Vietnam joins the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and five other countries in Asia-Pacific in promoting sustainable aquaculture.
In a report from The Nation, Vietnam is joined by Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and East Timor in piloting programs to improve their respective aquaculture industries as part of FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative. The Blue Growth project is a regional initiative that aims to intensify aquaculture production through ecological and sustainable means.
FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative Hiroyuki Konuma explained, “The work of these six countries in this regional initiative, and their outcomes, will be pivotal in finding ways to increase food production sustainably, something we must do in the course of the next generation if we are to meet the needs and expectations of a seafood-hungry planet.”
Mr. Konuma further added that with the expected global increase in food production by at least 67 percent, coupled with changing diets, the aquaculture sector should beef up its production to meet the demand. Aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region is particularly seen as one of the most feasible ways to meet demand for alternative sources of protein (like fish) especially in light of the stagnant production from capture fisheries.
Countries in the region are said to account for 90 per cent of the aquaculture production in the world. In Vietnam, aquaculture is one of the country’s key development programs in their 10-year plan. The country belongs to the top three aquaculture players along with China and India. Programs to beef up aquaculture are ongoing including a research project on nutritious system feeding technology in Ho Chi Minh and the construction of a breeding center in Can Tho.
Aquaculture is only one of the four target areas of the Blue Growth Initiative, a product of the 2012 Rio+20 Conference. It is also working to improve capture fisheries, seafood systems and eco-system services.
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