Vietnam’s fisheries are expected to have produced 827,000MT in the first two months of 2016, representing a 3.1% increase on the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The main gains come from capture with an increase of 3.7% to 476,000MT. Aquaculture comprises 351,000MT – a 2.3% rise from last year.
The northern fishing season is currently in swing and offshore fishermen in many provinces have reaped a good catch including species of high economic value like tuna, mackerel, marlin and pilot fish.
Production of pangasius, a large shark catfish native to the waters of south-east Asia, is encountering difficulties due to the decreasing price of raw pangasius. Accordingly, pangasius yield in the first two months of 2016 in the Mekong Delta was about 114,216MT, a drop of 17% over the same period last year.
In terms of shrimp farming, most of the shrimp farming areas in the Mekong Delta are under renovation. Shrimp prices increased slightly because shrimp processors boosted the purchase of raw materials to meet orders from the importers.
Total production has netted the industry US$938m in January/February, an increase of 11.9% on last year.
