Shrimp thirst for clean water.

STO - Faced with the increasingly serious problem of environmental pollution in shrimp farming areas, the issue of planning and investing in irrigation and drainage systems for these areas has become even more urgent. This was also the main topic of the workshop "Environmental Solutions for Sustainable Development of the Shrimp Industry" organized by Tuoi Tre Newspaper in coordination with the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province on July 21st.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Van Huu, Deputy Head of the Aquaculture Department (Fisheries Department), stated that the area for brackish water shrimp farming has approached the target set in Decision No. 79/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the National Action Plan for the Development of Vietnam's Shrimp Industry until 2025, but production and export value have only reached nearly 50%. The reason is the lack of clean water sources, leading to disease outbreaks and a low success rate for shrimp farming. Mr. Huu highlighted the current situation: “Sludge, leftover feed, medicines, chemicals, wastewater… from aquaculture activities; inadequate irrigation infrastructure serving aquaculture, mainly sharing the same irrigation system with agriculture … these are major limitations and challenges for the shrimp industry today, affecting its value.”

During the discussions, a common point raised by the delegates was that almost all brackish water shrimp farming areas in the Mekong Delta in general and the Ca Mau Peninsula in particular lack separate water supply and drainage canal systems, which many delegates jokingly referred to as "sharing one river." Furthermore, some areas share the same irrigation canal system that was previously invested in solely for rice cultivation. This, coupled with the rapid development of shrimp farming and the lack of environmental awareness among some farmers, has led to environmental carrying capacity overload in most farming areas, resulting in increasingly serious pollution, disease outbreaks, and losses for shrimp farmers.

Given the current situation, many opinions suggest increasing investment in irrigation infrastructure for the Mekong Delta , especially the Ca Mau peninsula. However, building a complete irrigation system requires a great deal of time and funding. Therefore, the immediate issue is finding solutions to address the existing problems of environmental overload caused by the rapid development of the shrimp industry; advanced environmental management and treatment technologies in super-intensive shrimp farming; and effective models and methods for treating wastewater and waste from shrimp farming models. According to Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, while waiting for a complete irrigation system, people and businesses can thoroughly apply water treatment within their farming premises to solve the immediate pollution problem, and at the same time help the government in the context of limited resources.

Shrimp manure press, one of the solutions applied in Bac Lieu to reduce environmental pollution in shrimp farming. Photo: TICH CHU

Regarding solutions to limit environmental pollution, Mr. Vo Quan Huy - Chairman of the My Thanh Shrimp Association (Soc Trang) proposed the need to establish standards for super-intensive, high-tech shrimp farming, which includes a system for collecting and treating waste and wastewater to protect the environment. Meanwhile, according to Mr. Ho Quoc Luc - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company (Soc Trang), the solution the company is currently applying is using microorganisms to treat waste and wastewater and allocating a large area within the total farming area for sedimentation to limit waste released into the environment. With a shrimp farming area of over 500 hectares, Sao Ta Company is striving to find even better solutions to ensure the treated water meets general regulations. In the long term, Mr. Su proposed: "Investing in irrigation infrastructure is essential in the current context. Initially, there should be a pilot project using a public-private partnership (PPP) model to invest in a synchronized and concentrated irrigation infrastructure system, allowing those wishing to engage in super-intensive shrimp farming to register."

Speaking at the online workshop, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan stated that while the shrimp market is one issue, the supply and farming areas are equally important. Water pollution, seed contamination, and feed contamination have significantly impacted the farming environment. According to the Minister, both environmental issues and the cost of shrimp farming require cooperation and linkages to expand farming areas, introduce advanced science and technology, or invest in new irrigation systems to facilitate operations and minimize conflicts of interest among stakeholders. Therefore, the Minister suggested: “For the shrimp industry to develop sustainably, it is essential to cooperate and link up in a substantive and effective way. I propose that businesses should shift from a buy-and-sell mindset to a long-term cooperation mindset to support each other and go further together. I also propose the establishment of a shrimp farming industry association in the Mekong Delta. Because when we have an association, things will be different. We need to restructure an industry that is responsible, aiming for transparent, sustainable, and accountable production.”

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