Aquaculture

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, 1.1 million tons of pangasius were produced in 2008 - a goal the country had set for 2010. Global production of pangasius was just 10,000 tons in 1995.

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 130 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 4 percent. European Union countries now dominate the export market, with a share of 35 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 first meeting of the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue:

1. 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
2. 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
3. Water pollution and waste management - Excess waste can pollute the water and negatively affect plant and animal habitat 
4. Genetics and biodiversity - Pangasius that escape from aquaculture facilities may compete with wild fish and affect ecosystems, especially in areas where pangasius is not yet established
5. 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
6. Health management, veterinary medicines and chemicals - Pangasius farms are prone to health problems that can impact farmed and wild stocks. Also, the inappropriate use of veterinary medicines and chemicals can have unintended consequences on the environment and human health, such as antibiotic resistance and unsafe products.
7. 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

These issues were addressed through the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue, a multi-stakeholder process that began in 2007 and ended in August 2010. The goal of the Dialogue was to develop measurable, performance-based, global standards that will help minimize the key environmental and social impacts associated with pangasius aquaculture. The Dialogue included more than 600 pangasius farmers, processors, exporters, traders, retailers, feed and chemical manufacturers, seed suppliers, government agency representatives, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and others. WWF coordinated the Dialogue and the Process Facilitation Group managed the process. Several technical working groups took the lead in developing, amending and finalizing the standards. 

Click here to download the standards, read the press release and watch a video about the standards.

The standards will be given to a new organization, called the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), that will be responsible for working with independent, third party entities to certify farms that are in compliance with the standards. Click here for more information about this organization. Prior to the creation of the ASC, the standards will be managed by GlobalGAP.

Principles

Dialogue participants identified guiding principles -- high level goals -- for each of the eight issues associated with pangasius farming.The principles provided the framework for the criteria, indicators and standards for responsible pangasius farming. The criteria aim to provide direction on how to reduce each impact and the indicators address how to measure the extent of each impact. The standards are quantitative performance levels that evaluate whether a principle is achieved.

The principles associated with each issue are:

1. Locate and operate farms within established national and legal framework
2. Farms must be located, designed, constructed and managed to minimize negative impacts on other users and the environment
3. Minimize negative impacts on water resources
4. Minimize impacts on the genetic integrity of local pangasius production
5. Use feed and feeding practices that make efficient use of available feed resources and minimize waste
6. Implement farm management measures to maximize fish health
7. Ensure food safety and quality while minimizing the impact to the ecosystem and human health
8. Develop and operate farms in a socially responsible manner that contributes effectively to rural development and, particularly, poverty alleviation

Learn more

• Dialogue process guidance document
  English  | Spanish  | French  | Thai
• Pangasius Dialogue Work Plan
  English | Vietnamese
• Pangasius Dialogue Fact Sheet
• Process Facilitation Group and technical working group members
• Fact sheet about what to look for when buying farmed pangasius
• Pangasius Dialogue meeting reports and presentations
• Feedback from public comment periods, as well as responses to the feedback
• Click here to read the feedback received during the first public comment period, as well as the Dialogue's responses to the input
• "Guidelines for Environmental Management of Aquaculture Investments in Vietnam," published by the World Bank and the Ministry of Fisheries and produced by a range of partners, including WWF

 Learn more about the other aquaculture Dialogues WWF is working on