Shrimp farming industry in Vietnam: An aquaculture performance indicators approach

Abstract

This study evaluates the Vietnamese shrimp farming industry through a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) perspective, using the Aquaculture Performance Indicators (API) to assess social, economic, and environmental performance. Over the past 25 years, Vietnamese shrimp farming has grown rapidly and diversified into four systems: Extensive, Semi-intensive, Intensive, and Super-intensive, and data is collected for all these systems. The results reveal that Intensive and Super-intensive systems perform well economically, while Extensive and Semi-intensive systems have a weaker performance. Social performance is relatively similar across the four systems. Managerial returns are high across all systems, with labor returns notably higher in intensive systems. With respect to environmental performance, Intensive farms score poorly, whereas extensive systems perform well. Key challenges for shrimp farming systems with high intensity levels include water use and effluent management, contributing to disease prevalence. While mangrove forest degradation was a historical issue, replanting efforts have increased forest cover, albeit with reduced biodiversity. On a global scale, Vietnam’s shrimp farming aligns with global averages but is outperforming the global industry significantly in post-production practices.