Technology unlocks ‘gold mine’ potential in pangasius by-products

Speaking at the first National Conference on Fisheries Science, Technology and Fisheries Surveillance 2026 held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28, Dr. Bui Thi Thu Hien of the Northern Seafood Research Center under the Vietnam Fisheries Science Institute presented a report on the current status and development direction of value-added products derived from pangasius by-products.

According to Dr. Hien, Vietnam’s pangasius industry has expanded rapidly over the past two decades and become one of the country’s key export sectors. In 2025, pangasius farming area reached about 5,500 hectares, with output estimated at 1.74 million tons and export turnover exceeding $2.2 billion, reaffirming the fish’s important role in Vietnam’s freshwater fisheries sector.

“Pangasius by-products can be utilized to produce food, pharmaceuticals and other high-value products. The remaining unusable portions can then be processed into biofertilizers or growth stimulants. As a result, nearly the entire fish can now be fully utilized, creating a closed-loop circular production model,” Dr. Hien said.

However, the industry’s rapid growth has also generated massive volumes of processing waste. In pangasius fillet production, only about 30-40% of the fish is used for the main product, while the remaining 60-70% consists of by-products such as heads, bones, skin, belly fat, trimmings, internal organs, fins, tails, fish maw and stomachs.

With annual raw fish output exceeding 1 million tons, by-products are estimated at 700,000-900,000 tons per year. If left untreated, they create major environmental pressure. Properly utilized, however, they represent a highly valuable raw material source.

Dr. Hien said pangasius by-products are rich in nutrients, containing crude protein levels ranging from 30.36% to 42.68% of dry matter, lipid content of 28-45%, carbohydrates of 2.7-9.3%, as well as beneficial fatty acids such as Omega-3, EPA and DHA.

By-products including fish heads, bones, fins, tails, trimmings, fish oil, skin and internal organs can all serve as raw materials for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, animal feed and organic agriculture industries.

In practice, several companies have already begun utilizing pangasius by-products. Fish fat is processed into cooking oil, shortening and margarine; fish skin is used to produce collagen and gelatin; heads and bones are processed into fish meal and fish oil; while internal organs and sludge can be converted into organic fertilizer or biogas.

However, most by-products are still sold in raw form, with values far below their true potential.

According to Dr. Hien, the inevitable direction for the pangasius industry is to shift from basic processing to deep processing and to develop value-added products under a circular economy model. Biological products such as collagen, gelatin, hydrolyzed protein and bioactive peptides represent particularly promising segments.

“If fish meal or fish oil is sold in raw form, its value is only around $1.2-1.5 per kilogram. But when processed into collagen, the value can rise to $15-20 per kilogram, or even higher for specialized products, increasing by-product value by 15 to 25 times,” she said.

Beyond biotechnology products, pangasius by-products can also be developed into various food items such as fish skin snacks, fish stomach products, fish maw dishes, fish cakes, surimi, sausages, seafood analog products, peptide-based nutritional beverages, nutritious soups and pate made from fish liver and belly flap meat.

In livestock production, by-products can be processed into protein meal, protein hydrolysates, animal feed, attractants and organic fertilizers for crop cultivation.

To effectively tap this resource, Dr. Hien stressed the need to accelerate the application of biotechnology, enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial technology, spray drying, freeze drying, deep processing and modern preservation technologies.

She also emphasized stronger cooperation between research institutes, businesses and processing facilities to commercialize products instead of limiting production to raw materials or laboratory-scale research.

Dr. Hien further noted that processing stages such as blood removal and fillet washing currently cause substantial nutrient losses into wastewater streams, increasing treatment costs. She suggested developing circular production models within factories by separating waste streams such as fish blood and washing water for reuse, including applications in hydroponic vegetable cultivation or nutrient recovery systems that feed back into production chains.

“With support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and local authorities, research institutions can participate in consulting and process improvement, helping enhance product quality and increase value across the pangasius supply chain,” she said.

She added that businesses do not necessarily need to independently develop new products but should cooperate with research institutes to shorten development time, reduce costs and improve innovation efficiency.

Developing value-added products from pangasius by-products not only helps reduce environmental pressure but also opens new growth opportunities for the industry. If organized through integrated value chains, pangasius by-products could become a strategic raw material source, enhancing value, improving competitiveness and supporting the sustainable and green development of Vietnam’s pangasius industry in global markets.