An ultra-intensive shrimp farming model linked with environmental protection in Ca Mau province. (Photo: VNA)  

As Vietnam accelerates its shift towards a more sustainable agricultural model, the fisheries sector has been designated a frontrunner in advancing the green transition and circular economy, particularly in the Mekong Delta, the nation’s largest aquaculture heartland, accounting for 70–74% of total aquaculture area and output.

Businesses, farmers shift towards green, circular production

Against the backdrop of rapid aquaculture growth, the need for production models that balance high productivity with environmental protection has become increasingly pressing. Experts underline that sustainable development requires the sector to move away from resource-intensive methods towards a circular economy supported by high technology and greener value chains, encompassing circular farming systems, clean energy adoption, emissions reduction, and more efficient use of water and natural resources.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) noted that green and circular transformation has become a dominant trend across the industry. Many enterprises are investing in circular production and sustainable aquaculture models to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards imposed by trading partners and import markets, in line with international requirements on environmental protection, trade and disease prevention.

Across the Mekong Delta, leading aquaculture producers, processors and exporters, along with suppliers of inputs, are transitioning to circular, high-tech and clean production models that cut greenhouse gas emissions and comply with international certification standards. Notable practices include shrimp–mangrove integrated farming, ecological aquaculture without chemicals or antibiotics, and zero-discharge circular systems, which have helped boost productivity and product quality while gaining strong acceptance in both domestic and overseas markets.

Dutch feed producer De Heus is working with local partners to roll out a recirculating aquaculture system combined with integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (RAS-IMTA) in Ca Mau province, initially covering 100 hectares with plans to expand to 1,500 ha. The company has pledged to support the shift towards green, circular and environmentally responsible aquaculture in line with Vietnam’s Net Zero 2050 target, while helping shrimp farmers improve efficiency, meet export standards, reduce emissions and protect the environment.

Alongside resource-strong enterprises, many farmers have also proactively joined pilot circular farming projects, supported by local agricultural authorities, donors and business partnerships.

Dang Thi Loan’s family in Vinh Hau commune, Ca Mau province, is among the first households to participate in a circular aquaculture model combined with mangrove restoration, jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Coca-Cola Foundation. Farming shrimp and crabs on more than 1.5 hectares under a recirculating pond system, Loan said that after a year of piloting, technical guidance and ecosystem restoration have helped improve growth and quality, while mangrove forests provide natural shelter, reducing losses.

Advancing green aquaculture in the Mekong Delta

Digital transformation, coupled with green transition and circular production, has become a mandatory pathway across economic sectors. For fisheries, this translates into promoting green aquaculture and processing practices that safeguard the environment, enhance livelihoods, and improve the quality, value and branding of Vietnamese seafood products to ensure long-term sustainability.

National strategic directions for sustainable agricultural and fisheries development are outlined in resolutions of the Party Central Committee (11th and 12th tenures) on proactive climate change adaptation, strengthened resource management and environmental protection, as well as the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for 2021–2030 with a vision to 2050.

Sustainable aquaculture development is also emphasised in the Government’s Resolution 46/NQ-CP on accelerating agricultural industrialisation and promoting green, climate-resilient agriculture, environmental protection and national food security. These orientations are further detailed in the master plan on sustainable aquaculture development in the Mekong Delta to 2030, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Dr. Pham Trong Thinh, a climate change expert at IUCN, said that building on national strategic frameworks, Vietnam needs to further strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity, reduce disaster risks and climate impacts, while improving institutions and policies, developing human resources, advancing science and technology, mobilising financial resources and expanding international cooperation.

Alongside the application of advanced technologies such as recirculating aquaculture systems, biofloc farming, automation, AI, microbial products and renewable energy, Mekong Delta localities should also scale up sustainable models including shrimp–mangrove farming, ecologically balanced shrimp cultivation, pond rehabilitation, and stronger production–consumption linkages, Thinh suggested.

In practice, provinces and cities across the Mekong Delta are rolling out climate-resilient and sustainable aquaculture programmes aimed at developing green seafood products for export.

Ca Mau currently has around 48,000 hectares of shrimp farming under mangrove canopies. Mangrove shrimp from the province has earned nine international certifications, covering nearly 22,000 ha with an output of about 10,000 tonnes. The province is also expanding closed-loop, zero-discharge super-intensive white-leg shrimp farming using RAS-IMTA technology.

Can Tho city has approximately 97,000 ha of aquaculture, including 52,490 ha of brackish-water shrimp, 915 ha of pangasius, and more than 43,000 ha of freshwater fish and other aquatic species. To improve efficiency and address emerging challenges, the city is adopting environmentally sustainable farming models, including closed-loop recirculating systems in intensive shrimp farming.

An Giang province, another major aquaculture centre and the birthplace of pangasius, has identified agriculture, forestry and fisheries as continued pillars of its economy during the 2025–2030 period. The province plans to promote green and circular economic models linked to in-depth agricultural development, expand clean, organic and high-tech farming, cut emissions, adapt to climate change, strengthen value chain linkages, and build strong brands for key agricultural and aquatic products.

The Mekong Delta remains Vietnam’s largest seafood production centre, accounting for about 95% of pangasius output, 70% of shrimp production, and roughly 60% of national seafood export value. At the same time, it is among the world’s most vulnerable regions, facing mounting challenges from climate change, saltwater intrusion, drought, erosion, land subsidence, freshwater scarcity, pollution, migration and unsustainable production practices. Transitioning towards green and circular production, with fisheries at the core, is therefore viewed as the key to the delta’s sustainable future./.