Adaptation of modern technologies to the local conditions for sustainable aquaculture
By Mr Trong Truong Nghia, Director, Aquaculture & Fisheries Sciences Institute AFSI
Can Tho University, Vietnam.

Abstract

Most of us (scientists, researchers, lecturers... and in general "white collar" people) realize well the meaning of sustainable and friendly aquaculture. However, the people who really or directly produce the aqua-products are farmers, investors, capitalists who all want to earn as much profit as possible and either do not understand or do not want to follow the sustainable aquaculture model, because they favour the "intensive" culture system.

Therefore, our most appropriate action is to find out the resolutions or technologies to orient or adapt the activities of the producers. Even the government also wants a high export value every year. What happens and is repeated every year in the shrimp industry is the higher risk of shrimp disease for the those aquaculturists who frequently carry out the "extensive" culture system. In Vietnam, it is said that the shrimps are like rich people. Thus the roles of capital and proper technologies are very important in aquaculture.

There are certain topics of very great interest for all aquaculturists (rich and poor) such as: supplying disease-free broodstock and seeds, reducing transportation duration of seeds by setting up hatcheries everywhere possible (in Vietnam now there is a trend of re-distribution of shrimp hatcheries with more and more hatcheries built in the Mekong Delta), producing more efficient artificial pellets, irrigation planning for a small group of stakeholders (easier and more rapid than a region master planning), adaptation of modern technologies to local conditions (many examples such as: live food production of rotifers in outdoor system and intensive system; re-circulating systems and improved technologies for larviculture of multi-species using local materials as improvement for the traditional open system; rapid transfer of aquaculture technologies or culture models) to producing stakeholders or organizations, for instance, Artemia production, shrimp growout and shrimp/prawn larviculture).