Paving the way for Viet Nam’s marine farming industry

Marine Farming Encompasses Multiple Values

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung, President of the Viet Nam Seaculture Association, proudly shared that Viet Nam may be the only country in the world to call its homeland “đất nước”, meaning “land-water.” These two elements form the essence of life, identity, and the Vietnamese people's soul.

Yet, in our development journey, it seems we have long focused too much on the land while neglecting the water. When people think of the sea, they often think of fishing - of taking what nature provides. Therefore, it is time to pay greater attention to “cultivating the water,” not merely exploiting it. Marine farming is a vital prerequisite for Viet Nam to achieve double-digit growth in the new era.

Marine farming means cultivating and raising aquatic species, but above all, it is about nurturing the environment, ecosystems, and the natural values within them. For generations, local aquaculture communities have had a saying: “Raise the water before raising the fish.”

In essence, marine farming is also about “nurturing the water” - caring for the environment, preserving the balance of marine ecosystems, and sustaining marine biodiversity. When the water is clean, stable, and healthy, fish can thrive, and the sea can rejuvenate. Therefore, marine farming is not merely aquaculture at sea; it carries a broader meaning. Beyond its economic value, it also encompasses the environment, ecosystems, society, communities, and culture.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung, President of the Vietnam Seaculture Association, stated: “We don’t need to send too many people to the sea; instead, we must bring technology, data, and digital tools to the sea. Cultivate at sea but manage from shore - this is the trend of modern marine farming.”

Dr. Dung noted that, in reality, over the past 30 years, we have been calling on fishermen to go out to sea, but it has remained chiefly just a call. There have been no concrete policies, clear standards, regulations, or organizational structures strong enough to guide people to engage in marine farming systematically. Today, marine farming remains fragmented, manual, low-tech, small-scale, and often harmful to both the environment and the practitioners themselves.

Meanwhile, globally, the United Nations has clearly recognized this decade as the decade of oceans under Goal 14, also known as Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) - Life Below Water, which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. This goal emphasizes preventing pollution, mitigating the impacts of ocean acidification, managing fisheries sustainably, and protecting marine ecosystems.

The biggest question facing Viet Nam is: “How can we transform the current fragmented and spontaneous marine farming into a sustainable model that is economically efficient, environmentally friendly, and rich in social and cultural values? This is not just a matter of livelihoods, but a question about the future of a country that embodies both land and water,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung reflected.

6 Solutions to open the way for Viet Nam’s marine farming

To realize the ambition of marine farming, a comprehensive system of solutions is needed, covering institutions, capital, infrastructure, technology, and human resources. Accordingly, the Viet Nam Seaculture Association has proposed and officially recommended six groups of solutions as the foundation for this journey.

The first is the issue of sea-use rights. To enable people to engage with the sea and prosper from it, it is essential to secure their production rights - that is, the legal and long-term right to cultivate a designated sea area. Just as there is a “red book” for land ownership onshore, there should be a “blue book” for sea use rights. Only when people are granted long-term use rights to a sea area can they confidently invest.

On land, if the right to use is granted for only one year, people may just put up temporary shelters; for ten years, they may build single-storey houses; but for fifty years, they will construct multi-storey buildings. Sea area use rights work in the same way. Until now, local authorities have only temporarily allocated sea areas for a few years at a time, so people build floating cages from recycled materials and cannot invest systematically or professionally.

Currently, the allocation of sea areas to local communities for marine farming is governed by Decree 11/2021/ND-CP, which has been amended by Decree 65/2025/ND-CP (including the extension of sea area use rights for aquaculture from 30 years to 50 years). However, some procedures remain cumbersome and time-consuming for marine farmers. This is the biggest bottleneck that needs to be addressed.

Second, people always face a shortage of capital. Once sea area use rights are established, the “blue book” will become a legally recognized asset, allowing people to contribute capital or use it as collateral to secure bank loans. Only then can they invest in infrastructure and cover ongoing production costs.

Third, to transform the current small-scale, fragmented marine farming areas into carefully planned and designed zones, it is necessary to establish marine industrial clusters and aquaculture industrial zones comprising both offshore and onshore components.

Dr. Dung explained that once these industrial clusters are formed, businesses, cooperatives, and fishermen can lease ready-made infrastructure, reducing the burden of building cages and allowing them to focus capital on production and business. Labor will be professionalized, using modern technologies to monitor aquaculture without requiring fishermen to stay overnight at sea, thereby reducing domestic waste and surface pollution. Within these marine industrial clusters, farming processes will follow standardized procedures, generating large, concentrated, and uniform seafood output - meeting traceability requirements and international standards.

Moreover, the model of marine industrial clusters and aquaculture industrial zones carries special significance for sovereignty. When established at the edges of the exclusive economic zone, they act as “living markers” at sea, asserting Viet Nam’s presence and sovereignty over waters more than three times the size of its land - over 1 million km² compared to approximately 328,000 km² of land.

Fourth, there needs to be a change in how environmental impact is assessed. Currently, Viet Nam requires businesses and local communities to prepare environmental impact reports before permission is granted and before aquaculture activities begin, leading to many shortcomings, as this is a complex scientific task. In many countries, state management agencies conduct research, determine the environmental carrying capacity of each sea area, and allocate it appropriately to aquaculture units. Therefore, Viet Nam needs to issue specific standards and regulations on environmental impacts in marine farming, avoiding placing this burden on the people.

Fifth, promote science and technology, digital transformation, and green transformation. Currently, Viet Nam does not have training programs for engineers specializing in industrial marine aquaculture. Therefore, it is necessary to invest soon in research, digital transformation, human resource development, and innovation.

The final and foundational solution is to improve the management system. At present, this sector is loosely managed within the administrative framework, whereas marine farming is a technical field that requires specific standards and regulations for effective management.

Viet Nam’s seas are more than three times larger than its land, yet we have only tapped a very small portion. The rest is waiting to be cultivated, invested in, and awakened with a new vision.

Marine farming is not just about aquaculture; it is about cultivating the future, cultivating peace, and cultivating the pride of a nation that cherishes every drop of water and every inch of land. For “land” and “water,” just like people and the sea, are forever intertwined in a sacred name: Viet Nam.

On the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of Agriculture and Environment Day and the 1st National Patriotic Emulation Congress, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is organizing a series of events from July to December 2025. The highlight is the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Agriculture and Environment sector and the 1st National Patriotic Emulation Congress, taking place on the morning of November 12, 2025, at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, with over 1,200 delegates in attendance. The Vietnam Agriculture and Nature Newspaper will broadcast the event live.