An Giang Province Launches Industrialized Mariculture Transition, Targets 250,000 Tons by 2030

Vietnam's Mekong Delta province of An Giang on October 30, 2026 released a strategic roadmap for modernizing mariculture, planning to leverage a sea area of more than 63,200 square kilometers, over 200 kilometers of coastline and an archipelago of more than 140 islands to transform traditional, scattered farming practices into a climate-resilient, high-tech industrialized model deeply integrated into regional socioeconomic development.

Production data for the 2021-2026 period shows sustained expansion: harvest volume rose from 69,269 tons in 2021 to an estimated 133,000 tons by the end of 2026, an average annual growth rate of 13.9%. Cumulative output value for the period is estimated at 2.7 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately US$106.3 million).

The current operational framework combines nearshore marine cage farming with tidal-flat mollusk and shellfish farming. The province's marine cage facilities increased to 6,115 in 2026, supplying about 7,000 tons of high-value commercial marine fish annually, including hybrid pearl grouper (Epinepholus lanceolatus x Epinephelus fuscoguttatus), snapper and yellowfin tuna, all farmed to VietGAP certification standards. Meanwhile, the province has successfully piloted 117 circular cages made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capable of withstanding strong storms and large waves. Mollusk and bivalve farming covers 24,950 hectares, with estimated output of 113,156 tons; in addition, pearl oyster farming is carried out in 300 hectares of sea area on Phu Quoc Island, producing 350,000 pearls annually, directly linked to eco-tourism routes.

At the regulatory and institutional level, provincial authorities have issued official identification codes to 382 commercial facilities and provided technical training to more than 2,670 farmers and technicians. In addition, investment licenses have been approved for 5 high-tech mariculture companies, covering a combined area of 2,908 hectares with planned total investment of 11.16 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately US$43.9 million). A key operational milestone was the formal allocation of 420 hectares of sea area within Kien Hai Economic Zone to Ausris Vietnam Fisheries Co., Ltd.; the project is designed for an annual capacity of 30,000 tons with an investment of 400 billion Vietnamese dong (approximately US$15.7 million), the country's first open-sea allocation granted under the 2017 Fisheries Law. For the 2026-2030 cycle, the official investment pipeline also includes 8 additional priority projects involving 2,480 hectares of sea area and requiring capital of 1.73 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately US$68.1 million).

Despite the statistical progress, the sector still faces structural bottlenecks: the dominance of rudimentary wooden cages, continued reliance on low-value trash fish for feed that degrades the benthic marine environment, rising costs of seed and formulated feed, and fragmented cold chain, traceability and processing logistics. At a scientific conference held in Rach Gia, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ha Van Muon emphasized that growth will not be measured by area or tonnage alone, but will prioritize ecological carrying capacity, structural integrity and the balanced coexistence of coastal fishermen and marine resources—a key prerequisite for lifting the European Union's yellow card warning on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Addressing these technical solutions, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam Mariculture Association, advocated a "modern mariculture village" model, in which anchor enterprises fund core offshore infrastructure, technical inputs and processing channels, leasing standardized farming modules to artisanal cooperatives under strict biosecurity and quality regimes. Meanwhile, marine scientist Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi stressed the need to align marine spatial zoning with tourism and diversify commercial species, proposing the systematic expansion of farming for lobster, the collector sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla), Ham Ninh blue swimming crab, An Thoi squid and sea cucumber.