Nominations for Technical Work Groups Nominations are due by April 30th for the Technical Working Groups (TWG) that will draft criteria, indicators and measurable standards for certifying pangasius farming. Recommendations from the TWGs will be presented to the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue for final consideration by the end of this year. Interested in making a nomination or participating in the Dialogue? Contact Dr. Flavio Corsin at flavio.corsin@gmail.com or +84-912-776993.

The farming of pangasius - mainly tra (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and basa (Pangasius bocourti) - is one of the fastest growing types of aquaculture in the world. In Vietnam, where 90 percent of pangasius farming occurs, 1 million tons of pangasius were produced in 2007 - a goal the country had set for 2010. Global production of pangasius was just 10,000 tons in 1995 and rose to 400,000 tons in 2005, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

The growth in pangasius aquaculture is driven, in large part, by the dramatic increased demand for tra and basa in the marketplace. Pangasius is sold to more than 80 countries globally, mainly in the form of white filets. The United States used to be the major market for tra and basa but that has changed over the past few years, as the United States' share of exported pangasius has decreased from 80 percent to 10 percent. European Union countries now dominate the export market, with a share of almost 50 percent.

MAIN ISSUES RELATED TO PANGASIUS AQUACULTURE:
The rapid growth of the pangasius aquaculture industry has raised a number of environmental and social concerns. Eight key issues were identified during the 1st meeting of the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue:

Legal - Farms are sometimes constructed and/or operated outside the legal framework for addressing environmental, social and food safety issues of relevance to the area where the farming occurs
Land use and water use - As new farms are established, sensitive habitat can be destroyed and water often is diverted, which can affect other water users and the environment
Water pollution - Excess waste can pollute the water and negatively affect plant and animal habitat
Escapes - Pangasius that escape from aquaculture facilities may compete with wild fish and affect ecosystems, especially in areas where pangasius is not yet established
Feed management - Use of fishmeal, fish oil and trash-fish as pangasius feed is resulting in depletion of food sources that other fish rely on. Also, feeding trash-fish to pangasius can cause unsustainable harvesting and water pollution.
Health management - Pangasius farms are prone to health problems that can impact farmed and wild stocks
Antibiotics/chemicals - Inappropriate use of antibiotics and chemicals can have unintended consequences on the environment and human health, such as antibiotic resistance and unsafe products
Social responsibility/user conflicts - Large numbers of workers are employed on pangasius farms and in processing plants, placing labor practices and worker rights under public scrutiny. Also, conflicts can arise among users of the shared resources

OUR SOLUTION: WWF's primary approach to minimizing or eliminating the main issues associated with pangasius aquaculture is to develop measurable, performance-based standards for certifying pangasius aquaculture producers. This process began in September 2007 in Vietnam when the first meeting of the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue was held. The Dialogue includes pangasius farmers, processors, exporters, traders, retailers, feed and chemical manufacturers, seed suppliers, government agency representatives, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and others.

At their kick-off meeting, Dialogue participants agreed on the reasons and process for developing standards, appointed a Steering Committee to manage the Dialogue, and identified the eight main issues (summarized above) and principles (summarized below) related to pangasius aquaculture. Read the meeting summary.

The second Dialogue meeting was held March 27-28, 2008 in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Participants agreed to create several Technical Working Groups (TWG) that will draft criteria, indicators and measurable standards for certifying pangasius farming. Recommendations from the TWGs will be presented to the full Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue for final consideration by the end of this year. To develop its recommendations, the TWGs will consider comments about criteria, indicators and standards made at the second Dialogue meeting and at a March 26, 2008 meeting of the Dialogue Steering Committee. (Note: Dialogue participants voted March 28th to disband that committee and replace it with a smaller group called the Process Facilitation Group that, unlike the committee, does not have executive decision-making authority.) Members of the TWG also will seek comments from stakeholders who have not been able to attend the Dialogue meetings.

Learn more about the approach WWF uses for each aquaculture Dialogue.

PRINCIPLES: To address each of the key issues associated with pangasius aquaculture, the Dialogue meeting participants identified guiding principles. The principles associated with each issue are:

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
March 2008 Meeting

• Meeting summary, English
• Presentation about the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue, by Dr. Flavio Corsin
• Presentation about the challenges of certification, by Steven Schut
• Presentation about water quality issues related to Pangasianodon hypophtalmus, by Jack Morales

• Meeting Agenda
• Presentation on the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue, by Dr. Flavio Corsin (English)
• Presentation on the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue, by Dr. Flavio Corsin (Vietnamese)
• Presentation on the sustainable development of pangasius farming, by Ngo Phuoc Hu (English)
• Presentation on the sustainable development of pangasius farming, by Ngo Phuoc Hu (Vietnamese)
• Presentation on sustainable tra and basa farming in Vietnam, by Nguyen Tu Cuong (English)
• Presentation on sustainable tra and basa farming in Vietnam, by Nguyen Tu Cuong (Vietnamese)
• Presentation on pangasius sustainability from the buyers' perspective, by Anne-Laurence Huillery (English)
• Presentation on pangasius sustainability from the buyers' perspective, by Anne-Laurence Huillery (Vietnamese)
• Presentation on pangasius sustainability from the NGOs' perspective, by Dr. Flavio Corsin (English)
• Presentation on pangasius sustainability from the NGOs' perspective, by Dr. Flavio Corsin (Vietnamese)
• Presentation on the case for sustainability, by David Graham (English)
• Presentation on the case for sustainability, by David Graham (Vietnamese)

Interested in participating in the Dialogue? Fill out the sign-up form or contact Dr. Flavio Corsin at flavio.corsin@gmail.com or +84-912-776993.