Unlocking Vietnam's pangasius sector: Overcoming seed stock and disease bottlenecks

Pangasius has been designated a national product, distinguished by its large-scale production base, broad export reach, and high economic value, generating a stable annual export turnover of $2 billion to $2.2 billion.

According to M.Sc. Tran Huu Phuc, Deputy Director of the Southern Freshwater Aquaculture Research Center under the Vietnam Institute of Fisheries Science, seed stock is the pivotal factor determining growth rate, feed conversion efficiency, disease resistance, environmental tolerance, and survival rate.

The sector currently operates across roughly 5,500 to 5,700 hectares of grow-out ponds, yielding 1.6 to 1.8 million metric tons of commercial fish annually, while approximately 2,000 hectares are dedicated to seed production, supplying 4 billion to 4.5 billion fingerlings per year. Despite this scale, the 2024-2025 period saw localized seed shortages and sharp price increases that directly disrupted commercial farming operations.

Phuc attributed the shortfalls partly to climate change, erratic rainfall and heat patterns, and increasingly complex disease dynamics, all of which have depressed fingerling survival rates to as low as 5 to 15 percent at certain points. Mass mortality before 30 days of age has been recorded in some areas. Contributing factors include inconsistent broodstock quality, substandard conditioning techniques, non-standardized natural feed inputs, and weak coordination across the seed production chain.

To raise seed quality, Phuc called for an integrated approach combining genetics, hatchery technology, and nutrition management. Priorities include improving selective breeding by pairing conventional methods with genomic technology to increase precision and sustain genetic gains; restructuring hatchery management to enforce tighter environmental, microbiological, and biosecurity controls; and implementing a comprehensive nutrition strategy spanning broodstock through fingerling stages.

"Deploying these solutions in a coordinated manner will lay the groundwork for sustainable development of the pangasius sector," Phuc said.

Prof. Dr. Duong Thuy Yen of the College of Aquaculture and Fisheries at Can Tho University noted that the Mekong Delta farming zone has already borne the brunt of saltwater intrusion, particularly during the severe episodes of 2016 and 2020.

Between 2017 and 2022, an international research collaboration between Can Tho University and Belgian partners successfully developed a pangasius strain tolerant of salinity levels up to 10 parts per thousand. The base population was built from 900 families, raised and continuously selected under brackish-water conditions across multiple rigorous growth and adaptation cycles.

Results showed that after three years, fish continued to grow and reproduce well at a salinity of 5 parts per thousand, with reproductive indicators comparable to those of freshwater-reared fish. Notably, the second-generation offspring, designated G2, demonstrated not only superior adaptability but also improved growth trajectories and survival rates under brackish-water conditions.

"Developing a salinity-tolerant pangasius strain serves not only brackish-water zones but also holds broader application potential. Evidence shows this strain maintains strong growth even in freshwater, opening avenues for diversifying farming areas," Yen emphasized.

At the provincial level, Dong Thap, one of Vietnam's primary pangasius-producing provinces, is pushing ahead with a high-technology restructuring of its aquaculture sector. Le Duy Lam, Deputy Head of the Dong Thap Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Inspection, acknowledged that despite considerable natural advantages, the practical application of science and technology has yet to produce a decisive breakthrough.

Local authorities have outlined plans to accelerate technology adoption across the entire value chain, from seed to commercial harvest, by tapping genetically improved seed sources and increasing the share of self-supplied, high-quality fingerlings.

Dong Thap is also advancing a circular economy model, converting pond sludge into energy and fertilizer, while exploring alternatives to human chorionic gonadotropin in pangasius reproduction to reduce production costs.

Lam added that the province intends to develop salinity-adapted pangasius strains to expand viable farming zones, while embracing digital transformation through artificial intelligence-based feeding monitoring, environmental management robots, automated water quality observation systems, and IoT-based farm management platforms. Voice-activated digital farming logs are also expected to lower the barrier to technology adoption for smallholder farmers.

Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, reported that approximately 160,000 selectively bred fingerlings have been transferred into commercial production. He stressed, however, that breeding programs require sustained investment over 10 to 15 years and must accelerate the adoption of genomic technologies. At the farming stage, early-phase survival rates remain low, digital transformation is limited, and industry data remain fragmented. He called for stronger linkages among government, researchers, and enterprises, supported by appropriate policy mechanisms to bring science and technology more effectively into practice.

Dr. Le Hong Phuoc, Director of the Southern Center for Aquatic Environment and Disease Research under the Vietnam Institute of Fisheries Science, identified water quality and disease as the two factors most directly affecting survival rates, particularly during the fingerling rearing phase.

Monitoring data collected from 37 sites across farming zones between 2021 and 2025 showed that roughly 70 percent of water samples scored at a very good level and 11 percent at good, yet 19 percent still fell into the fair or poor categories. Parameters exhibiting the greatest volatility included nitrite, ammonia, phosphate, and opportunistic bacterial counts.

Of particular concern, surveys conducted from 2010 to 2024 have documented growing antimicrobial resistance among disease-causing bacteria, forcing the industry to search for safer alternative interventions.

Phuoc recommended integrating environmental monitoring with early warning systems and scaling up environmentally friendly disease prevention approaches, including vaccines, probiotics, herbal preparations, immunostimulants, and bacteriophage therapies.