According to the Directorate of Fisheries, aquaculture production reached 4.75 million tonnes in 2021 while seafood export turnover was posted at 8.9 billion USD.
In the first six months of 2022, Vietnam earned about 5.8 billion USD worth of seafood export, up 39.6% over the same period in 2021.
Vietnamese seafood is now present in more than 170 countries and territories, including demanding markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and others.
However, the “hot” growth of aquaculture and seafood processing also entails many consequences, especially the pressure put on the environment and biodiversity.
The whole country currently has 825 industrial-scale seafood processing establishments eligible for export and 3,280 small-scale processing establishments serving domestic consumption. These establishments often generate wastewater with very high organic pollutant content and large discharge volume while production facilities are often located in riverside and coastal areas as well as areas with high population density. Wastewater affects the environment and ecosystems along rivers and in coastal areas.
Over the recent years, many enterprises and processing establishments have effectively conducted waste treatment, but many others are still indifferent and do not comply with the rules on aquaculture and seafood processing. There are even establishments that defy the law and discharge waste into the environment, making the public extremely angry.
To achieve the dual goals of economic growth and environmental protection, aquaculture establishments and households need to apply many forms of good farming practices to reduce impacts on biodiversity, such asshrimp farming integrated with afforestation, shrimp farming integrated with rice cultivation, and farming according to the certified process of VietGAP, ASC, and BAP.
Localities also need to build and develop concentrated farming areas and switch from traditional farmingmethods to industrial farming with the application of high technology.
The processing establishments must follow strict regulations on the quality of processed aquaculture products according to international standards while establishments that cause environmental pollution must suspend their operation. Seafood processing establishments should soon be relocated to concentrated seafood processing zones according to the planning schedule of each locality and the whole country.
Specifically, it is necessary to raise the awareness and responsibility of the business community regardingnatural values and threats to biodiversity degradation from unsustainable production and consumption activities. Aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises should make commitments to green production practices in order to reduce negative impacts on the natural and social environment.
Not only do enterprises need to focus on investment and expansion of aquatic farming and processing, they must also pay attention to and set aside appropriate funding sources to research and apply solutions regardingenvironment protection, considering this an inevitable and mandatory direction in the current global seafood value chain.
