1

Aquaculture in Vietnam:

from small-scale integration to intensive production

David Dean

Environmental Studies, Brown University, Undergraduate Thesis

2

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

3

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

4

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systems) have played a major role in traditional Vietnamese aquaculture (Edwards 2004; Le 2001) although it has largely been replaced by intensive monocultural, industrial scale aquaculture production over the past years (Edwards 2011).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.

5

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

6

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.

7

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

8

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:

9

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)

10

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 high-quality 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 Herbivorous polyculture Herbivorous-Carnivorous polyculture

INTEGRATED POND-FIELD SYSTEMS Rice-Fish integration Rice-Shrimp integration Rice-Fish-Shrimp integration Mangrove-Shrimp integration

INTEGRATED LIVESTOCK-POND SYSTEMS

Pig-Fish integration Duck-Fish integration Chicken-Fish integration Cattle-Fish integration Frog-Fish integration

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

Fish-Mollusks-Seaweed integration

11

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

Nutrient loading of ecosystem excretory waste causes accumulation of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous in the water column

Use of Chemicals and Antibiotics 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

Transmission of Disease and Parasites

stress upon fish in grow-out ponds leads to outbreaks of diseases and parasite infections, greatly raising farmers risk, and endangering natural populations

Reduction of Genetic Diversity

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

Clearance of Natural Habitat

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

Overuse of Freshwater Reserves

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.

Salinization of Aquifers and Soils

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.

Harvest of Wild Seedstock

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

Reliance on Fishmeal-based Feed

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

Production of processing wastes

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

12

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 re-

worked 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).

13

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 hyper-

nutrifying 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 90-

93 below). Indeed, aquaculture worldwide has experienced a massive boom during the

14

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,

15

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/the-

world-factbook/geos/vm.html).

16

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

17

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

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.

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).

Table 6: Overview of aquacultural production levels in different regions of

Vietnam. (source: Nguyen, 2007) (Note the preponderance of the Mekong Delta

region).

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

18

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

19

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.

20

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).

21

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 aqua-

business 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

22

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 semi-

intensive 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

23

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

24

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 Number of Lobster cages Value of lost lobster

Nihn Thuan province 673.2 million VND

Phu Yen 28, 038 151.4 million VND

Khahn Hoa province 22,173 143.0 million VND

Total 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

25

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

26

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 feed-

based 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

27

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.

28

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

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,

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

29

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.

30

Table 10: Sites Visited in Vietnam by Category

Note: All sites listed are privately owned.

Site Reference & Date

Location Culture-Technique /species

EXTN

SEMI

INTN

MONO

POLY

IAA

PCCUL

SEQINT

CRINT

LVINT

IAEG

BMPs

WSTRT

INWTRT

DIES

MEDS

Site 1 North, Tuyen Guyan

River-Cage --carp/rivercatfish

x x x x x

Site 2 North, Tuyen Guyan

River-Cage --carp/rivercatfish/tilapia

x x x x x x x x x

Site 3 North, Tuyen Guyan

Reservoir-Cage --carp/rivercatfish/tilapia

x x x x x

Site 4 Hai Phuong Earthen Pond --shrimp

x x x x x

Site 5 Hai Phuong Shallow Pond --shrimp/rice

x x x x x x x

Site 6 Ben Tre Shallow Pond --shrimp/mudcrab

x x x x

Site 7 Ben Tre Shallow Pond --shrimp

x x

Site 8 Ben Tre Earthen Pond --Shrimp

x x x x x x

Site 9 Hai Duong Earthen Pond --Pig/Duck/Fish

x x x x x x x x

Site 10 Hai Duong Earthen Pond --Duck/Fish

x x x x x x

Site 11 Hai Ling Earthen Pond --Pig Fish

x x x x x x x

Site 12 Hai Ling Earthen Pond --Pig Energy Fish

x x x x x x x x x

Site 13 Nakhon Pathom, Th.

Earthen Pond --traditional VAC/IAA

x x x x x x x

Site 14 Peri-Urban Hanoi

Shallow Pond --traditional VAC/plant

x x x

Site 15 Peri-Urban Hanoi

Concrete Pond --Improved VAC

x x x x x x x x

Site 16 Vinh Long Small Pond-Mid-Grow-Out, Panga

x x x x x x

Site 17 Vinh Long Earthen Pond, Panga

x x x x

Site 18 Vinh Long Earthen Pond, Panga

x x x x x

Site 19 Nha Trang Marine Cage, Finfish

x x x x

Site 20 Nha Trang Marine Cage, Lobster

x x x x

Site 21 Jarinporn, Th Multi-Linked Production --Chicken-Mosquito-FightingFish

x x x x x x x

31

Table 11 Catfish Description Inland, Close river proximity Inland, Close river proximity Coastal, Close river proximity Farm size (ha/farm) 1.5 4 0.75 Stocking Density (Fish/m2) 45 38 43 Stocking Size (cm) 1.8 1.7 1.8 Survival Rate at harvest (%) 75 65 70 Fish yield/ha/year (t) 650 450 500 Fish yield/ha/crop (t) 375 280 300 Total cost/ha/crop (VNDooo) 4,250 3,250 3,750 Total net income/ha/crop (VND ooo)

800 605 710

Water Source Mekong Mekong Mekong Presence of input screening Yes No Yes Presence of input treatment No No No Presence of output treatment, settlement pond

No No No

Use of Medication Yes Yes Yes Use of Lime Yes Yes Yes Use of Farm-Made Feed

No Yes No

Use of Factory Pellet Feed Yes Yes Yes Communication / Coordination System

No No No

TABLE 12 Shrimp Description Northern White-Shrimp, Bio-

Secure Intensive Monoculture Northern Extensive Polyculture

Southern, Semi-Intensive Monoculture

Farm size (ha/farm) < 1 8 3 Stocking Density (ind/m2) 80 N/A (natural recruitment:2-3) 10 Survival Rate at harvest (%) 90% N/A (see above) 60-80% Shrimp yield/ha/crop (t) 7 0.015 3 Total cost/ha/crop (VNDooo) - - - Total net income/ha/crop (VND ooo)

- - -

Water Source Treated-water pond Inland canal Settling pond, canal Presence of input screening Yes No Yes Presence of input treatment Yes No Yes Presence of output treatment, settlement pond

Yes No No

Use of Medication Yes No Yes Use of Lime Yes No Yes Use of Farm-Made Feed

No No Yes

Use of Factory Pellet Feed Yes No Yes Communication / Coordination System

Yes No No

32

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

33

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

34

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 (40-

50 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.

35

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

36

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 fish-

livestock systems was SITE 2.5 (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 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.

37

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

38

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

39

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. For more details on these sites, please see

Appendix 5.

Section 5: Conclusions

The need for a new approach - regional integration of integrated approach to aqua- industry (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

40

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 waste-

producing 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

41

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

42

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 trashfish-

based 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-

43

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