in the dry season when freshwater resources become scarce. Lack of freshwater is a common concern amongst farm owners, and many rely upon pumping freshwater from the groundwater reservoirs. This practice worsens the process of intrusion of salt water into inland sources, which can have devastating effects upon farmers and coastal individuals dependent upon fresh water for agriculture or other livelihoods. As shrimp farming is expanded into the interior regions of the country, rice agriculture and other crops are threatened by saltwater contamination and water shortages, thus reducing food security. Even in ponds constructed with strong dikes, salinization of neighboring soils occurs through seepages in the pond bottom, discharges of pond water into freshwater areas, and the disposal of salty sediments into fields and canals. Many regions have in the past witnessed mass-conversion of rice fields to shrimp ponds, only to experience declining yields and increasing rates of diseases after several years. However, reconverting shrimp ponds to rice farming fields is most often unsuccessful and yields will be lower than they had before.

Issue: Nutrient Pollution leading to Disease and Chemical Use: Impact: Social Instability, Debt As shrimp culture has intensified, the quality of water in the ponds has declined, leading to greater amounts of effluent discharges into natural ecosystems. These waters are rich in nutrients and organic matter, especially towards the end of the production cycle. Thus, as intensification and the practice of dumping effluents has increased, so too has the use of chemicals and medicines to keep shrimp healthy and ward off disease. As the quality of water both in ponds and in the water supply have degenerated, the spread of epidemic diseases have grown. Due to the lack of pre-treated water reservoirs, disease outbreaks often affect entire regions at a time. For example, in 1995 a disease broke out in the southern provinces of the Mekong Delta, and within several months affected more than 85,000 ha of shrimp with near 90% mortality (MoFI, 1996). Diseases continue to be an issue, as is apparent from a case last year when some 650 farms in Thua Thien-Hue province were affected by an outbreak of disease, which had 100% mortality (Phuong, 2010). Drugs and other chemicals are routinely overused, as the costs of over-treatment are less than the devastating losses of full crop-failure. It is unclear as of yet what the effects on the wider ecosystem are of intensive use of antibiotics, yet the indiscriminate use of antibiotics proliferates antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and makes diseases more serious as a consequence. Due to the high investments required for intensive shrimp farming, outbreaks of disease are a factor in creating social instability and rapid buildup of private debt. As often an entire region will have converted their rice-fields to shrimp culture, a single outbreak of disease can de-stabilize an entire region.

73

Best Management Practices recommended for Shrimp by local aquacultural experts For the context of shrimp, there are certain categories of BMPs, each with its own steps and stages. While BMPs are applied to individual farm practices, for them to be effective a regional group approach should be employed. Groups of farmers are in a better position to organize needed infrastructure projects, to procure better quality seed and feed at lower prices, to coordinate simultaneous stocking schedules, and to determine effective water exchange strategies. These practices can lead to a substantial reduction in the transmission of disease, as well as reducing the amount of antibiotics and chemicals applied to shrimp ponds. Specific to the prevention of disease are three categories: the prevention of vertical transmission of diseases, the prevention of horizontal transmission of diseases, and the prevention of stress to shrimp. Prevention of vertical transmission of diseases: These practices include the screening of broodstock to detect disease, as well as the selection of seeds from a single healthy mother shrimp (rather than from multiple sources, unscreened). Seed quality should be inspected, on the basis of color, activity, muscle-to-gut ratio, uniform size, and length. All seed should be screened for diseases before stocking at optimum densities. Additionally, the development of onfarm nurseries would greatly reduce the stress placed on seeds during transportation. Prevention of horizontal transmission of diseases: These practices include the chlorination of pond water prior to stocking, as well as the filtration of inlet water to prevent possible disease-vector organism from entering the pond. Furthermore, reservoir ponds should be constructed (and chlorinated) from which grow-out or nursery waters should be drawn. The movement of people and equipment in and around the pond should be restricted, and any person or equipment coming in contact with pond water should first be disinfected as best as possible. Likewise, ground-nets should be put up to prevent mud-crabs, insects, or other small animals from entering the pond. Bird-scaring techniques (such as ropes with fluttering flags) should also be employed to prevent any contact. Any dead (or dying) shrimps discovered should be immediately removed and buried far from the pond. In the case of an outbreak of disease, all shrimp should be immediately removed and the pond be bleached. Disease-affected waters should not be drained until completely treated. Likewise, in the case of disease farmers should immediately inform neighboring farmers of the disease. Prevention of stress to shrimp: These practices include the removal of dark soils from the pond bottom during pond preparation, as well as the drying and ploughing of the soil. During the ploughing process all algaes, gastropods, and insects should be removed. Once ready to stock, seed should first be gradually acclimatized to the conditions of pond water. Pond water parameters such as pH, salinity, temperature, oxygen and depth of bottom soil should be monitored daily, and recorded. Feeding should occur on a regular schedule, and different feed types should be employed for the various grow-out stages. Feed should not be dumped in to the pond all at once, but gradually and across the pond evenly so as to allow for optimum consumption. Water depth should be carefully monitored, and kept at optimum levels (dependent on species cultured and regional temperature). Multiple aerators should be employed throughout the pond (depending on intensity and size of the pond), and should be connected to back-up generators in the case of power failure. Extra aeration equipment should always be kept in the case of mechanical failures. All floating algae and weeds should be immediately removed. Replacement exchange water should be drawn only from pre-treated reservoir pond, and output water discharged into a post-use treatment pond before eventual discharge back into the local water system. Critical is the avoidance of feeding shrimp with by-catch crustaceans.

74

Appendix 4: Lobster Industry

Raising lobsters is profitable in coastal, central Vietnam, and this industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Cage marine lobster culture has generated jobs, raised income for local residents, and contributed significantly to the economic development of coastal provinces. There has also been significant development of the technology of lobster cage culture in the southern coastal area. However, there remain major problems with the lobster industry, as trash fish is currently used as the dominantly feed in Vietnam lobster aquaculture and wild seed is the only resource for seeding, but wild seed have high rates of mortality and uncertain development. The following table, Table X: Marine Lobster Culture in Vietnam, taken from Nguyen, 2009, gives more up to date figures on the lobster industry as of 2007 in different regions of Vietnam. Table 18: Marine Lobster Culture in Vietnam

There are several different species of lobster raised in Vietnam, with different rates of growth. These include the spiny lobster, green lobster, red lobster, and bamboo lobster as can be seen in the following table: TABLE 19: Characteristics of Different Lobster Specied in Vietnam

The lobster industry has caused a number of problems, especially environmental pollution and disease outspread. Marine cage lobster aquaculture is having a detrimental effect on coastal environments due to the use of trash fish and shellfish as feed. This has led to the degradation of surrounding water and the quality of the sediment. These problems are particularly pronounced in sheltered areas with limited water flow or tidal flushing. In such areas, one could argue that aquaculture development has reached, or is above, its maximum carrying capacity.

75

Unfortunately, the government of Vietnam has presented no coherent planning framework for the development of the marine-cage lobster industry, and farm development has taken place wherever openaccess to the sea permits. Farmers have no real responsibly for the marine pollution they produce, and there is as of yet no concerted effort to deal with the issue. (Le A. T, 2003). All these problems have led to a decline in lobster productivity, as shown on the following graph from Nyugen 2009, Figure 13: Relation between No. of cage and productivity, which shows that maximum productivity occurs at lower densities of marine cages. Figure 13: Relation between No. of cage and productivity (Source: Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development in KhanhHoa and Ninh Thuan, Le 2003).

FIGURE 14: Productivity of Lobster per cage (Nguyen 2009) Indeed, productivity per cage has dropped in the lobster industry in Vietnam, so the issues of best management practices are very relevant to this industry. The following graph, taken from Nguyen 2009, shows the decline in production since a high point in 2001.

76

Lobster Culture technology First we will review the main methods for culturing lobster in Vietnam. There are three kinds of sea-cages used, depending on the region, and the funding available to the farmers. These are floating cages, wooden fixed cages, and submerged iron cages. Floating cages: The floating cage is made of a wooden or plastic frame held up with buoys, in the middle of which there hangs a large mesh net. These cages are usually placed in water of 10 to 20 meters depth. These cages are a costly investment, but they tend to last from six to ten years. These kind of cages are popular in Nha Trang Bay and in Van Phong Bay, both in Khanh Hoa province (Heen K. & Le A. T., 2007). Wooden fixed cages: The frames of these cages are built from salt-resistant wood. Long wooden stakes 10-15 cm in diameter and four to five meters long are embedded in the seabed every two meters in a rectangular or square shape. The overall area of the mesh cage ranges from 20 to 40 to 200 to 400 sq meters. The cages have covers. They can either rest on the seabed, or float at 0.5 meters above the seabed. Those that rest on the seabed are lined with sand. These cages are best suited for use in sheltered bays or behind islands where they are sheltered from waves or typhoons. This kind of cage is frequently found in Van Phong bay in Khanh Hoa province. Submerged cages: The framework of the submerged cages is made of iron bars, with a diameter of 1516 mm. They are usually square or rectangular in shape, with an area of 1 to 16 sq. meters, and a height of 1 to 1.5 meters. They have a cover and a feed pipe. These cages are used in Nha Phu lagoon for raising juvenile lobsters, and for grow-out farms in many regions. These cages can be moved around in response to changes in the weather. Most of the cages are made in Vietnam with locally available materials, and are small enough to be suitable for family-scale farming. The overall number of cages has grown rapidly, leading to environmental problems, and straining the carrying capacity of the system (Heen K. & Le A. T., 2007) Polyculture: Clearly, at present, marine lobster cage farming in Vietnam can be described as a monoculture. There have been calls to attempt to develop various kinds of co-culture systems, combining lobster with green mussels, or fish such as groupers or barramundis, or with sea cucumber. Some experiments have begun with these polycultures, but it is unclear how widespread or successful they have been (N.L.A.Huy, 2004).

Juveniles and seed supply The main reproductive season of wild lobsters in from August to September. Post larva grow into juveniles in 10 to 12 months time. Wild lobsters do the generative role every time of year, however, the main reproductive season is from August to September. It takes 10 to 12 months to become the juvenile from post larva. So far, lobster hatcheries have not been successful, and growers rely on wild seed. Maintaining a supply of seed under conditions of increasingly polluted waters is leading to a sustainability crisis. Currently, the gathering of wild seed is done by fishermen using purse seines, or traps, or by diving to catch the post larvae. These are then raised by the farmers, or sold to middlemen, who in turn sell them for a price of 120,000- 250,000VND/individual (Panulirus ornatus). After they are captured they are raised in nursery cages until they grow into juveniles with a size of 5-10 grams. This takes a month to forty days. They are then transferred to grow-out cages or sold to other farmers. The total catch of juvenile lobster has increased from 500,000 in 1999 to 2,500,000 in 2003. However, the total catch has been declining since 2004 (Lai V.H, Le A.T, 2008). This indicates a depletion of wild seed and excessive demand for juvenile lobsters.

77

Lobster feeding practices As mentioned above, the vast majority of Vietnamese lobster farmers use trash fish, that is to say fresh low-value fish and shellfish, which are fed to the lobsters either chopped up or whole . (Lai V.H., Le A.T., 2008). Common trash fish species include pomfrets, lizardfish, snails and cockles, small swimming crabs, squids, and a variety of other mixed species. This trash-fish mix is most often purchased by the farmer either at the docking fish port, or through a moving boat-faring middleman directly at the floating cage platforms. Farmers will either purchase small quantities each day or pay a lump-sum at the beginning of the month for a supply of trash-fish feed. Prices range from 4,000 VND to 25,000 VND/kg, depending upon the species in the mix. If purchased whole, farmers will often manually shred or chop trash-fish mix before putting into the cages. For juvenile lobsters, farmers add feed 3 or 4 times each day, especially in the evenings and nights when the lobsters become more active. As the lobsters mature, feeding times tend to be decreased to only 1 or 2 times a day. Lobster culture and environmental issues The use of trash fish as feed is leading to a high volume of wasted feed which is discarding directly into the sea, contributing to marine pollution. Le A.T. (2003) demonstrated that in the Xuan Tu lagoon, lobster feed accounted for 59-80% of the nutrient inputs. Since this lagoon is a major production center of marine lobsters in the most important Khanh Hoa province, this degree of excess nutrients is generating adverse ecological effects. In fact, recent studies (Nguyen 2009) have shown lobster-cage productivity to be decreasing over the past several years, as seawater pollution becomes an ever more serious issue and challenge. Nitrogen loading and the drop in productivity: Much of the pollution takes the form of nitrogen discharged from the decomposing trash fish feed at the bottom of the lobster cages, or on the seabed below. In 2007, the negative effects of nitrogen loading on productivity was computed by Nguuyen 2009, based on her findings that in producing 1 ton of lobster, 389 kg of nitrogen are produced. The following table presents her findings on the economic costs of this problem: TABLE 20: Decline in value of lobster in cages in different regions of Vietnam Location Nihn Thuan province Phu Yen Khahn Hoa province Total Number of Lobster cages 28, 038 22,173 Value of lost lobster 673.2 million VND 151.4 million VND 143.0 million VND 295 million VND = $16 million USD

Lobster disease: In addition to problems caused by high nitrogen release, milky disease is also widespread amongst lobsters in Vietnam, leading to a death rate of 80-90%. Farmers responded by using chemicals and antibiotics, but the overall growth rate has diminished. , because of the breaking of milky disease, the survival of lobster decrease markedly (the dead rate about 80-90%). Hence, farmers have used some chemicals and antibiotics in order to protect their lobster. One result of this is that the growth rate of the lobsters has noticeably declined, as it now takes longer than 20 months for lobsters in some regions to reach 1 kg. Recommendations On the basis of her surveys of lobster culture operations in coastal Vietnam, Nyugen 2009 drew up the following table, Table 17: Comparison [of] the estimated optimal level and current investment of some input level. This table shows the current levels of feeding in kg/sq.m., the stocking density of lobster seed/sq m., and the numbers of cages per household, along with what she calculates would be optimal levels for greater productivity. This thus represents an optimization model for small scale lobster culture, with less feed input per sq. meter, slightly more lobster seed per sq. meter, and less than half as many cages per family.

78

TABLE 21: Comparison of the estimated optimal level and current investment of some input level: (from Nguyen 2009)

Other Issues In Lobster Culture - The adoption of high quality formulated feeds and the adoption of formulated aquaculture diets would lead to the following: 1) Reduction of waste generation 2) Cycling of waste into product/value is possible in lobster culture as well.

Formulated Feeds The adoption of high quality formulated feeds would help address the trash fish feed issue. There is thus an urgent need for the development of high quality artificial feed for lobsters. However, such developments must occur while remaining economically sensitivity of the reality of the on the ground situation. (ie. the difficulty for farmers to raise capital for feed). Economic feasibility of formulated feeds While formulated feeds are more expensive than current lobster diets, their significantly lower feed conversion ratios (FCR) allow for great reductions in the quantity of feed required to reach current growth rates. As (Peterson, et.al. 2009) show, the production costs are lower. The net revenue of farmers who adopt the use of formulated feeds are estimated by (Peterson, 2009) to rise to approximately 267 million VND/year (an increase of nearly 100%). If vitamins and other micronutrients are included into the formulated feed diet, mortality rates have been shown to drop and net revenue is capable of doubling yet again, with a net benefit of 575 million VND/year (219% of net revenue). (Peterson 2009). The freeing up of capital will allow for the expansion of household enterprises, and reduce the economic pressure or the need for loans or financing. Reduction of waste generation Currently, most farmers simply collect the trash fish feed remaining under the cages, and then drop it into the sea surrounding the farming areas. But this waste not only has negative affects on themselves but also influences their neighbors. Therefore, the un-eaten feed must be removed completely from the marine environment, or other IMTA methodologies should be tested. The lobster farmers could also bring the wastes inland and treat them all together as a group, so that marine pollution by un-consumed trash fish feed can be prevented.

Issue: Surpassing of Ecological Carrying Capacity, Marine Pollution Impact: Declining productivity, damage to marine environments, instability of industry As the culture of lobster in sea cages has developed over the past 15 years, there have been many concerns raised over the degree of marine pollution being generated by these farms. Marine pollution can be thought of as the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment, resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resource, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fisheries, impairment of quality for use of sea water, and reduction of amenities. (Caddy, J.C. and Griffith, R.C. 1995) The most obvious form marine pollution coming from lobster cages in Vietnam is the output of suspended solids, dissolved nutrients, organic matter and bacteria. Farmers currently rely upon trashfish with very high FCRs for feed, crustaceans and mollusks making up approximately 80% of trash fish composition (Nguyen 2009). As these species are near 70% shell weight by body mass, approximately 15 kg of solid waste are generated and discharged into the marine environment per 1 kg of lobster produced. In addition to the discharge of solid wastes, dissolved nutrients

79

such as nitrogen and phosphorus are released in large quantities. Le (2004) states that approximately 402 g N/kg of lobster are released using a trashfish diet. Because lobster cages requires calm waters and slow currents, cage development has been centered around protected bays, and as these areas are limited in space, there has been a natural clustering of farms. This growth of farms in proximity to one another has had deleterious effects upon lobster health and cage productivity. While lobsters could be raised at very high densities with few cases of disease in 2000, per cage productivity has been declining over the past few years, likely due to increasingly worsening water quality. At the same time, lobster farmers have witnessed the emergence of new diseases, such as the 2006 outbreak of milky disease which caused total production levels of lobster from Vietnam to drop from 1,900 tons in 2006 to 1,400 tons in 2009 (Williams, 2009). Thus, the surpassing of these protected bays ecological carrying capacity through feed-based marine pollution has generated instability for Vietnamese lobster farmers and the industry as a whole.

Summary The two most critical aspects for improving the sustainability of the growing lobster industry in Vietnam are the adoption of low FCR pelleted feeds, and the development of integrated marine multitrophic aquaculture. Adoption of low FCR feeds As discussed earlier, lobster production is based primarily upon trashfish feed, a majority of which is composed of mollusk and crustacean species. The FCR of such feed sources are very high, and thus large quantities of them are needed to produce 1 kg of lobster. The use of such high FCR feed creates large amounts of waste which have negatively affected marine cage water quality and lobster health. This can be seen in the declining per/cage productivity since 2003. Thus, there exists an urgent need to develop high quality formulated pellet feeds with lower FCRs in order to reduce the generation of wastes. Furthermore, un-eaten feed and accumulated wastes should be removed from the cage bottoms, and then removed from the marine environment so as not to contaminate other cage-farm operations. Best Management practices recommended by local aquacultural experts: the development of marine IMTA As it stands today, marine lobster cage farming in Vietnam is carried out as a monoculture activity. However, the lobster industry has the opportunity to develop into an environmentally friendly and economically productive sector by applying the concepts of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (Chopin, 2006, Huy, 2004). Lobsters have the potential of being co-cultured with green mussels, groupers, sea cucumbers, and barramundis. Each of these species inhabits different niches and has different yet potential connected feeding regimes. As nutrient recovery is the purpose of such integration, IMTA presents an interesting path to improving marine water quality and lobster cage productivity. More research is however needed as to the effectiveness of this strategy. The sector can and should be able to improve on production through the adoption of better management practices (BMPs) as has been done in the case of shrimp farming in Andra Pradesh, India (Umesh, 2007; Umesh et al., 2009). A number of immediate management measures are likely to be useful at striving to achieve BMPs. Foremost amongst these would be a planned, well-managed system of water intake and discharge introduced for clusters of farms within a geographic location. Equally, as the study shows the commercial feeds do not perform significantly any better than farm-made feeds, suggesting that improvement in feed quality are urgently warranted.

80

Appendix 5: Summer Research Fieldwork in Southeast Asia Report

Research Institute Visit 1: June 28-30; SINGAPORE: NUS Meetings with Professors from the Center for Tropical Marine Biology, including M. Berry, Mohammed Sultan (NTU), and NUS Graduate student from Vietnam Minh Hang. Topics Discussed: Contacts and potential study sites in Vietnam; research project design. Research Institute Visit 2: June 21-23; Worldfish Center Meetings with Michael Philips, Senior Scientist in Aquaculture and Genetic Improvement, Jharendu Pant, Scientist, Aquaculture and Genetic Improvement; Kam Suan Pheng, Senior Research Scientist, Natural Resource Management; Marie Caroline Badjeck, Scientist, Policy, Economics, and Social Science. Topics discussed: Contacts and potential study sites in Thailand and Vietnam; Challenges of adaptation to climate change in Vietnams catfish and shrimp industries (Badjeck); rice-fish integration (Suan); Trophic level integration (Pant). Photos and sounding recordings of interviews: DSC6523-6566 Research Institute Visit 3: Bangkok, June 24 July 1; Asia Institute of Technology Meetings with Prof. Peter Edwards (Emeritus professor of aquaculture, AIT); Dr. Wenresti Gallardo; Dr. Amara Yakupitiyage; Dr. Thamarat Koottatep; Dr. Ram Bhujel Topics discussed: Integrated multi-trophic marine systems (Gallardo); integrated aquaculture, transformations of the aquaculture industry, decline of waste-water fed systems (Edwards); challenges of global aquafeeds and new research (Yakupitiyage); constructed wetlands and decentralized waste-water treatments bioremediation (Koottatep); Aquaculture outreach and poverty alleviation in Southeast Asia and Nepal (Bhujel) Photos and sound recordings: DSC 6567-6602 Research Institute Visit 4: Bac Nihn RIA 1 (Research Institute of Aquaculture 1) Meetings with Director of Institute, Dr. Li Thanh Luu, and other specialists Topics discussed: Site visits, challenges to aquaculture in the north of Vietnam Photos and sound recordings: DSC 6603-6634

NORTH VIETNAM FIELD SITES: SITE 1: 7/6/ Hai Phoung, morning visit; DSC 6636-6770 TYPE: Integrated pig, duck, fish green water polyculture system. (Visited several similar farms) In countryside of Hai Phoung an elderly woman has two 2,000 sq meter ponds producing 4 tons of fish a year. Red tilapia (60%), silver, green and common carp. 30 pigs in a small concrete pigpen designed so the waste flows directly into the two ponds. No treatment of the pig manure, but she flushes out the pen daily. She keeps 300 free roaming ducks who have a small pen, but are free to swim in the ponds. Limited income of $5000 USD net/year. Problems in past with eutrophication, partly due to her inability to control the input of manure. Both the source and the outlet for water is the canal, which can be a problem as she can not control the water quality. She feeds the pigs with aquatic plants naturally growing in the canal, but she has to purchase some feed both for her pigs and for the fish on credit from a local supplier. Middlemen come daily on motorcycles with an specially constructed, battery powered aerated box, to collect fish she catches with a small net. The middlemen are often women, who buy from the fish farmers and sell at the market at a 10% markup from the purchase price. They buy at 20,000VND per kg, while they sell at 22,200 VND. She hires laborers (mostly neighbors) for pond preparation (pumping out of waters, scooping of the mud, drying out of ponds, liming of the earth, and the pumping of new water back in. Note: Everywhere in this region there are fish ponds of varying sizes from mid- to large size, to very small, 5 sq. meter ponds in backyards. These ponds serve as a source of protein for poor farmers engaged in other activities, There are no formulated feeds used in these small systems, rather, kitchen scraps are tossed in. Carp is the usual fish, and one is taken every ten days, on average. Site 2: 7/6/ Haiphoung, countryside: July 6, morning visit: DSC 6771-6803 TYPE: Bio-secure Shrimp Farm, with aerators and ribbons. Four ponds, two grow-out ponds, and two settling ponds, each 2000 meters sq. Produces white leg shrimp at an intensity of 80 shrimp/sq meter. Farm operating for 5 years, family owned and run. Farm uses

81

multiple paddle aerators powered by electricity from cables, but electrical supply is not reliable, and is often cut, so they use diesel generators for backup. Shrimp are fed 11 kg of feed four times a day (44 kg/day). Unlike other shrimp farms visited, this farm made use of separate input and output canals. Furthermore, input waters were first brought into settling ponds, which are isolated from the ground by tarp fabric. The water is then treated with probiotics. This leads to a reduction of pathogens and a regulation of basic water quality parameters. The water from the settling ponds is pumped into the grow-out ponds as needed. Water from the grow-out ponds is later pumped into the output canals. The farm uses short-net fences around the grow-out and settling ponds to prevent mud-crabs and invertebrates from contaminating the water. Likewise, colorful, fluttering flags are strung around and across the ponds to deter birds. Note on loans and financing: as shrimp farming is a complicated, capital intensive process, farmers are often in need of financing. However, it is difficult to get a loan beyond 10 million VND. While the cost of feed alone can rise to 100 million VND per season. They are not eligible for loans earmarked for the poor. They have to raise their own capital, or they borrow from multiple banks. SITE 3: 7/7: Hai Duong National Brood Stock Center: DSC 6806-6829; 6970-6980. TYPE: Research Center 14 hectares of land, with 7 hectares of concrete research ponds. Each is 1.6 meters deep. Produce and experiment on common carp, tilapia, and catfish. The Centers main purpose is to provide brood stock to the region. They have bred Nile tilapia with new strains of Israeli tilapia. They have developed different equipment and processes for the breeding of different species. They crossed male blue tilapia with female Nile tilapia, resulting in 95% male offspring. Experiment with hormonal treatments to change the sex of the fish to all male. They collect eggs out the fish mouths, the eggs take 2-5 days to hatch, treated with three weeks of testosterone added feed. Further experiments to induce breeding in carp. SITE 4: 7/8/ Hai Duong: DSC 6830-6893 TYPE: Ex-integrated system turned fish-frog farm, with bio-gas production. This site located in the countryside of Hai Duong was formerly an integrated system using pig manure to promote green water food source growth for fish cultivation. The farmer has five ponds. Three contain Nile tilapia, one has red tilapia, and the last has fingerlings. He keeps 50 piglets and 8 sows in a concrete pen, as well as 4 cows. While manure was previously used to fertilize the pond, this led to eutrification and algal blooms, as the farmer had no control over the quality of his water supply, which comes from a river 3 km away. His water must first pass through multiple rice farmers plots. This presented him with a serious challenge as he had know way to judge the level of nutrients or pollutants in his incoming water. His ponds are mid-sized, approx. 1800 meters sq. In these ponds he raises approximately 2,800 tilapia, 200 common carp, and 180 silver carp (one per 10 sq meters). He believes the carp help maintain better water quality. He feeds the fish 20 kg of formulated feed each day. He also grows lime trees around the edge of the ponds. Due to the problems of eutrification, the farmer has chosen to use pig waste to produce bio-gas (methane) in a subterranean bio-gas digestor (concrete tanks 17 cubic meters). Before this, the farmer had spent 300,000 VND/mth on natural gas. An interesting entrepreneurial aspect of his operation is the culturing of frogs in the same pond as the tilapia, cordoned off by a net. While the frogs present an extra expense, as they must be fed with pellet feed, they bring a high price at the market. He has more than 2,400 frogs, which he imports from Thailand. There waste goes directly into the tilapia pond, fortifying the natural food base. These frogs fetch 36,000 to 50,000 VND/kg. From experience, the farmer knows which time of the year bring what kinds of diseases (transition from dry to rainy season). At these times, he applies various preventive medicines to the pond. Price of pork in this region is 800 VND/kg, whereas the price of tilapia is 20,000 VND/kg, while carp fetches up to 30,000 VND/kg. Fish is more expensive than pork. The farmers total output is two crops per year of ten tons of fish each (20 tons total production), from a total of approximately 8,000 sq/meters. Production per hectare is 12.5 tons.

Site 5: 7/8 Hai Duong: [photos DSC 6895-6913] TYPE: Government Agricultural Research Center This research center cultures herbivorous or omnivorous species such as common carp or silver barb in rice fields. A trench or ditch is dug around or throughout the rice field, and covered with screen netting, providing protection, and cooler water for the fish in the summer months when the fish retreat to the trenches from the no longer flooded fields. While some plots were traditional, extensive rice-fish

82

integration (no additional feeds), others were improved-extensive fields, with some additional feed added. Annual yields ranged from 100-250 kg/ha for extensive plots, and up to one ton/ha which supplementary feed. It is important to note that to achieve higher yields, trenches must make up more than 10% of the total area of the field. Rice yields have been observed to increase by up to 15% when fish are integrated to the fields. Additionally, farmers can invest less in pesticides as omnivorous fish feed on common pests such as snails. Site 6: 7/9/ Tuyen Quang; [photos DSC 6981-7038] TYPE: Small River Cage production This site was located in a river in mountainous region 150 km north-west of Hanoi. The farmer here produces grass carp in one cage (6 x 8 meters and 1.5 meters deep), and mountainous, river catfish in another cage (4 meters square, 1.5 meters deep). The cages are made of bamboo, and are set in a anchored, floating bamboo hut which rises and falls with the level of the river. He keeps 200 grass carp, and 250 small river catfish in the cages. The grass carp are fed 200 grams of grass each per day, which he collects locally (4 kg of grass daily). He harvests 200 kg of these fish per year. The catfish are fed trash fish, which he purchases for 10,000 VND/kg. The feed conversion ration (FCR) according to this farmer is 10 kg of trash fish for 1 kg of catfish. At the end of the year he sells his catfish for 500,000VND/kg. This farmer has raised fish for over 20 years. He explained that his operation has been severely affected by water pollution. In 2001 he had a survival rate of 90%. In 2004, the rate dropped to 40%, and in 2010, it dropped further to 20%. He had more than 180 fish at the end of last year, but now only 40 survived. Whereas formerly he could stock fish at high density with low rates of disease, now must stock at low densities, but still suffers losses to disease. He does not use medicine for the fish, but he submerges a cloth sack full of lime powder into the cage. He blames sugar refineries and pulp paper factories one km upstream for his declining harvest. Site 7: 7/9/ Tuyen Quang; [photos DSC 7039-7064] TYPE: Mid size River Cage production This site had multiple, larger floating bamboo platforms anchored into the river. They produce approximately 300 kg of fish per cage, and keep some 20 cages. These farmers had originally used bamboo cages, but had upgraded them to steel or iron cages in order to prevent damage to the cages and loss of fish. However, these cages are expensive, costing approximately 15 million VND each. The fish are fed trash fish. Several different families share the operation. This site has also experienced declining yields in the past years, due to pollution in the river. Site 8: 7/9/ Tuyen Quang; [photos DSC 7065-7107] TYPE: Reservoir cage production This site, set in an 8000 hectare reservoir, has 200 cages in floating bamboo rafts moored to the side of the reservoir. They raise mainly tilapia. They produce 30kg/cubic meter using formulated pellet feed. The fish are sold when they reach 500 grams. There are no middlemen, rather, buyers come directly to cages and purchase the fish at the lowest price of 30,000 VND per kg. Government officials I met there told me that they plan to develop from a total of 300 cages on the reservoir currently to 4,000 cages over the next ten years. They believe that developing .05 percent of the reservoir for cage aquaculture is desirable. However, there has not been any comprehensive analysis of the ecological carrying capacity of this reservoir, and unguided development of the sort they propose may have harmful ecological repercussions, as has been seen in other developed reservoirs around the world. Furthermore, a mass increase in supply of fish would lead to a drop in price, making an already marginal business model even more fragile. The local government plans to build a fish market as well as a storage and processing plant, in order to export fish to neighboring areas. This plan is based on the higher prices offered in other districts. However, for any such development to take place, the local government must invest in feed mills and hatcheries, as they are currently dependent upon central or southern Vietnam for a large percentage of their inputs. Research Institute Visit: July 10-16 Hanoi: Return visits to RIA 1 Discussed experiments with breeding tilapia at colder temperatures, to serve the needs of northern Vietnamese fish farmers. They have had success at developing strains of tilapia able to reproduce and grow at 10 degrees Celsius, rather than the standard level of a minimal temperature of 15 degrees Celsius.

83

SOUTH VIETNAM Site 9: 7/17: Can Tho Cao duc region [DSC7162-7184] TYPE: open-air fish market: The open air market was a lively site, filled with primarily female vendors and lots of customers. The market sold a wide variety of fish, fowl, amphibians, and reptiles. These included fresh water prawns, grass carp, silver carp, Indian carp, Chinese carp, Ca Tra (northern river catfish), freshwater eel, mud crabs, red tilapia, skates, long-armed tiger prawns, frogs, turtles, snakes, snails, ducks, chickens, geese, mice, piglets, and mysterious meats from unidentified animals. Many of these creatures were live, and sold fresh. Clearly, fish is a very important source of protein in the area. The butchers were not in this market, but had their own shops elsewhere.

Site 10: 7/17 Can Tho region: (Video clip 7188) [DSC 7186-7193] Site: Road side grow-out At this road-side site, I observed a grow-out facility in an earthen pond, approximately 100 x 50 meters, in which small catfish were being grown in one phase of their development. This farmers niche in the developmental and economic cycle was to purchase fingerlings and grow them into young adult fish weighing approximately .3 kg. This process takes about three to four months. At the conclusion of the cycle, local men are employed to corral the fish, using nets, into a narrow netted space, where they are scooped up in large plastic bins, which are strung over poles and carried on the shoulder by two men up the embankment to the highway. Here, the large bins are loaded onto the back of a motorcycle. Young drivers precariously drive off towards the next farm some ten kilometers away, where the fish will be raised to full size. harvest, and transport system Site 11: 7/18/ Cao Doc region/ near border of Cambodia on the Mekong river TYPE: floating villages with submerged cages (Video 7202-5) (DSC7194-7243, 7244-7277) [DSC 7194-7243; 7244-7282] All along the Mekong one sees houses on stilts and floating villages. One finds everything from family homes, to convenience stores, to gas stations. Boat travel is the common form of transport. Boats range from small canoes to large motorized transports. The site visited was a family home, with a man and wife, and two young children. Unlike other river cages I had seen, the cages here were beneath the floorboards of his living room. Inside he kept a mixture of fish: tilapia, river catfish, and mixed carp. They are fed a mixture of kitchen scraps, pelleted feed, and rice bran. He also, on an attached platform, has a floating pig farm, with some 20 pigs, whose waste falls directly into the Mekong river. He also keeps dogs of all shapes and sizes to guard his fish and pigs. He has done well for himself, and has expanded his operation over the past few years, increasing his fish and pig stock. There are large mega-speakers in his home, which is very well kept. He sells his fish and pigs to other inhabitants of the floating villages. I noticed some fishermen doing traditional fishing in the Mekong, but was told that there were fewer and fewer free roaming fish to be found in the river.

Site 12: 7/19/ Cao Doc region/ near border of Cambodia on the Mekong river TYPE: road-side small fry niche [DSC 07289-07294; 07322] A small farmer on the side of the road with a piece of land measuring 25 x 50 meters, had built two earthen ponds on either side of his home, built of bamboo and thatch. In each pond he has six beds divided by netting, in which he grows fry into fingerlings. He keeps them for about two months, before selling them. His mortality rates are up to 60%. He raises close to 1,000 fish per bed, and thus raises around 12,000 fingerlings. Site 13; 7/18/ Can Tho region; [DSC 07308-07316] TYPE: improved semi-intensive shrimp farm This farmer has a 2 hectare, shallow pond (maximum depth of .5 meters). He has 5 white shrimp (P.vannamei) per sq. meter, but has high mortality rates of close to 80%. He draws his water from a canal, which is both his input source and his place of output. While he uses a net to filter out debris from incoming water, he is unable to assure good water quality. His highest expense is feed, for which he must take out loans from a local bank. Once every two years, he hires mechanical equipment to scrape the bottom of his pond. These muds are dumped on a neighboring unused plot of land. He produces approximately 1 ton per hectare.

84

Research Institute Visit / 7/19 / Can Tho University [DSC 07336] Extensive meeting with Dr. Phoung of Can Tho University, during which he destroyed my illusions about the future of integrated aquaculture in Vietnam. We discussed the rapid decline of integrated IAAS systems, the build up of aqua-business as well as his own experiments with aquatic plants and tilapia systems. A crucial turning point in my research. Sound recording and photos. Research Institute Visit: Nong Lam University NONG LAM UNIVERSITY (AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY) Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc: Chair, Dept. Fisheries, Dr. Nguyen Nhuh Tri, Integrated systems, Feeds, Dr. Hung: PAPUSSA Project, peri-urban production, Mr. Loc Tran, Ph.D student, fish pathology: Discussion of Sites to visit both in neighboring province as well as in peri-urban area of HCM. Tour of Research Facilities, Papusa project, Student Experiment Plots, Shrimp Hatchery, Tour of Novus International Aquaculture Research Center. Site 14: 7/19 Ho Chi Mihn, Nong Lam University; [DSC 07338-07351; 07352-07358] TYPE: Research Center: Novus Research Center. Toured the research facility, a joint venture research partnership between Novus Intl, Inc, and Nong Lam University. Novus grew out of Monsanto, who sold it to Mitsui and Co. Ltd, and Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. They are basically the feed ingredients division of Monstanto, with their global headquarters still in Missouri. This facility researches and experiments new formulated feeds for the aquaculture industry. Inside the facility is housed a closed, re-circulating system, as well as a feed production lab, microbiology lab, water quality lab, and an office. Surrounding the Novus Aquaculture Research Center are multiple student-led study ponds, where students from Nong Lam carry out experiments on different feeds, species, medicines and hormones. Site 15; 7/19: grounds of Nong Lam University, Ho Chi-minh: [DSC 07359-07371] TYPE: shrimp hatchery. Located on Nong Lam University land, this shrimp hatchery has been running for three years. They raise brackish water shrimp, not freshwater prawns. Thus the hatchery transports in truckloads full of seawater every 6 months, and stores it in a large tank. They mix the saltwater with freshwater in 24 large plastic vats. Mature female shrimp are induced to spawn, laying between 50,000 to I million eggs, which hatch 24 hours later. In this early larval stages, which lasts for two days, they are stored in a large bucket with constant oxygen flow. They are then transferred to the large plastic vats, where they metamorphosize into post-larvae (young shrimp with adult characteristics). These vats have slightly lower salinity levels than the hatching vat. They are fed artemia cysts (brine shrimp) from the Great Salt Lakes. SITE 16: 7/20 JULY: TY NINH; [DSC07379-07411; 07413-07431] TYPE: INTEGRATED PIG-FISH POLYCULTURE SYSTEM The farmer is one Mr. Minh, a Vietnamese Army Captain, retired. Has been cultivating fish for 18 years. He has a mid-scale pig farm. The pig waste is channeled into two large ponds (1.5hectares), and then is fed to tilapia, catfish, kissing gourami, Indian carp, and common carp. System Numbers: 1year/ 1000 pigs/ 200T pig feed (dry matter)/ 100T pig (wet matter) /50T + 60T fish. Separates pigs Urine / Feces, (urine to woods, ammonium toxic to fish) Pigs digest only 15-19 % of feed, other 80-85% (in form of waste) to Pond Ratio/Proportion of Fish in Polyculture system: 50% Catfish, 20% Tilapia, 5-10% Kissing Gourami, 20-25% Carps Pond #1: 12,000 m^2, 4m depth (48,000m^3) 150,000 fish : 60T/y No water exchange, (filled once at beginning of season), natural treatment by biotic mechanisms. Use of Probiotics. Guarded at night . Birds are shot. 10 employees. SITE 16, pt. 2: adjoining Lake Site [DSC07432-07433] 300 ha area. // 600Tonnes/year // (2Tonnes/ha) High productivity due to nutrient run-off from several pig farms. Natural species composition of lake allows for production. Note: In recent years, several industrial sites have been set up around the lake. (ie. The Song May industrial park) These factories have conducted indiscriminate dumping of their

85

wastewaters into the lake, leading to outbreaks of various sicknesses and syndromes cases (gill discoloration). The industrial park has a wastewater treatment plant, However, small companies to not want to pay for its use and therefore dump illegally. Site 16, pt. 3: Duckweed Cultivation Ponds [DSC07437-07448] When letting a pond go fallow, Mr. Minh cultivates duckweed. This duckweed grows very rapidly in the nutrient rich fertilized waters. Once gathered, the duckweed is dried and compressed and fed to the pigs. SITE 17: 7/19/ near TY NINH; [DSC07458-0707488] TYPE: PIG FARM WITH GAS-BIO-DIGESTER AND POLYCULTURE SYSTEM The farmer Mr. Cong, lives in a junkyard filled with scrap metal. He has three ponds. He gets 2 harvests per year from each, and produces 15 tons of mixed carp, barb, and catfish. He also keeps 1,600 pigs, whose waste goes to a bio-gas digesters. Two to three families use the gas from this digester, and each family pays him 1 million VND for the gas. The tank cost him 100 million VND, and has a ten year lifetime. He has a separate ponds for the treatment of wastes, after they leave the bio-gas digester, and before he releases them into the fish ponds. However, the quality of this treatment pond is terrible the water is black, with lots of methane bubbles. The water source for his ponds is rainwater runoff hence they are set at the base of a hill. Every year, diseases arise during the temperature swing from dry to rainy season, and may fish die in the first weeks. The remainder survive and continue to grow. SITE 18: TY NINH region: [DSC07490-07558] TYPE: HATCHERY (Video 7507 fingerlings in tank) (Video 7512 prices of fingerlings) Mr. Duc is a hatchery specialist. The facility consists of central building with a large circular concrete tank 2 meters deep behind it, connected by a sluice gate to two central circular concrete tanks (the incubators) on the inside of the building. The facility raises common carp, tilapia, mono-sex tilapia, Chinese carp, Vietnamese barb, kissing gurami, red tilapia, walking catfish, catfish, giant gurami, climbing perch. grass carp, silver carp, big-head and Indian carp. The process of raising fingerlings begins with: Step 1: preparing brood stock. Select best mature fish and place them in a pond at a ratio of 1 to 3 male to female. One month from fry to fingerling, followed by a six to eight month grow out period until they reach one kilo. Then, it takes 2 years to reach full maturation, as a 2 to 6 kilogram fish. Once they have reached full maturation they are given a four month special nutritional diet, ie., extra calories, protein and vitamins. At this point, the water in the pond is changed and increased, to recreate natural breeding season conditions i.e, you need a constant stream of water as these fish go upstream to breed. Then you must check sperm and egg color density, shape and size, to determine the level of maturation. The next step is to induce spawning. Select your breeders at a ration of one male to one female. Then, inject them with HCG hormone, which is extracted from pregnant womens urine in China, as well as the artificial hormone LHRH analog, which is also imported from China. Wait up to eight hours, until they all spawn at the same time, then wait three to four more hours, and drain the outdoor tank through the sluice gate. The eggs are caught indoors in a net. These eggs are then transferred to the interior incubator tanks, where it is critical to provide a constant waterflow and aeration. Incubation time depends on the species and on the temperature of the water. For most fish, 28 degrees C is desirable, and then the eggs will hatch within 14 hours. Over the next 70 hours, the fry will consume their egg yolks. Once the fry have consumed their yolks, they are ready to be transported to freshly prepared nursing ponds. These ponds are prepared by first draining all waters and catching all fish and predators present. All grass and vegetation must be cleared from the dikes around the pond. Lime is applied to the pond bottom and sides. Next, the pond is dried out by the sun over the course of two to three days. Next, waer is pumped back into the pond, and fertilized with manure (mostly chicken manure). After 2 to 3 days phytoplankton and zooplankton will bloom, and the pond is then ready for fry. This process takes approximately 5 days to a week. The stock density in the pond should be approximately 200 fry per sq meter. This density can be achieved, as the hatchers use a 80 milliliter shot glass to measure out 40,000 fry (500/milliliter). Once stocked, the fry are fed using commercial formulated feed. For the first two weeks they are fed feed with 40% protein, in the third week this is lowered to 35%, and in the fourth week to 30%, and in the fifth to 28%. On average, there is a 30-50% survival rate. In one spawning, they start with 7 million fry, and by the end of the fifth week, they are left with 4 million finger, each weighing 5 grams (200 fingerlings/kg). Fish farmers will come to the hatchery or call ahead to place an order, by the kilogram, or by fingerling. To transport the fingerlings, they are placed in a double layered plastic bag, with water that has bee saturated with oxygen beforehand. The stocking season (when the fingerlings are

86

purchased) is between April and August, because this is the rainy season, and there is plenty of water available. SITE 19: TY NINH region: [DSC07575-07583] TYPE: No.1 pig farmer The man known as the No. 1 pig farmer of Vietnam greeted me at his home, where he has a poster of the pigs of the world on his wall. We came to discuss the possibility of using his pig waste in integrated aquacultural systems. I had previously visited a farmer who produced 100 tons of fish on two hectares from the waste a 1000 pigs. The No. 1 pig farmer told of his plans to start a new farm with 20,000 pigs. We discussed the size of the pond area he would need to raise fish. Using the same arithmetic, we concluded that 40 hectares would be needed for the waste from 20,000 pigs, and that this would produce 2000 tons of fish. The cost of the land would be $400,000 USD. However, the profit from the fish, assuming a sell price of 15,000 VND per kg, would be 300 billion VND per year (15 million per ton x 2000 = 30 billion VND ($600,000 USD). While he was interested in this idea, he explained that the real world challenges, namely, the land he has to work with has hills, trees and rocks, and does not have ready access to the large quantities of water needed (estimated 1,600,000 cubic meters for 40 hectares x 4 meter deep ponds). Site 20: 7/21 Tu Duc district, outskirts of Ho Chi-Mihn; [DSC07588-076268; 07630-07643; 07647] TYPE: PERI-URBAN fish farms: I visited several small fish farms near HCM. The following is a composite description of these farms. A family has five ponds 1000 meters sq, and 1 meter deep. In these ponds, they claim to stock 2000 fingerlings, and to add another 2000 several months later. These ponds either contain giant gourami and morning glory, or tilapia and hyacinth. The gourami take one year to grow to market size, but are often left in the ponds for 15-24 months. They are fed 50 kg of lettuce per pond per day in the morning. This lettuce is free for the farmers as a byproduct (unused) from the wholesale market. Additionally, 20 to 30 kg of morning glory are added in the afternoons. The Morning glory is grown in ponds, and the shoots and roots are sold, while the leaves are fed to the fish. If the fish are to be harvested all at once, the pond is drained, and the fish are collected by hand. A large fish will bring in 35,000 VND/kg., whereas a small fish (800 grams) will bring in 30,000 VND/kg. They have 5000 sq meters of morning glory production, which grows at 5 kg/sq meter it grows very rapidly. These farmers sell 50 kg of morning glory per day to a middleman, who brings it to market. The farm gate price of morning glory in 3000 VND/kg, while the market price in 7000. Both pesticides and chemical fertilizers are applied. Their water source is the canal next door. The price of land has increased 400 fold from 10,000 VND per sq meter to 4 million VND. Thus many farmers have sold their land and moved to the city. Site 21: 7/21 farmland outside of Ho Chi-Minh: [DSC07660-07670; 07685-07709] TYPE: Mimosa ponds In the countryside outside HCM, there are many ponds devoted to the growing of mimosa and other edible aquatic plants. This is an important aspect of Vietnamese aquaculture, and these plants make an important contribution to the diet of the Vietnamese people. The ponds are 1 meter deep and have long lines tied from end to end, to which water mimosa plants are tethered. Site 22: 7/22 Vinh Long, along the Mekong River: [DSC07717-07779] (Video 7724 feeding of 5 tons of feed to massive swarms of catfish) (Video 7753, harvesting, weighing, and transporting the catfish) (Video 7760, dumping catfish into transport boat hulls) TYPE: CATFISH FARM This was the largest fish farm I visited in Vietnam. One could almost walk on the fish in the ponds. The ponds are 5000 sq meters x 3 to 4 meters deep (15,000 -20,000 cubic meters), half hectare large earthen ponds just alongside the Mekong, separated by the river bank. In each pond 200,000 fish are stocked. The density of fish is between 10-13.5 fish per cubic meter. The farmer here produces 200 tons per half hectare (400 tons/ha). Each season, he stocks 250,000 fingerlings, and grows them out. By the time they are nearing harvesting, he feeds the fish some 5 tons of feed per day (that is 125 bags per pond per day x 5 ponds, or 625 bags of feed per day). All this feed is purchased, at a rate of 8000 VMD/kg. When they are fingerlings, for the first month and a half, the feed has 28% protein. Once they reach 200 grams, the protein content of the feed decreases to 26%. They take two to three months to reach 500 grams From 500 grams onwards, the protein content is reduced to 22%. They take another two to three months to reach 1 kg, when they are harvested. There are two types of catfish raised here pangasius bocoustii (basa), or pangasium hypophthalimus.

87

There are specialized transport boats, with empty, water-filled hulls, to move the fish to processing boats. Sometimes, the processing plant boats visit the farms, docking alongside some of the farms.

Site 23: 7/24/ Ca Mao TYPE: small-scale and mid-scale shrimp farmers This first farm visited had a two hectare extensive shrimp pond, with sluice gates leading into the coastal with brackish sea water, which he harvests twice a month, at the first day of the lunar and the full moon. To catch the shrimp, he opens the sluice gate, allowing in a flow of water. The shrimp naturally swim against the current, into a net he has set up. He stocks his pond monthly, when he has money to do so. He buys post-larval shrimp when he can at a price of 25 VND direct from the hatchery, or 28 VND from a middleman. Shrimp sells at 190,000 VND per kg, or about 20 shrimp. His monthly income is approximately 8 million VND ($400 USD). He started raising shrimp in 1998. Prior to that, he grew rice a lot of work for little profit. Now he is experimenting with raising mud-crabs with the shrimp, mostly for family consumption. He also uses the root of a vegetable in the ponds, claiming that it kills sea bass that sneak into his shrimp pond. The mid-level farm I visited has seven ponds, ranging from 5,000 7,000 sq. meters, all one 1.5 meters deep. These provide an output of 3 to 5 tons of shrimp, more or less. He estimates that his ponds have 120,000-150,000 post-larvae. He also has a 4,000 sq.meter treatment pond in which he uses probiotics to treat the water. For the first two months of the growing season, there is no water exchange in the grow-out ponds, as the post-larvae are very sensitive. Then, over the course of ten days, the top twenty centimeters are pumped out and replaced with water from the treatment pond (a 10% water exchange). He doesnt measure the water, relying instead on experience and observation. The centers of the pond are 20 centimeters deeper in order to collect sediment, which will be reused in nearby vegetable gardens at the end of the growing season. He does use anti-biotics as well as 10-15 kg of chlorine, as needed. This has enabled him to achieve an 80-90% survival rate. At first he puts in 5 kg of feed daily, but this rises to 15 kg by the end of the growing season. Site 24: 7/27 Pho Quok island TYPE: pearls and oyster beds Oyster and pearl farms on Pho Quoc island were started by Japanese in the 1990s. Now these sites attracts tourists interested in pearls. The farms have a 4 km section of the ocean and a smaller piece of the beach. They grow the oysters on racks set up in the ocean shallows. More attention is paid to cultivation of pearls than to production of oysters for consumption. Oyster production in Vietnam has declined from an earlier peak, due in part to coastal pollution. Site 25: 7/28/ Nha Trang (printed photos) TYPE: marine cage finfish Visited a Nha Trang University research station, which also operates commercially. This was a group of floating platforms with approximately 20 cages off the coast of Nha Trang bay. In these cages popano fish, sea bass, red snapper, and kobia were being raised. The cages measured 4 x 4 meters wide and 5 meters deep. There are cages for fingerlings and others for more mature fish. As the fish grow, they are transferred to larger cages. Sea bass at the smallest level, have 10 fingerling stocked per cubic meter. They are transferred to the larger cage when they reach 15 centimeters. Production of sea bass is approximately 400 kg per cage, or 1 ton per two cages. They are fed daily 2% of their body weight when large, and 5% when small. The red snapper fingerlings (4 cm) are purchased for 3,000 VND a piece, and stocked in earthen ponds on land at 10 per cubic meter, until they are 10-15 cm long. They are then transferred to a grow-out cage at sea at a density of 5 fish per cubic meter, until they reach market size of 1 1.5 kg. The market price is 200,000 VND per kg. Red snapper are fed trash fish such as sardines, which cost 10,000 VND/kg. in the dry season, and 15,000 VND in the rainy season. Crab, which costs 15-20,000 VND/kg, and other types of sea snails and clams, which can cost up to 60,000 VND/kg in the rainy season, are also fed to the snappers. Popano are sold for 200,000 VND/kg, equal to the price of snapper, but this is only the first year they have tried raising this kind of fish. Disease is an ever-present danger, due to the proximity and density of neighboring fish farms. In order to prevent disease, every ten days, the fish are put into fresh water treated with iodine, and they are fed feed infused with Vitamin C. Additionally, every ten days, the nets are switched and cleaned. Nonetheless, disease strikes.

88

Site 26: 7/28/ Nha Trang: (printed photos) TYPE: lobster farms The lobster farms visited were family run operations located in Nha Trang bay in a cluster of other floating marine farms. These farms use floating cages supported by a frame held up by buoys. The initial investment is high, but the cages last from 6 10 years. The mesh cages measure 3 x 3 x 5 meters deep, and are stocked with wild-caught juveniles, rather than hatchery produced post-larvae. Juveniles are stocked 200 to a cage when small, and 70 to 100 per cage as they mature, and finally 30-50 per cage, once they pass 500 grams. There is an 18 month grow-out period, in which the lobsters are fed trash fish twice a day. The most commonly raised species are the spiny lobsters. This farm had 30 cages, which is considered a small operation. A large operation would have 100-200 cage farm. They are grown to 1-1.5 kg and sold at the market price of 1.5 million VND. This price may double during the New Years Festival. THAILAND Research Institute Visit; 8/1-4: Bangkok: Meetings at the Asian Institute of Technology Meetings with Dr. Sena DeSilva, Director General of Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA), Dr. Dhirandra A. P. Thakur and Prof. Peter Edwards. Topics Discussed: Summary of research travels and encounters, discussion of the fate of integrated aquaculture and other forms of aquaculture in Southeast Asia. Sound recordings of discussions archived. SITE 27: 8/5/ PATHUM THANI PROVINCE, Thailand: [07082010077-88] TYPE: Semi-Intensive Polyculture System OF INTEREST: Use of restaurant kitchen wastes, culture of Giant River Catfish Located in Pathum Thani province, this site was a mid-sized pond operated by a Thai woman in her 50s. The pond is a polyculture production system in which Pangasius (locally referred to as Sutchi), Giant River Catfish, Common Barb and Tilapia are raised in conjunction, in proportions of 75%, 2%, 10% and 10%. The pond has an area of 40,000 square meters, and has an annual output of 20 tons/crop/year. This equates to 5 tons/ha. The owner/operator of the farm purchases 10,000 Pangasius fingerlings each year from a Thai Department of Fisheries Hatchery, at a price of 1 Bht/fingerling. These fingerlings are kept in a nursery pond for the first year, before being transferred to the main grow-out pond, where they will stay for one year before being harvested. The Giant River Catfish are let grow-out for several years before harvesting. The harvest is carried out in early August, and the owner employs local men for labor. Approximately eight (8) men are required to harvest the fish from the pond, as the forces pushing against the corralling-nets are powerful (especially with the Giant River Catfish present). While the nursery fish are fed formulated pellet feed for their first year, the grow-out area of the farm makes use both of natural greenwater growth and restaurant waste as feed source, augmented by pelleted feed in the last two months of growth. The average cost of this restaurant waste (collected each day) is 300 Bht/ 200 L. Approximately 600L of kitchen wastes are added to the main pond each day. The farms relies upon river water for its water supply, pumping water in and out from the canals to regulate water quality. This raises certain issues, as there are no guarantees of quality water from the river in the canals. The woman explained that she does not stock the common Barb or Tilapia, rather that they enter the pond from the pumped waters of the river canal. However, she does not remove the fish as she sees them as natural water cleansers, able to improve the quality of the pond water. The owner/operator of the farm sells her output to local middlemen, who come to her pond with trucks in order to load and transport the fish to local markets. The prices she receives are; Pangasius: 24 Bht/kg Giant Catfish: 60 Bht/kg Common Barb: 12 Bht/kg Tilapia: 20 Bht/kg This site was of particular interest as I got to observe the harvest of the rare and iconic Giant River Catfish, even going as far as helping the harvesters subdue the ____kg fish once landed. Personal note: The process of netting the large fish and bringing them to ground is not a painless one (for the fish), and I witnessed many giant catfish with ripped fins and bleeding faces. Their frantic thrashing at times sprayed blood into the air and onto myself and the workers.

89

SITE 28: 8/5: NAKHON PATHOM PROVINCE, Thailand: [07082010095-101] TYPE: Fish farm and rice fields Located in the countryside of Nakhon Pathom province, this site was a small privately-run mixed use integrated farm, operated by two brothers in their late 20s. The farm had multiple components, all linked through the cycling of wastes and nutrients. The farm was composed of a (small) mid-sized earthen pond (1.6 hectares), a 1-hectare vegetable garden, a small livestock pen (holding 5-6 cows, several goats, and 10 or so chickens), and a 2.7-hectare rice field. Integrated with and surrounding the pond were planted rows of banana trees, coconut trees, and mango trees. These trees were planted not only to provide produce, but also to solidify the banks of the earthen pond. The farmers informed me that these trees grow well as they have root access to the nutrient-rich water leached into the ground from the pond, as well as being regularly watered directly from pond water. Within the pond, the two brothers stocked common carp, common barb, and tilapia. These species were chosen as they can survive and sustain themselves mostly from natural food sources (greenwater). To promote the growth of natural foods in the pond, cow manure is added daily in small doses to the water. Chicken manure is not added, as the chickens are free-roaming and thus collecting their manure would be impractical. In addition to the manures added, the brothers informed me that in the early part of the growout season, the pond waters are kept low in order to promote the growth of short grasses, only to later be flooded so as to ferment these grasses and make natural food sources for the fish. However, the brothers informed me that during the second half of the (8 month) growing season, additional pellet feed was necessary to provide enough nutrients to the growing fish. The output of the pond generally reaches 3 tons (thus a productivity of 1.8 tons/hectare), of mixed carp, barb, and tilapia. This output is then sold to a local middleman for 20 Bht/kg. The middleman collects the fish from the farm at the end of the 8 month growing period and brings the fish to local market. With regard to pond preparation, the brothers employ local farmers once every three years to assist in the process of draining the pond and scooping up the bottom-muds which have accumulated. The nutrient-rich muds are then put out onto the vegetable garden and mixed in with the dirt present. These muds allow for good production of mixed vegetables from the plot, consumed on site by the brothers (and occasionally sold at market). Throughout the year the vegetables are watered from the pond. The water source is a small canal that brings water in from the river. They have little control over the water quality. This has led to diseases amongst the fish, especially in the April-May period, when the environment goes from hot to rainy. More fish death, especially of tilapia, occur in mid-summer, in the hottest part of the year. The brothers do not use any medicines or antibiotics on the fish. Dead fish are collected and placed into large barrels, along with grass cuttings and vegetable scraps and probiotics. These large barrels sit for months on end, until they are used as fertilizer for the surrounding rice fields. Monitor lizards are a menace, as they seek to eat the fish, but they can not afford to install strong netting to prevent them. The price of rice is 7000 baht per ton (7 baht/kg) 1 rai = 16,000 meters. They have 17 rai = 27,200 sq. meters = 2.7 hectares. They produce 900 kg of rice per rai (+/- 100 kg). Total production = 15,300 kg (+/- 1700kg) x 7 baht/kg = 107,100 baht (+/-11900 baht) The price of fish is 20 baht/kg They produce 3 tons = 60,000 baht. However, production costs are higher for fish. SITE 29: JARINPORN Fighting-Fish Farm, Chicken/Mosquito Larvae: [07082010102-84] TYPE: Ornamental fish farm, Integrated Chicken-Mosquito Larvae-Daphnia Farm Located in Nakhom Pathom Province, the Jarinporn fish farm is a primarily ornamental fish farm that employs some unusual and very interesting strategies. The facility is run by man in his 50s, who started the farm more than 23 years ago. Since then, he has expanded the output of his farm to include multiple species of ornamental fish, crabs, and Siamese Fighting fish. Each species is raised in isolation of the others and requires a specific technique. In one section of the facility are located earthen ponds, where one species of ornamental fish are raised in batches of approximately one thousand. Further back are located the crab facilities, which are open concrete structures with rows of low concrete square tubs, each with approximately one hundred crabs. The main source of income however comes from the raising and selling of the iconic Siamese Fighting Fish. These fish (or rather the males of the species) are highly sought-after

90

for their beautiful and delicate shapes and colors. Their name comes from their notorious extremely aggressive behavior towards males of the same species (indeed, no two males can coexist in the same fish tank together). Thus, Siamese fighting fish must be kept separate from each other once matured past the juvenile stage, which presents a tricky problem when raising 20,000 fish concurrently. The owner of the farm explained that it takes 3.5 months for the fish to go from egg to market-size, and several steps are involved. The first step is the fertilization / hatching process, which is carried out in small circular concrete tanks in the shade. Once the juveniles have hatched, they must be sorted through by a trained eye, in order to separate the colorful (and soon-to-be aggressive) males from the duller-colored females. This is carried out by a man with a small sieve and a plastic spoon, who sorts into separate buckets one by one every juvenile. Once sorted, the males are placed, individually, into small glass flasks, tightly stacked in rows along the floor. Each flask has a small slit two thirds of the way up the bottle, allowing for water exchange when new water is added (a process carried out 10rows at a time by a hose attached to a plastic bar with 10 evenly spaced holes cut into it). The main market for these fighting-fish are the USA and China, and they can fetch a price of up to 5$US per fish. Of most interest at this site is the manner in which the owner has devised to produce feed for his fighting fish. Located adjacent to the fish-farming facility is a chicken farm owned and operated by the same farmer. The function of the chicken farm is not to produce chickens for consumption, rather to produce mosquito larvae and daphnia for the fighting-fish. Within the chicken farm structure are 12,000 chickens in individual cages. The chickens are fed twice per day, with locally purchased chicken feed (at a cost of 1,000,000 baht/month). The cages are arranged in long rows positioned above long channels of still water. The chicken cages are designed so as to allow chicken manures to fall directly into the stagnant water. This added nutrient input allows for extremely productive conditions for mosquito larvae to grow in. Mosquito take 9 days to go from larvae to mature form, and so the owner rotates the collection of larvae from the rows of stagnant water, collecting 5 rows a day (he has a total of 45 rows). He is able to collect 150kg of mosquito larvae per day. Of this, 20% is used in his own operation while 80% he sells. Once the larvae have been collected from the channels beneath the cages, the waters (still nutrient rich) are pumped into an adjacent pond. From this pond, the farmer collects 100kg of daphnia per day, to be used as feed for the fighting-fish. While this is a functional and integrated system with many benefits, the farmer explained that the daphnia pond will be unproductive if there is either too much rain, or not enough sun. The farmer plans to begin culturing gourami in the daphnia pond, using left-over chicken manure as feed.

91

REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY The main journals in the field are Aquaculture, Aquaculture Asia, Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, World Aquaculture, Aquaculture International, and Aquaculture Newsletter. There are now several introductory textbooks on aquaculture (Stickney, 2009, 2nd edition; Pillay, T.V.R and Kutty, M.N. ,2005, IUCN, 2009, Tucker, C. S. and Hargreaves, J. A. 2008, Bhujel, R. 2008). More specialized books on Asian aquaculture are also increasing in number and quality (see for example, DeSilva, S.S. and Davy, F.B., eds., Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture, IDRC Springer, 2008). There is an extensive technical literature on aquaculture in Vietnam, but so far there is no single substantial monograph dedicated to this topic. A Google search for this term for articles and books published over the past decade brings up 95,300 results. The Division of Aquaculture of the Ministry of Fisheries of Vietnam (MoFI) publishes an annual report. Currently, the latest available is for 2006. The FAO, the World Bank, NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centers of Asia), the Worldfish Institute based in Penang, Malaysia, and VASEP (Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers), etc., all publish regular reports and internet postings on the aquacultural sector, which include information on Vietnam. The research scientists at such institutes, as well as those located in Thailand and Vietnam which I visited (including AIT (Asian Institute of Technology, Kasetsart University Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Bangkok), and the RIA 1, 2, & 3 (Research Institute of Aquaculture (Vietnam), support projects and publish papers on Vietnamese aquaculture. However, due to the difficulty of gathering statistics, and the time lag between research results published in Vietnamese, and the translation or interpretation of this data in English language scientific studies, it is not always possible to provide up to date statistics on Vietnamese aquaculture. Traditional Vietnamese integrated aquaculture and IIAS systems Much of the literature on Vietnam is descriptive, but fragmentary. Contemporary Vietnamese aquaculture I have included many such sources in the bibliography, as there is so far no comprehensive overview of aquaculture in Vietnam available in book length form. There are a range of policy papers and reports (MoFI, World Bank, FOA, NACA), market oriented data publications (VASEP), as well as a more critical ecological literature. The policy papers tend to emphasize possibilities for the development of the aquacultural sector through improved forms of feed and improved water quality (inputs), leading to higher yields (Nguyen, T.P, et al 2004; Nguyen V.H, 2005, 2007; Vo, 2003) So-called trashfish and other forms of feed There is also a considerable literature on disease prevention (Naylor 1988, Le 2004). Broader ecological and critical perspectives on Vietnamese aquaculture The ecological essays take a broader view, as some discuss the effects of dams along the Mekong in China on downstream aquaculture, or the effects of climate change (Kam, et. al. 2010), others discuss environmental issues and sustainability (Phuong and Hai, 1998), or the ecological damage generated by soaring levels of production, and still others the paradoxes created by increased production and lower prices for fish (Luttrell 2006). The latter deal with some of the social effects of the increasing marginalization of the fish farmers, the rising socioeconomic power of middlemen who also process, freeze and sell fish fillets to the international market, and the increasing ecological difficulties arising from over-production all have attracted some critical attention (Hossain 2006, Quisimbing 2008, Bush 2011).

92

The literature on ecological, integrated approaches to aquaculture is also very large. This literature grew out of an even vaster literature on ecology, which goes back to the research of Carl Linnaeus on the economy of nature and Charles Darwins On the Origins of the Species (1859). Frederic Clements Research Methods in Ecology (1905) put forward a theory of the super-organism, which argues that ecosystems go through life cycle stages like an organism, which was later challenged by Henry Gleason with his theory of ecological individualism, which argues that ecological communities form from random, coincidental interactions between individual organisms (Gleason 1926). Debates between holistic approaches and individualistic approaches continue to this day (Foster J. B. and Clark, B., 2008). Charles Elton, in his book Animal Ecology (1927), introduced the key idea of ecological relations working within food chains and food cycles. He showed how the numbers (populations) of different functional groups were related to available quantities of food within these chains and cycles (or webs). Odums Fundamentals of Ecology (1953) presented ecology in terms of a systems analysis of energy flows and productivity of ecosystems. Begon, Harper and Townsends Ecology: individuals, populations, and communities (1986), discussed interacting populations of plants and animals as dynamic entities, responding to each other and to environmental changes, while later textbooks examined how the impact of evolutionary forces on the individual behavior of organisms could impact the dynamics of population growth in distinct ecosystems (May 1999: 1951). All this research, and especially parallel research on integrated biosystems, laid the groundwork for the scientific study of aquaculture from an ecological perspective. In 1985 Bailey coined the term blue revolution (Bailey, 1985) to describe the expansion of fish-farming in tropical regions, and its hoped for effects in solving problems of world food security and alleviating poverty. More recently, concerns with the ecological damage resulting from fishfarming have led to calls for the greening of the blue revolution (Clay, 2010). In many ways, developments in integrated aquaculture have pushed the limits of ecological understanding, by mimicking and transforming natural processes, by bringing together different species or different trophic levels within broadly shared ecosystems. The term "Integrated Aquaculture" describes the integration of different monocultures through water transfer. Such projects are generating new ecologies, and new ecological relations. Some of the IA literature also addresses the ecological problems of large scale aquaculture, from pollution to mass fish death to the impact on coastal mangroves and the impact on local communities. In the ecological scientific literature on aquaculture, one finds a range of acronyms. There is IAAS (integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems), which is narrowly defined as: onfarm integration in which crop, livestock and/or fish enterprises or subsystems on a farm are linked through waste or by-product recycling, and improved utilization of space (Edwards 1998). Note that these systems link non-aquatic and aquatic species. Then there is the term IMTA (integrated multi-trophic aquaculture), in which the byproducts of one aquatic species are used as feed for another species. The term "Multi-trophic" means that the various species occupy different trophic levels, i.e., different (but adjacent) links in the food chain. ). IMTA uses the byproducts (waste) from one aquatic species as inputs (feed or fertilizer) for another aquatic species (Chopin 2006:4). The key is to select the appropriate species at the correct levels of population so that the new ecosystem functions in such a way the biological and chemical processes achieve a stable balance that is mutually beneficial to the organisms and to the overall health of the ecosystem as a whole. Each of the co-cultured species should yield a valuable crop, and ideally increase overall output, even though some crops may yield less than they would in the short-term in a monoculture system (Chopin 2006). IMTA is designed to convert byproducts and uneaten food into crops, thus diminishing eutrophication while generating growth. For example, carnivorous fish or shrimp are at high IMTA trophic levels. They excrete ammonia and phosphorous, which are extracted by some kinds of seaweeds. Shellfish and filter feeder absorb organic nutrients released by the fish and shrimp. Some

93

shellfish filter bottom-level organisms while also giving off ammonia. Thus each level feeds the next in a cycle. (Chopin 2006). Even more general in its scope is the term EAS (ecological aquacultural systems). This indicates that research into aquaculture has expanded to cover more and more inclusive ecological approaches. Other related terms include Aquaponics, fractionated aquaculture, IPUAS (integrated peri-urban-aquaculture systems), and IFAS (integrated fisheries-aquaculture systems). Ryther, et. al. (1975) were the first group of scientists to develop an experimental landbased, integrated and intensive mariculture system. They grew other organisms in the food chain in the organic sludge generated on the farm, and used seaweed biofilters on the final effluent from the farm. The entire cycle was described and quantified in their research. Other early research on integrated aquaculture includes Huguenin (1976, Tenore (1976), Hughes-Games (1977) and Gordin, et al. (1981). In the late 1980s, marine ponds raising seabream and grey mullet were developed in Eliat, Israel, on the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba, where the extensive diatom population was used as feed for oysters (Neori, A, Krom, M.D., Cohen, Y. and Gordin, H.,1989; Erez, J, Krom, M.D. and Neuwirth, T. 1990. The water quality parameters and nutrient needs for these systems were quantified by researchers in Israel at this time (Krom, M.D. and Neori, A. 1989; see also Shpigel, M and Fridman, R. 1990). Their discoveries were employed successfully in southern Israeli fish farms in the early 1990s. (Shpigel, M, and Fridman, R. 1990; Shpigel, M. and Blaylock, R,A. 1991; Shpigel M, Neori A, Popper DM and Gordin H. 1993a: Shpigel, M., Lee, J., Soohoo, B., Fridman, R and Gordin, H. 1993b. By the end of the 1990s, these scientists were developing generally applicable models of land-based, low-pollution integrated mariculture of fish, seaweed and herbivores (Neori, A. and Shpigel, M. 1999; Neori, A, Shpigel, M. and Scharfstein, B. 2001). IAAS concepts were first explored in the Southeast Asian and Vietnamese context in the 1980s by Peter P. Edwards and others working in AIT (Asian Institute of Technology) and elsewhere in Southeast Asia (Edwards 1985: Integrated Resource Recovery: Aquaculture: A Component of Low Cost Sanitation Technology, World Bank Technical Paper No. 36; D.C. Little and P. Edwards, Integrated livestock-fish farming systems, Rome, FAO, 2003,). This research was designed to address issues of sanitation and safe drinking water, and alternative uses of human waste. In essence, scientists like Edwards wanted to analyze and improve upon ancient Chinese and Asian practices of the use of human nightsoil in agriculture and aquaculture, in response to growing population pressure and increased disease from untreated human wastes in rapidly expanding Asian cities in the 1970s and 1980s. Edwards would go on to lead many research projects in Thailand and Vietnam, publishing scores of essays in the 1990s and first decade of the new millennium. Many of his research findings are summarized in Hambrey, J., Edwards, P. and Belton, B., 2007. An ecosystem approach to freshwater aquaculture: a global review, in Soto, D., Aguilar-Manjarrez, J., and Hishamunda, N. Building an ecosystem approach to aquaculture, Rome: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings 14, 2007: 117-221. The related field of IMTA, also lagged in the 1980s, but has now become very active. By the mid-1990s, researchers led by Chopin at the Chopin Lab in New Brunswick, Canada began to experiment with integrated approaches to mariculture in the Bay of Fundy. They have since generalized their results into programmatic calls for IMTA applications around the world of aquaculture (Chopin, 2007). As they put it, the ultimate aims of IMTA are the balancing of production with environmental sustainability (biomitigation), economic stability (product diversification and risk reduction) and social acceptability (better management practices) (Chopin 2006). Troell (2009) cites over 100 articles dealing with different experiments and applications of IMTA around the developing world (Troell 2009:115-132). This text provides an excellent overview of theoretical developments in this field (Troell 2009: 54-58).

94

One can trace the rise of the field of aquaculture in other ways as well. A series of 40 treaties and conventions were signed over the 20th century, as summarized in Key Events in Ecosystem Management Relevant for Aquaculture, in Angel 2009: 182-83, have led to a proposed Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture. A range of international or regional research and policy institutions were formed in each country in Asia, with some coordinating groups such as NACA and Worldfish. In Southeast Asia, the Asian Institute of Technology, and the various branches of the RAI in different parts of Vietnam, along with some other university research centers, publish research results in several Southeast Asian languages, making their findings available for local policy makers and farmers. Non-governmental organizations such as the Labor Union of Vietnam's Fisheries Sector, the Vietnam's Fisheries Association, and the (VASEP) Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporter and Producers) were founded in the 1980s. VASEP maintains a bi-lingual website with much information on current developments in the aquaculture export industry. The changes in aquaculture worldwide have led to a new emphasis on BMP. This trend can be seen in publications such as Craig and Hargreaves, 2009. Industrial Aquaculture and IRAI (Integrated Regional Aquacultural Industries Lebel et. al. (20002) discuss the industrialization of the shrimp industry in Thailand and Vietnam. They show that intensified high input production systems along with increasingly complex aqua-industrial organization did not lead to sustainable solutions in Thailand, and predict the same results for Vietnam. Subsequent studies of the intensification of shrimp production in Vietnam bear out this grim prediction (These authors recommend a complete transformation of the way shrimp are grown, fed, processed, distributed, and regulated. However, they do not provide a regional, geographic approach that would take in the inter-relationships between different kinds of aquaculture and agriculture that occur within that region, in order to apply IIAS principles on a larger, geographically defined region. This is also the case in B. Halwell and L. Mastry, 2008. Farming Fish for the Future, Worldwatch Institute, 2008.

95

96

Research Bibliography AASP. 1996.The development of feeding systems for fish and an integrated duck-fish system. Final Technical Report. Bangkok, Asian Institute of Technology. 41pp. Adger, W. 1999. Evolution of economy and environment: an application to land use in lowland Viet Nam. Ecological Economics, 31: 365-379. Adler, P. R., F. Takeda, D. M. Glenn, and S. T. Summerfelt. 1996f. Utilizing byproducts to enhance aquaculture sustainability. World Aquaculture 27 (2): 2426. Alam, M.J., Islam, M.L., Joffre, O. and Tuong, T.P. (2007b) Managing Water and Land Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods at the Interface Between Fresh and Saline water Environments in Vietnam and Bangladesh (CPWF No 10). Activity 3.2.2 Shrimp-based system. Report of CPWF No 10 project. WorldFish Center, Dhaka. AIT. 1986. Buffalo/fish and duck/fish integrated systems for small-scale farmers at the family level, AIT Research Report No. 198. Bangkok, Asian Institute of Technology. 138pp. Allan, G. 2004. Fish for feed vs fish for food. In A.G. Brown (ed.). Fish, aquaculture and food security: sustaining fish as a food supply, pp. 2026. Record of a conference conducted by ATSE Crawford Fund, Parliament House, Canberra, 11 August 2004. (available at www.crawfordfund.org/publications/pdf/fish_aqua_food.pdf). Angel, D. and Freeman, S. 2009. Integrated agriculture (INTAQ) as a tool for an ecosystem approach to the marine farming sector in the Mediterranean Sea. In D. Soto (ed.). Integrated mariculture: a global review. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 529. Rome, FAO: 133-183. Anh, P. T., Kroeze, C., Bush, S. R. and Mol, A. P. J. . 2010, Water pollution by Pangasius production in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: causes and options for control. Aquaculture Research, 42: 108128 ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers) 1993. Manure production and characteristics. ASAE Data: ASAE D384.1 Pp. 530532 in ASAE Standards. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. St Joseph, Michigan. Avnimelech, Y. 2007. Feeding with microbial flocs by tilapia in minimal discharge bio-floc technology ponds, Aquaculture, 264: 140-47. Avnimelech, Y. 2006. Bio-filters: the need for a new comprehensive approach, Aquacultural Engineering, 34:172-8 Bailey, C. 1985. Blue revolution: the impact of technological innovation on Third World fisheries. The Rural Sociologist, 5 (4): 259-66. Barash, H., Plavnik, I. & Moav, R. 1982. Integration of duck and fish farming: Experimental results. Aquaculture, 27: 129-140. Bell. J. and Waagbo. R. 2002. Safe and nutritious aquaculture produce: Benefits and risks of alternative sustainable aquafeeds. In: Aquaculture in the Ecosystem, pp. 185-226, eds M. Holmer, K. Black, C. Duarte, N. Marba, and I. Karqaakasis. New York: Springer. Beveridge, M. C. M. 1984. Cage and pen fish farming. Carrying capacity models and environmental impact. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 255. 131 pp. Beveridge, M.C.M. & Phillips, M.J. 1993. Environmental impact of tropical inland aquaculture. In R.S.V. Pullin, H. Rosenthal & J.L. Maclean, eds. Environment and aquaculture in developing countries, p. 213-236. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 31. Manila, ICLARM. Beveridge M. C. M., M. J. Phillips, and R. M. Clarke. 1991. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of wastes from aquatic animal production. Pp. 506533, in D. E. Brune and J. R. Tomasso, eds. Aquaculture and Water Quality. Vol. 3, Advances in World Aquaculture. The World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Beverton, R.J.H. 1990. Small marine pelagic fish and the threat of fishing; are they endangered? Journal of Fish Biology, 37: 516. Bhujel, R. 2008). Statistics for Aquaculture. Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell. Binh, C.T., Philips, M.J. and Demaine, H. (1997) Integrated shrimpmangrove farming systems in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Aquaculture Research 28, 599610. Birley, M. & Lock, K. 1998. Health and peri-urban natural resource production. Environment and Urbanization, 10 (1): 89-106. Black, K.D. 2001. Environmental impacts of aquaculture. Sheffield,England,UK, Sheffield Academic Press. 228 pp. Bosma, R.H., Hanh, C.T.T., Potting, J., 2009. Environmental Impact Assessment of the pangasius sector in the Mekong Delta. Wageningen University, 50 pp.

97

Boyd, C. E. 1999. Aquaculture sustainability and environmental issues. World Aquaculture 30 (2): 1013, 71 72. Boyd, C.E., Massaut, L., and Weddig, L.J., 1998. Towards reducing environmental impacts of pond aquaculture. Infofish Int. 2, 27-33. Brennan, D., Clayton, H. and Be, T.T. (2000) Economic characteristics of extensive shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta. Aquaculture Economics and Management 4(3/4), 127184. Brugre, C. & Ridler, N. 2004. Global aquaculture outlook in the next decades: an analysis of national aquaculture production forecasts to 2030. FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1001. Rome, FAO. 47 pp. Bui Tam, M., Phan Lam, T., Ingram, B.A., Nguyen, T.T.T., Gooley, G.J., Nguyen Hao, V., Nguyen, Phuong, T., De Silva, S.S., nd. Breeding and seedstock production practices of striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Aquaculture (in press) Bunting, S.W., & Little, D.C., 2005, Opportunities and Constraints to Urban Aquaculture, with a Focus on South and Southeast Asia, in B. Costa-Pierce, A. Desbonnet, P. Edwards and D. Baker, Urban Aquaculture, Caimbridge MA: Cabi Publishing, 2005. 285p. Bush, S.R., Khiem, N. T. and Chau N.M. 2010. Is there a business case for small holders in Viernamese Pangasius? Aquaculture Asia 15.4 (Oct. 2010): 18-23. Chen, H., Hu, B. & Charles, A.T. 1994. Chinese integrated fish farming: Inputs, outputs and productivity. In L.M.Chou, A.D.Munro, T.J. Lam,T.W. Chen, L.K.K. Cheong, J.K. Ding & Hooi, eds. Proceedings of the Third Asian Fisheries Forum, p. 1091-1093. Manila, The Asian Fisheries Society. Chen, J. 1989. Culture of Penaeus monodon in an intensified system in Taiwan, Aquaculture, Volume 77 (4) pp. 3190-328 Chen, S., S. Summerfelt, T. Losordo, and R. Malone. 2002. Recirculating systems, effluents and treatments. Chap. 6, pp. 119140 in J. R. Tomasso, ed. Aquaculture and the Environment in the United States. U.S. Aquaculture Society. A Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Chien, T.C. 2004. Chopin T., et al., 2007. An interdisciplinary approach to the development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA): the inorganic extractive component. World Aquaculture Society. Aquaculture 2007 conference proceedings, pg. 177. Chopin T. 2006. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. What it is, and why you should care and don't confuse it with polyculture. Northern Aquaculture, Vol. 12, No. 4, July/August 2006. Chopin T, et al. 2004. The AquaNet integrated multi-trophic aquaculture project: rationale of the project and development of kelp cultivation as the inorganic extractive component of the system. Bulletin of the Aquaculture Association of Canada. 104(3): 11-18. Chu, Thai Hoanh (et. al), 2006. Environment and livelihoods in tropical coastal zones: managing agriculturefishery-aquaculture conflicts, IRRI and IWMI Publishers, 2006. 309p. Chu, V.L. , Luong, Q.H. , Pham, M.D. , Ha, T. , Truong, D.H. , Trieu, L.Q. & Nguyen, T.H. 2003 . Viet Nam's fisheries development and integration. National Politics Publishing House. 492 pp. Clay, Jason. 2010. Greening the blue revolution. WWF website statement. Accessed http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/greeningthebluerevolution.html. 01/05/2011. Cole, B. A., and C. E. Boyd. 1986. Feeding rate, water quality, and channel catfish production in ponds. Progressive Fish Culturist 48:2529. Costa-Pierce, B., Desbonnet, A., Edwards, P., and Baker, D. 2005, Urban Aquaculture, Caimbridge MA: Cabi Publishing, 285p. Costa-Pierce, B. (ed.) 2002, Ecological Aquaculture: the evolution of the Blue Revolution, Malden, MA. Blackwell Science, 2002. 383p. Costa-Pierce, B. 1995. Environmental impacts of nutrients discharged from aquaculture: towards the evolution of sustainable, ecological aquaculture systems. Conference on Aquaculture and Resource Management, June 2125, 1994. Costa-Pierce, B., 1987, Aquaculture in Ancient Hawaii, BioScience Vol. 37 No. 5: Craig, S.R., and Hargreaves, J., 2008, Environmental best management practices for aquaculture, Ames, Iowa. Blackwell Publishing Craig, S.R., Schwarz, M.H., McLean, E., 2006. Juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum) can utilize a wide range of protein and lipid levels without impacts on production characteristics. Aquaculture, 261, 384-391. Dao, M.S., Dang, V.T. & Huynh Nguyen, D.B. 2005. Some information on low value and trash fish in Vietnam. Paper Presented at the Regional Workshop on Low Value and Trash Fish in the Asia-Pacific Region. Hanoi, Viet Nam, June, 2005.

98

Das, K. 1995. Demons on the Coast: Prawn Culture, Orissa Publishing, Bhubaneswar, 1995. Decree No. 224/1999/QD-TTg. Approval of aquaculture development plan period from 1999-2010, 6 pp. 1999 (in Vietnamese). De Silva, S.S. & Turchini, G.M. 2009. Use of wild fish and other aquatic organisms as feed in aquaculture a review of practices and implications in the Asia-Pacific. In M.R. Hasan and M. Halwart (eds.). Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture: practices, sustainability and implications, pp. 63127. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 518. Rome, FAO. 407 pp. DeSilva, S.S. and Davy, F.B., eds., Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture, IDRC Springer, 2008. De Silva, S.S., Phillips, M.J. 2007. A Review of Cage Aquaculture: Asia (excluding China), FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 498, pp 18-48. De Silva, S.S., Hasan, M.R., 2007. Feeds and fertilisers: The key to long-term sustainability of Asian aquaculture. FAO Technical Paper 497. FAO, Rome. De Silva, S. S., Amarasinghe, U. S., and Nguyen, T. T. T. (2006). Better-practice approaches for culturebased fisheries development in Asia. ACIAR, ACIAR Monograph No. 120. De Silva, S.S., Anderson, T.A., 1995. Fish nutrition in aquaculture. Chapman & Hall, London, 319 pp. Diana, JS., et al. 1994. Supplemental feeding of tilapia in fertilized ponds, Journal of World Aquaculture Society, 25(4) pp. 497-458 Dierberg, F.E., Kiattisimkul, W., 1996. Issues, impacts, and implications of shrimp aquaculture in Thailand. Environmental Management 20, 649-666. Dieu, P. 2006. Agriculture sector of Vietnam : policies and performance, paper presented at the International Conference on Human Development, Madrid, 2006. http://www.reduniversitaria.es/ficheros/Pham%20Quang%20Dieu.pdf, accessed 01/15/2011. Edwards, P., Le, A.T. & Allan, G.L. 2004. A survey of marine trash fish and fishmeal as aquaculture feed ingredients in Vietnam. ACIAR Working Paper No. 57. Canberra, Australia, Australian Center for International Agricultural Research. 56 pp. Edwards, P. 2004. Traditional Chinese aquaculture and its impacts outside China, World Aquaculture, 35(1), 24-7 Edwards, P. et al. 2004. A survey of marine trash fish and fish meal as aquaculture feed ingredients in Vietnam. ACIA Paper No. 57, pp 56. Edwards, P., Kaewpaitoon, K., Little, D.C. & Siripandh, N. 1994. An assessment of the role of buffalo manure for pond culture of tilapia. II. Field trial. Aquaculture, 126: 97-106. Edwards, P. 2001. Public Health Issues of Wastewater-fed Aquaculture. 2001, in Urban Agriculture. Edwards, P. 2011. Rapidly changing aquaculture scene in the Red River Delta, Vietnam, Aquaculture Asia 15.4 (Oct.2010): 1-10. El-Sayed, A. F. M. 1999. Alternative dietary protein sources for farmed tilapia, Oreochromis spp. Aquaculture 179:149-168. Elton, C. S.,1927. Animal Ecology. London, UK.: Sidgwick and Jackson. FAO Soto, D.; Arthur, J.R. (eds.) 2007, Cage aquaculture Regional reviews and global overview, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 498. Rome, FAO. 2007. 241 pp. FAO/Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe. 2006. Regional review on aquaculture development trends. 5. Central and Eastern Europe 2005. FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 1017/5. Rome, FAO. 97 pp. FAO, 2008. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2008. FAO Fisheries Department, Rome, pp. 176 FAO. 2006a. Prospective analysis of the future aquaculture development: the role of COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture. A working document prepared for the third session of the Committee on Fisheries SubCommittee on Aquaculture. FAO. Rome. http://www.fao.org/fi/NEMS/events/detail_event.asp?event_id=32029 FAO. 2006b. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2006. FAO Fisheries Department, Rome, 180pp. FAO. 2004. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture. FAO Fisheries Department. Rome. 153 pp. FAO Fisheries Department. 2006, State of world aquaculture 2006. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 500. Rome, FAO. 2006. 134p. FAO . 2005 . Aquaculture production, 2003. Year book of Fishery Statistics - Vol.96/2. Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. FAO. 2004. Overfishing on the increase in Asia-Pacific seas: decline in valuable fish species, better www.fao.org/ management required. FAO Newsroom (available at: newsroom/en/news/2004/49367/index.html). FAO (2003) Review of the State of World Aquaculture. FAO, Rome.

99

FAO. 1998. Responsible fish utilization. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries No. 7. Rome, FAO. 33 pp. FAO. 1995. Code of conduct for responsible fisheries. Rome. 41 pp. FIN. 2007. A fishmeal information network issue summary. Latest news, 14 February 2007. (see http://www.gafta.com/fin/index.php?pge_id=2 for archived FIN news items). Fernando, C.H. 1993. Rice field ecology and fish culture: An overview. Hydrobiologia 259:91103. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (2007). Aquaculture Best Management Practices Manual - January 2007. Division of Aquaculture, Tallahassee, Florida. Folke, C., and N. Kautsky. 1989. The role of ecosystems for a sustainable development of aquaculture. Ambio 18 (4): 234243. Foster J. B. and Clark, B. (2008). "The Sociology of Ecology: Ecological Organicism Versus Ecosystem Ecology in the Social Construction of Ecological Science, 1926-1935". Organization & Environment 21 (3): 311352. Funge-Smith, S., Lindebo, E. & Staples, D. 2005. Asian fisheries today: the production and use of low value/trash fish from marine fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region, Bangkok, Thailand, RAP Publication 2005/16.. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. 38 pp. Gleason, H. A.,1926. "The Individualistic Concept of the Plant Association". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 53 (1): 726. Globefish, 2009. Pangasius market report- July 2009, 3 pp. Halwart, M.; Soto, D.; Arthur, J.R. (eds.) 2007, Cage aquaculture Regional reviews and global overview. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 498. Rome, FAO. 241 pp. Halwart, M., Gupta, MV. 2004. Culture of Fish in Rice Fields, FAO, Rome, and the WorldRish Center, Penang Hambrey. J., Edwards. P. and Belton. D. 2008. An ecosystems approach to freshwater aquaculture: a global review. In: Building An Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture, ed. D. Soto pp 117-221. Rome: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings 14. FAO. 221p Hasan, M.R., Hecht, T., De Silva, S.S., Tacon, A.G.J., 2008. Study and analysis of feeds and fertilizers for sustainable aquaculture development. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 504 pp. Hoffmann, R. 2005, A brief history of aquatic resource use in medieval Europe, Helgon Mar Res Vol. 59: 2230. Hong, W. 2001. The status of marine fish culture in China, World Aquaculture magazine, December 2001, pp 18-20 Hong, P.C. and San, H.T. (1993) Mangroves of Vietnam. IUCN, Bangkok. Hossain, M., Ut, T.T. and Bose, M. (2006) Livelihood systems and dynamics of poverty in a coastal province of Vietnam. In: Hoanh, C.T., Tuong, T.P., Gowing, J.W. and Hardy, B. (eds) Environment and Livelihoods in Tropical Coastal Zones: Managing AgricultureFisheryAquaculture Conflicts. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 3047. Hughes-Games W. L. 1977. Growing the Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in sub-tropical seawater fishponds: I. Growth rate, survival and quality index. Aquaculture 11: 217-229. \Huguenin J.H., 1976. An examination of problems and potentials for future large-scale intensive seaweed culture systems. Aquaculture 9: 313-342. Huntington, T.C. and Hasan, M.R., 2009. Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture practices, sustainability and implications: a global synthesis. In M.R. Hasan and M. Halwart (eds). Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture: practices, sustainability and implications. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 518. Rome, FAO. pp. 161. Huy, H.P.V., 2003. Potentials and Constraints in The Development of Wastewater- Fed Aquaculture Systems in The Peri-Urban area Of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. M.Sc thesis of Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Ibrahim, N., 1995. The negative impacts of aquaculture, Third World Resurgence, No. 59, July 1995, pp. 2526. Intrafish, 2003. Vietnamese Catfish Slapped With Harsh US Antidumping Duties. http:// www.intrafish.com/article.php?articleID=35534. 18 June 2003. IUCN, 2009. Guide for the Sustainable Development of Mediterranean Aquaculture 3. Aquaculture Responsible Practices and Certification. Gland, Switzerland and Malaga, Spain: IUCN. 70 pp. Islam, M.S., Milstein, A., Wahab, M.A., Kamal, A.H.M. and Dewan, S. (2005) Production and economic

100

return of shrimp aquaculture in coastal ponds of different sizes and with different management regimes. Aquaculture International 13(6), 489500. Islam S. M., 2005, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Budget in Coastal and Marine Cage Aquaculture and Impacts of Effluent Loading on Ecosystem: Review and Analysis Towards Model Development, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50 (1), pp. 48-61. Jacket, J., 2009, Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based efforts. Orynx, The International Journal of Conservation, Volume 10. Jackson, A., 2009. Fish in-fish out (FIFO) ratios explained. Aquaculture Europe 34(3):5-10 Jackson, A.J., 2006. The importance of fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture diets. International Aquafeed, 9(6): 1821. Jana, B.B., 1998. Sewage-fed aquaculture: The Calcutta model, Ecological Engineering 11 (1998) 73 85 Jesse, G.J. & A. A. Casey, 2006, Study of the Chronological Dates in World Aquaculture (Water Farming History from 2800 BC), World Of Water 28: 103-129 Johnston, D., Trong, N.V., Tien, D.V. and Xuan, T.T., (2000) Shrimp yield and harvest characteristics of mixed shrimpmangrove forestry farms in southern Vietnam: factors affecting production. Aquaculture 188, 263284. Kam S.P, Badjeck M-C, Teh L., Teh L., B Nm V.T, Hin T.T, Hu N.T, Phillips M., Pomeroy R., Sinh L.X .2010. Economics of adaptation to climate change in Vietnams aquaculture sector: A case study. Report to the World Bank. Kongkeo, H. and M.B. New, 2008. The successful development of backyard hatcheries for crustaceans in Thailand. Aquaculture Asia 13(1): 811. Krishna. S, Sridhar., M, Kartha, P.N.R and Mohanan, A.N., (2000). Group farming for Sustainable Aquaculture, Ocean and Coastal Management, 43(2000):557-571. Kumaran. M, Kalaimani. N, Ponnusamy. K, Chandrasekaran. V.S and Vimala, D.D., (2003). A case of informal shrimp farmers Association and its role in sustainable shrimp farming in Tamil Nadu, India, Aquaculture Asia, VIII (2): 10-12. Le, A.T., 2005. Nutrient budgets and Environmental issues associated with spiny rock lobster cage culture in Xuan Tu lagoon. In: Nguyen, VH, Nguyen, XL, eds. Proceedings of VN34-Lobster cage culture 7th National Workshop on Research and Technologies applied in Aquaculture. Agriculture Publisher, Ho Chi Minh city, 643-653. Le, B.N., 2004. Study on the nutrient dynamics in intensive catfish (ca tra) culture ponds. Master thesis, Can Tho University, Viet Nam. Le, N.T., 2004 . Quality and solutions for sustainable development of catfish production. Paper presented at the National Conference on Quality and Trade Name for Catfishes of Viet Nam. An Giang Province, December 14-15, 2004, 19 pp. (in Vietnamese). Le, T.L., 2005 . Achievements, challenges, trends and proposes for the science and technology activities in aquaculture. In: Proceeding of the national workshop on research and technologies applied in aquaculture. Agricultural Publishing House, Ha Noi, 2005. pp: 25-39. Le Thann Luu. The VAC system in Northern Vietnam, in Integrated agriculture-aquaculture: a primer. FAO. 2001. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y1187E/y1187e10.htm#TopOfPage Lebel, Louis, Nguyen Hoang Tri, Amnuay Saengnorsee, Suparb Parong, Urasa Buatama, and Le Kim Thoa. 2002. Industrial Transformation and Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand and Vietnam: Pathways to Ecological, Social and Economic Sustainability. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 31(4):311-323. Lin, C.K. & Yi, Y., 2003. Minimizing environmental impacts of freshwater aquaculture and reuse of pond effluents and mud. Aquaculture, 226: 5768. Little, D., and Edwards, P., 2003. Integrated livestock-fish farming systems, Rome, FAO, 177p. Little, D., and Griffith, D., 1992. Nile tilapia clean water from hybrid catfish farming, Fish Farming International, April, 12-14 Lu, J. and X. Li., 2006. Review of ricefish-farming systems in China one of the Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Aquaculture 260: 106113. Luna, J., 1984. Financing fisheries and aquaculture development: The Banks viewpoint ICLARM Newsletter, Vol. 7, No. 3, July 1984, pp. 12-17.

101

Luttrell, C. (2006) Adapting to aquaculture in Vietnam: securing livelihoods in a context of change in two coastal communities. In: Hoanh, C.T., Tuong, T.P., Gowing, J.W. and Hardy, B. (eds) Environment and Livelihoods in Tropical Coastal Zones: Managing AgricultureFisheryAquaculture Conflicts. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 1729. Ministry of Agriculture. 2008. China fisheries statistic yearbooks 19852008. Beijing, China: Bureau of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture. Mathias, J., 2002, The Importance of Integrated Fish Farming to World Food Supply, IN D.C. Little and P. Edwards, Integrated livestock-fish farming systems, Rome, FAO, 2003. 177p. May, Robert, Unanswered questions in ecology, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1999, 354: 1951-9. Meng, X. and W. Wu., 2002. New development of ricefish culture in China. China Fisheries Economics 1: 1719. MoFi (Ministry of Fisheries, Vietnam), 2005. Summary of the Annual Reports (1997-2005). Ministry of Fisheries, Hanoi,Viet Nam. 195 pp. MoFI . 2005 . Annual report on the state achievements of 2004 and action plan of 2005 of the fisheries sector. 25 pp. (in Vietnamese). MoFI . 2005 . Annual report on the state achievements of 2004 and action plan of 2005 of the fisheries sector. 25 pp. (in Vietnamese). MoFI . 2003 . Annual report on Aquaculture achievements in 2002 and implementation plan for 2003. 12 pp. (in Vietnamese). MoFI (1996) Aquaculture Development Strategy for the Period of 19952000. Ministry of Fisheries, Vietnam. MoFI and World Bank, 2005. Vietnam: Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector Study, Final Report. Ministry of Fisheries and The World Bank. February 16, 2005. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTVIETNAM/Resources/vn_fisheries-report-final.pdf, Accessed 15/01/2011. Mukherjee, M.D., 1996. Pisciculture and the environment: an economic evaluation of sewage-fed fisheries in East Calcutta. Science, Technology & Development 14(2): 73-99 Myrick, C. A., 2002. Ecological impacts of escaped organisms. Pp. 225246 in J. R. Tomasso, ed. Aquaculture and the Environment in the United States. U.S. Aquaculture Society. A Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. NACA/SUMA (2005). Reducing the Risk of Aquatic Animal Disease Outbreaks and Improving Environmental Management of Coastal Aquaculture in Viet Nam. Final report of NACA/SUMA collaboration project in Vietnam. Naylor, R.L., Goldburg, R.J., Primavera, J., Kautsky, N., Beveridge, M., Clay, J., Folke, C., Lubchenco, J., Mooney, H. & Troell, M., 2000. Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies. Nature, 405: 10971024. Naylor, E., 1988. Fish farming and influenza pandemics. Nature, 331: 215. Neori, A., Troell, M., Chopin, T., Yarish, C., Critchley, A. and Buschmann, A.H. 2007. The need for a balanced ecosystem approach to blue revolution aquaculture. Environment 49(3): 36-4. Neori, A., Chopin, T., Troell, M., Buschmann, A.H., Kraemer, G.P., Halling, C., Shpigel, M. and Yarish, C. 2004. Integrated aquaculture: rationale, evolution and state of the art emphasizing seaweed biofiltration in modern mariculture. Aquaculture 231: 361-391. Neori A, Shpigel M and Scharfstein B. 2001. Land-based low-pollution integrated mariculture of fish, seaweed and herbivores: principles of development, design, operation and economics. European Aquaculture Society Special Publication 29: 190-191. Neori A and Shpigel M. 1999. Algae treat effluents and feed invertebrates in sustainable integrated mariculture. World Aquaculture 30: 46-49, 51. Neubacher, H., 2007. Pangasius 2007: Growth on shaky grounds? Seafood International August, 14-15. New, M.B., 2000. History and global status of freshwater prawn farming. In M.B. New and W.C. Valenti, eds., Freshwater prawn culture , 111. Oxford: Blackwell Science. New, M.B., 1996. Responsible use of aquaculture feeds. Aquaculture Asia, 1: 3-15. Nguyen, THI Y LY, 2009. Economic analysis of the environmental impact on marine cage lobster aquaculture in Vietnam. Masters Thesis. University of Tromso, Norway. Nguyen, T.P., Duong, N.L. & Ly, V.K. 2005 . Integrated aquaculture system in the Mekong river delta. In: Proceedings of the national workshop on research and technologies applied in aquaculture. Agricultural

102

Publishing House , Ha Noi, 2005. pp: 299-313. Nguyen, T.P. , Pham, M.D. , Vu, N.S. , Tran, V.B. & Au, T.A.N.2004 . Application of high technologies for quality improvement of catfish, tilapia and giant freshwater prawn products and reduction of their production costs. Report submitted to An Giang Department of Science and Technology; 24 pp. (in Vietnamese). Nguyen, V.H., 2007. Viet Nams catfish and marine shrimp production: an example of growth and sustainability issues. Aquaculture Asia-Pacific 3, 36-39. Hai Dinh and Nguyen Dien. 2007. Selective breeding for growth and fillet yield of river catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Aquaculture Asia Magazine, April-June, 2007, pp 26-27. Nguyen, V.T. 2005 . Achievements of scientific researches and technological transfer of seed production for sustainable aquaculture development. In: Proceedings of the national workshop on research and technologies applied in aquaculture. Agricultural Publishing House , Ha Noi, 2005. pp: 15-20. Nyugen, V.T. 2007. Vietnam Working towards to produce safe and high quality aquaculture foods. RIA2 Research Paper, Ho Chi Minh. www.agnet.org/library/bc/55005/bc55005.pdf Pantanella, E. 2008. Integration of vegetable hydroponics with fish culture in tropical regions, MSc thesis, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy Parker, N. C., Status and overview of fish culture systems and techniques in the United States [in English), in Aquaculture in the USSR and USA: Proc. Soviet American Symp. Aquaculture, Yakovleva. E. P., Ed.. Rotaprint VIRNO, Moscow, U.S.S. R. [title translated from Russian,- 1985, 100 Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. & Torres, F. Jr. 1998. Fishing down marine food webs. Science, 279: 860863. Peterson, Elizabeth, Phung, G.H., Nguyen, X.S. and Hien, T.T., Final report: Policy, Insittutional and Economic Constraints to Aquaculture Research Adoption in Vietnam. Australian Center for International Agricultural Research. Accessed 1/15/2011. http://www.advancedchoiceeconomics.com.au/CARAFinalReport.pdf Phan Lam T., Bui Tam M., Nguyen, T.T.T., Gooley, G.J., Ingram, B.A., Nguyen Hao V., Nguyen Phuong T. De Silva, S.S., 2009. Current status of farming practices of striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Aquaculture, 296: 227-236. Phillips, M. Marine Fish Hatchery Development in Asia, NACA Publication. n.d. Phillips, M. J., M. C. M. Beveridge, and R.M. Clarke. 1991. Impact of Aquaculture on Water Resources. Pp. 568591 in D. E. Brune and J. R. Tomasso, eds. Aquaculture and Water Quality. Vol. 3, Advances in World Aquaculture. The World Aquaculture Society. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Phillips, M. 1985. The environmental impact of cage culture on Scottish freshwater lochs. Report to the Highlands and Islands Development Board, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland. Phuc, D.P. 2007. Part 1: Utilization of marine trash fish/low value fish in aquaculture in Central Viet Nam. In A case study on the trash fish and aquaculture in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam. 26 pp. Phuong, N.T., Oanh, D.T.H., 2009. Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) aquaculture in Viet Nam: an unprecedented development within a decade. In: De Silva, S.S., Davy, F.B. (Eds.), Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture. Springer, NACA and IDRC, Dordrecht, Bangkok and Ottawa, pp. 133-149. Phuong, N.T. and Hai, T.N. 1998. Coastal aquaculture and environmental issues in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In: Macintosh, D.J. (ed.) Proceedings of a Workshop on Coastal Environmental Improvement in Mangrove/Wetland Ecosystems, held on 1823 August 1998 in Ranong, Thailand. Phong, T. 2010, Shrimp die, farmers in dire straits, Vietnam Business News Publication, Published 17 May 2010 URL: http://vietnambusiness.asia/shrimp-die-farmers-in-dire-straits/ Pillay, T., and Kutty, M. 2005, Aquaculture: Principles and Practices, Oxford: Blackwell, 624p. Pillay, T.V.R.. 1992 Aquaculture and the Environment, Oxford, Fishing News Books. Pullin, R.S.V., 2002, Aquaculture, Integrated Resources Management and the Environment, IN D.C. Little and P. Edwards, Integrated livestock-fish farming systems, Rome, FAO, 2003. 177p. Pullin, R.S.V., and Z.H. Shehadeh. 1980. Integrated farming systems . ICLARM Conference Proceedings, vol. 4. Manila: ICLARM. Purser, J. & Forteath, N. 2003. Salmonids. In J.S. Lucas & P.C. Southgate (eds.), Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants, pp. 295-320. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, England. Quisumbing, A.R., 2008. Reducing poverty and hunger in Asia: womens status and the changing nature of

103

rural livelihoods in Asia. 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment, Focus 15, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, USA. Rabanal, H., 1988, History of Aquaculture, FAO, ASEAN/SF/88/Tech. 7 Rakocy, J. E., T. M. Losordo, and M. P. Masser. 1992. Recirculating tank production systems: integrating fish and plant culture. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center Publication No. 454. Rana, K. J. Regional review on aquaculture development: Western Europe 2005. FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 1017/6. Rome, FAO. Resh, H. M. 1989. Hydroponic Food Production. Woodbridge Press, Santa Monica, California. Ridler, N. et al. 2006. Development of integrated multitrophic aquaculture in the Bay of Funday, Canda: A socio-economic case study, World Aquaculture, 3793), pp 43-7 Rimmer, M. 2007. Regional Review on Existing Major Mariculture Species and Farming Technologies, Proceedings of FAO/NACA Workshop on the Future of Mariculture, 7-11 March 2006, Guangzhou, China, pp 105-118. Rimmer, M.A., McBride, S. & Williams, K.C. 2004. Advances in grouper aquaculture. ACIAR Monograph 110. 137 pp. Rola, W.R. & Hasan, M.R. 2007. Economics of aquaculture feeding practices: a synthesis of case studies undertaken in six Asian countries. In M.R. Hasan (ed.). Economics of aquaculture feeding practices in selected Asian countries. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, No. 505. Rome, FAO. pp. 131. Ryther JH, Goldman JC, Gifford JE, Huguenin JE, Wing AS, Clarner JP, Williams LD andLapointe BE. 1975. Physical models of integrated waste recycling - marine polyculture systems. Aquaculture 5: 163-177. Satia, B.P., 2002, The Integration of an Aquaculture-Poultry Production System in Cameroon, IN D.C. Little and P. Edwards, Integrated livestock-fish farming systems, Rome, FAO, 2003. 177p. Shpigel M and Fridman R. 1990. Propagation of the Manila clam Tapes semidecussatus in the effluent of marine aquaculture ponds in Eilat, Israel. Aquaculture 90: 113-122. Shpigel M and BlaylockRA. 1991. The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, as a biological filter for a marine fish aquaculture pond. Aquaculture 92: 187-197. Shpigel M, Neori A, Popper DM and Gordin H. 1993a. A proposed model for environmentally clean landbased culture of fish, bivalves and seaweeds. Aquaculture 117: 115-128. Shpigel M, Lee J, Soohoo B, Fridman R and Gordin H. 1993b. The use of effluent water from fish ponds as a food source for the pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas Tunberg. Aquaculture & Fisheries Management 24: 529543 Sengupta, R., 2003. US - Vietnam trade war over seafood: Free-trade not so free after all, International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS) (http://www.networkideas.org/news/sep2003/news04_Catfish.htm) (04 September 2003). Shahidul I. M. and Tanaka M., 2004, Impacts of Pollution on Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Including Coastal and Marine Fisheries and Approach for Management: A Review and Synthesis, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48, pp. 624649. Soto, D. (ed.) 2009, Integrated mariculture: a global review. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 529. Rome, FAO. 183p. Soto, D.; Arthur, J.R. (eds.) 2007, Cage aquaculture Regional reviews and global overview, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 498. Rome, FAO. 2007. 241 pp. Soto, D.; Aguilar-Manjarrez, J.; Hishamunda, N. (eds). 2008, Building an ecosystem approach to aquaculture. FAO/Universitat de les Illes Balears Expert Workshop. 711 May 2007, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings. No. 14. Rome, FAO. 2008. 221p. Stickney, R. 2009 (2nd ed.; 2005 first edition), Aquaculture: An Introductory Text, Cambridge MA: Cabi Publishing, 265p. Stickney, R. R. 2002. Impacts of cage and net-pen culture on water quality and benthic communities. Pp. 105 118 in J. R. Tomasso, ed. Aquaculture and the Environment in the United States. U.S. Aquaculture Society. A Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Stickney, R.R. 1996. History of Aquaculture in the United States. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York USA. 372 pp. Tacon, A.G.J. 2007. Meeting the feed supply challenges. Paper presented at the FAO Globefish Global Trade Conference on Aquaculture, Qingdao, China, 2931 May 2007. Tacon, A.G.J. 2006. Pellets and fishmeal substitution. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission Regional Consultative Forum Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1619 August, 2006.

104

Bangkok, Thailand, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Tacon, A.G.J., Hasan, M.R. & Subasinghe, R.P. 2006. Use of fishery resources as feed inputs for aquaculture development: trends and policy implications. FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1018, Rome, FAO, 99 pp. Tacon, A.G.J., M.J. Phillips & Barg, U.C. 1995. Aquaculture feeds and the environment: the Asian experience. Water Science Technology, 31(10): 4159. Tacon, A.G.J., Rausin, N., Kadari, M. & Cornelis., P. 1991. The food and feeding of tropical marine finfish in floating net cages. 2. Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch) and the brown-spotted grouper Epinephelus tauvina (Forskal). Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, 22: 165182. Tavares, F. A.; J. B. R. Rodrigues, D. M. Fracalossi, J. Esquivel, R. Roubach. 2008. Dried duckweed and commercial feed promote adequate growth performance of tilapia fingerlings. Biotemas 21: 91-97. Tenore KR. 1976. Food chain dynamics of abalone in a polyculture system. Aquaculture 8: 2327. Tomasso, J. R., editor. 2002. Aquaculture and the Environment in the United States. U.S. Aquaculture Society. A Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tournay B. 2006. IMTA: template for production? Fish Farming International, Vol. 33, No. 5, May 2006, pg. 27. Tovar A., Moreno C., Manuel P. and Manuel G. A.V., 2000, Environmental Impacts of Intensive Aquaculture in Marine Waters, Water Research, 34(1), pp. 334342. Tran, T.M. 2004 . Issues on planning and management for catfish production to the year 2010. Paper presented at the National Conference on Quality and Trade Name for Catfishes of Viet Nam. An Giang Province, December 14-15, 2004, 14 pp. (in Vietnamese). Troell, M., Halling C, Neori, A., Chopin, T., Buschmann, A.H., Kautsky, N. and Yarish, C. 2003. Integrated mariculture: asking the right questions. Aquaculture 226: 69-90. Troell, M. 2009. Integrated marine and brackishwater aquaculture in tropical regions. In Soto.D. et. al, eds. Integrated mariculture: a global review. Rome: FAO: 47-132. Trong, T.Q., Hao, N.V., Griffiths, D., 2002. Status of Pangasiid aquacultrue in Viet Nam. MRC Technical Paper No.2 Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh, 16 pp. Tuan, L.A., 2005. Trash fish resources in Vietnam marine: Composition, production and sustainable usage as feed in aquaculture: National proceedings in Environmental protection and fisheries resources. Ha Noi Agricultural Publishing House, 379-387. Tuan, L.Q. (2003). Country case study: Trade in fisheries and human development, Vietnam. Asia-Pacific Regional Initiative on Trade, Economic Governance and Human Develop- ment. Download from:http://library.enaca.org /AquaMarkets/presentations/OtherPapers/ VietnamCaseStudy.pdf. Tucker, C. S. and Hargreaves, J. A., eds. 2008, (eds): Environmental Best. Management Practices for Aquaculture. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Umesh, N.R., 2007. Development and adoption of BMPs by self-help farmer groups. Aquaculture Asia XII, 810. Umesh, R.N., Chandra Mohan, A.B., Ravibabu, G., Padiyar, P.A., Phillips, M.J., Mohan, C.V., Vishnu Bhat, B., 2009. Implementation of better management practices by empowering small-scale farmers through a cluster-based approach: the case of shrimp farmers in India. In: De Silva, S.S., Davy, F.B. (Eds.), Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture. Springer and IDRC, Canada, pp. 43-65. VASEP, 2008. Seafood export statistics, 10 year period 1998-2007. VASEP, Vietnam. VASEP, 2011. In 2010, seafood production reaches over 5.1 million MT. Vasep News. Jan. 14, 2011. Accessed 01/15/2011 http://www.vasep.com.vn/vasep/edailynews.nsf/87abdd0d40924a754725714200323ea3/4D6B89F8 167FCF5647257818003460E6?OpenDocument&Start=9 VASEP, 2011b. The first shrimp export exceeded US$2 billion. 12/1/2011. Accessed 15/01/2011 http://www.vasep.com.vn/vasep/edailynews.nsf/87abdd0d40924a754725714200323ea3/6078AF46 C19860F64725781600346200?OpenDocument&Start=10

VASEP, 2011c. Pangasius export would decrease in 2011. 19/1/2011. Accessed 15/01/2011 http://www.vasep.com.vn/vasep/eDailynews.nsf/4669E87B75931D5E47256A2C000FE7C5/AAB2DE 7E0BCFD15C4725781E0032BE20

105

VEPA (Vietnam Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. National Environmental Present Condition Report, Biodiversity Subject of Vietnam Environment Protection Agency. Vo, L.T.T. (2003) Quality Management in Shrimp Supply Chain in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Problems and Measures. Discussion Paper Series 43. Centre for ASEAN Studies, Antwerp, Belgium. Vu, N.S. , Yang, Y. & Nguyen, T.P. 2005 . River pen culture of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man) in Southern Viet Nam. Aquaculture research. No. 36, 284-191. Weibel, S. R. 1969. Urban drainage as a factor in eutrophication. Pp. 383403 in Eutrophication: Causes, Consequences, Correctives. Proceedings of a symposium. National Academy of Sciences. Washington, D.C. Wilkinson, S., 2008. Better management practices for Vietnamese catfish, Aquaculture Asia. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 7-11. 11World Bank, 2006. Guidelines for Environmental Management of Aquaculture Investments in Vietnam. Institute of Fisheries Management Research Institute for Aquaculture Number 1, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, Can Tho University and World Wide Fund for Nature. Xan, L. 2007. Present Status and Strategy Development of Mariculture in Vietnam, Proceedings of FAO/NACA Workshop on the Future of Mariculture, 7-11 March 2006, Guangzhou, China, pp 272-276. Xuan, V.T. and Matsui, S. (1998) Development of Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Saigon Times Group, Vietnam Asia Pacific Economic Center, Ho Chi Min City Publishing House, Can Tho, Vietnam Yi, Y., 1999. Modelling growth of Nile Tilapia in a cage-pond integrated culture system, Aquaculture Engineering, 21, pp. 113-33

106