Tiến Sĩ Mitigating water pollution in Vietnamese aquaculture production and processing industry the case of

LUẬN ÁN TIẾN SĨ ( PhD- Thesis Wageningen University, with summary in English, Dutch and Vietnamese)
MITIGATING WATER POLLUTION IN VIETNAMESE AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING INDUSTRY THE CASE OF PANGASIUS AND SHRIMP
GIẢM THIỂU Ô NHIỄM NƯỚC TRONG NGÀNH CÔNG NGHIỆP SẢN XUẤT VÀ CHẾ BIẾN THỦY SẢN CÁ TRA VÀ TÔM Ở VIỆT NAM

Table of contents
Acknowledgement .v
Table of contents ix
List of tables .xiii
List of boxes xv
List of figures xvii
Abbreviations .xxi
Chapter 1 Introduction .1
1.1 The Vietnamese fishery sector 1
1.2 The environmental impacts of aquaculture production in Vietnam 6
1.3 Environmental management of aquaculture production in Vietnam .8
1.4 Research objectives .10
1.5 Research methodology 10
1.6 Structure of thesis 16

Chapter 2 Water pollution by pangasius production in the Mekong delta – Vietnam: causes and options for control 21
2.1 Introduction .21
2.2 Materials and methods .25
2.3 Results: Pangasius farming .26
2.4 Results: Pangasius frozen fillet processing .44
2.5 Discussion and conclusions .53

Chapter 3 Water pollution by intensive brackish shrimp farming in South-East Vietnam: causes and options for control. 55
3.1 Introduction .55
3.2 Material and methods 58
3.3 The shrimp farming system .60
3.4 Environmental impact of intensive black tiger shrimp farming 65
3.5 Options to reduce the environmental impact .72
3.6 Conclusions .78

Chapter 4 Towards eco-agro industrial clusters in aquatic production: the case of shrimp processing industry in Vietnam .81
4.1 Introduction .81
4.2 Shrimp production chains and material balances of frozen shrimp processing .84
4.3 Options in constructing an eco-agro-industrial cluster for shrimp processing industry .93
4.4 Designing a frozen shrimp eco-agro-industrial cluster in Soc Trang province .96
4.5 The governance of eco-agro industrial cluster of shrimp in Soc
Trang provinve: Actors and institutions 98
4.6 Conclusions .103

Chapter 5 Multi-level environmental governance in Vietnam: Water pollution reduction in pangasius and shrimp aquaculture 105
5.1 Introduction .105
5.2 Multi-level governance of place-based aquaculture 107
5.3 Methodology .108
5.4 International governance through the WWF aquaculture dialogues .109
5.5 National governance 115
5.6 Community-based governance 119
5.7 Discussion and conclusions .123

Chapter 6 Discussion and conclusions. 125
6.1 Introduction .125
6.2 Main findings 125
6.3 Comparing shrimp and pangasius .128
6.4 Methodological issues .134
6.5 Strengths and limitations of the study .137
6.6 Recommendations .140
References 145
Summary 169
Samenvating 175
Tóm tat 181
SENSE Certificate 187
About the author .191
Funding 183


Introduction
1.1 The Vietnamese fishery sector
Fishery is one of the most dynamic food sectors in the world, with total production having grown to 110 million tonnes in 2006. Seafood is now the most globally traded product by value and volume (FAO 2009b). Coastal states around the world have striven to take advantage of this growing international demand by investing in modern fishing fleets and processing factories. In recent years, attention has been given to the stabilization or even possible decline (Watson and Pauly 2001) of capture fisheries production. The FAO now classifies 52% of fish stocks as fully exploited and 28% as over exploited fish stocks (FAO 2009b). The continued growth in fish production is now largely the result of the increased production of aquaculture - which has now emerged as the fastest growing production system in the world (FAO 2007c), (2009b). In Vietnam the fishery sector is a significant and fast growing component of the Vietnamese economy. Starting with the market reforms of 1986 under Doi Moi (or ‘renovation’) the Vietnamese fishery sector has developed rapidly in terms of both production and exports. The largest dramatic growth occurred between 1997 to 2007 during which time total fish production increased 165%, from 1,570 million tons to 4,160 million tons (Dung 2008). It is now the fourth most important export sector to the national economy, after oil, garments and footwear, and the most important sector in terms of primary production (Figure 1.1). In 2007 fish and fish products make up
approximately 4% of GDP, and contribute 8% to total export value and 10% to total employment (Dung 2008).
Similar to world production the growth of Vietnamese fishery production has been maintained predominantly through the expansion of aquaculture. As shown in Figure 1.2, capture fisheries have grown at around 7% per year in the last decade while aquaculture has grown at 16.3%. In real terms aquaculture production has grown from 481 million tons in 1997 to 2 billion tons in 2007 (Dung 2008). This production
includes a wide range of species grown in freshwater, brackish and coastal waters. Between 2002 and 2004 Vietnam was the third country of the world in term of aquaculture growth (FAO 2007c), and from 2006 Vietnam ranks third in terms of quantity of aquaculture production (FAO 2009b). In 2007 Vietnam exported over 900 kton of fish products, which increased to 1,200 kton in 2008 (MARD 2009a). Vietnamese fish products are currently exported to over 128 countries, but 69% is traded to Europe, Japan, Russia and the US(MARD 2008b).
Among various aquaculture species which are being raised in Vietnam, two have the largest contribution to production and export value: the freshwater striped catfish, Pangasius hypopthalmus (Ca Tra in Vietnamese), and the brackish water black tiger shrimp, Penaeus Monodon (Tom Su in Vietnamese). These two species alone account for approximately 50 percent of the total production volume of aquaculture in Vietnam (Trong 2008) and 68% of export value (MARD 2009b). Both species can be considered what Hall (2003) has labeled ‘boom crops’ given the spectacular increases in production, the relative accessibility of production for some segments of the rural communities looking to ‘get rich quick’, as well as the parallel growth of both local and global political, environmental and economic uncertainties and vulnerabilities. In particular, both species have also come under increased scrutiny over their environmental performance as production and processing has expanded in a largely uncoordinated fashion.
The rise of pangasius has been particularly spectacular with total production having grown at around 30% per year since 2003. Due to low investment costs, high productivity and large export markets, pangasius cultivation has become a popular form of aquaculture and the largest single species farming system by volume in Vietnam (Phan et al. 2009). Over the last 10 years, pangasius has developed from a domestic to an export product. In 2007 the productivity of pangasius reached over 1 million tons/year, a government target previously set for 2010 (Bush et al. 2009), and is now exported to nearly 110 countries and territories mainly as frozen fillet products. The development of pangasius farming has created an important source of regional and national income, and contributing to the Mekong Delta having the highest regional economic growth rate in the country at 14% - compared to an average national economic growth of 9% (Loc et al. 2007).
Following the growth and subsequent stabilization of production in the 1990s the Vietnamese government has sought to reinvigorate production through a series of modernization program (Dung 2006; MARD 2009a). Shrimp farmers throughout the country have been encouraged to shift from extensive traditional systems to improved extensive, semi-intensive and intensive production models (classified according to the pond size, water use, capital, labor, feed and chemicals used, and stocking densities) (EJF 2003). In response, shrimp production has increased faster than the shrimp farming area since 2000. In 2008 the area of shrimp farms has decreased while production has continued to increase. In 2009, the area of shrimp farming was expected to decline 9% to 580,000 ha, while production was expected to grow 10% to 380,000 tones (Trong 2008)). However, shrimp production in Vietnam remains relatively ‘under-modernized’
with approximately 90% of the total farming area practicing extensive traditional production. Despite this Vietnam contributed with 12% to the global shrimp production in 2008 (Figure 1.4). Unlike most neighboring Asian countries, which are now producing primarily white leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei), the production of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) still accounts for 80 – 90% of total cultured shrimp
production in Vietnam (MARD 2009a). As a result, Vietnam is one of the few countries still producing large sized, high quality, black tiger shrimp and has few direct competitors, with the exception of India and Bangladesh.