Find creative ideas to solve challenges in the seafood industry

The conference was held on July 6, with the participation of representatives of Departments and Departments under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, processing associations, the National Center for Southern Seafood Seeds, and departments in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, People's Committees of districts, towns, cities, colleges, universities, research institutes, seafood enterprises, and fishermen.

According to Tran Duy Tam Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, in 2023, the whole country's seafood industry will face many exploitation, farming, processing, and export difficulties.

Therefore, the conference is an opportunity to provide information and orientation for businesses with solutions and technologies to overcome immediate difficulties and long-term development solutions for innovation in aquaculture exploitation and farming, improve production management and develop markets for seafood processing and exporting enterprises.

"Up to now, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has supported over 300 innovative start-up projects; In the province, there are about 100 start-ups and 5 start-up support organizations. Ba Ria - Vung Tau is also planned to be the key to developing a cluster of marine economic linkages in the expanded Southeast region, of which Vung Tau city is the center of fisheries services," said Thanh.

At the conference, delegates, agencies, and departments suggested many innovative and technological solutions to improve the value of the fisheries industry in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing export, such as the open innovation model to solve problems for enterprises in the seafood industry; solutions to improve production management in processing enterprises; connect resources to incubate innovative start-up projects serving the fisheries industry; aquaculture by sustainable cages; Produced according to BAP standards…

Recently, many seafood enterprises in Ba Ria - Vung Tau also faced many difficulties in production and business. According to a report of the Department of Industry and Trade, from the beginning of the year until now, in the province, there have been 568 enterprises dissolved, bankrupt, and temporarily suspended, accounting for 7.55% of the total number of enterprises.

Also, the output and export turnover of many enterprises decreased by 20 - 50% over the same period; the workforce in most enterprises is unstable and of poor quality; The slow implementation of the planning of concentrated seafood processing zones causes difficulties for enterprises.

The organizers launched the Ba Ria - Vung Tau seafood industry innovation contest in 2023. The contest aims to find new innovative ideas and projects that promote creative start-up innovation activities in the province in the exploitation and processing of seafood.

In particular, with the expanded participation of institutes and universities, along with specific orders from businesses, innovative ideas will have the opportunity to be implemented effectively, creating a premise to promote the development of Ba Ria - Vung Tau into a center of innovation in the fisheries sector in Vietnam.

According to Tran Duy Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, from 2020, the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Aquaculture Innovation Contest will be held to seek and develop new technological solutions, innovation toward value enhancement, and solving problems of the fisheries industry in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. The contest attracts about 100 creative solutions and projects nationwide from the province and many provinces and cities. As a result, some innovative breakthrough solutions have been applied and brought high efficiency to businesses.

Thanks to the good exploitation of 305.4km of coastline and the suitable investment in the development of the fisheries sector, BR-VT province has become one of the significant fisheries centers of the whole country. Over the years, the province's seafood industry has contributed significantly to the socio-economic growth of Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

In addition, the Fisheries Sub-Department of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has well performed the management of fishing vessels, granted certificates of origin of exploited aquatic products and certificates of used marine materials, and continues to coordinate with localities and units to focus on installing equipment to monitor fishing vessels.

Currently, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has 7 enterprises, 2 cooperatives operating in fishing, and 334 cooperative groups united in fishing at sea. The average catch is about 300,000 tons/year. The potential area for aquaculture is about 16,153 ha. The average commercial production is about 20,486 tons/year. With more than 50 enterprises exporting seafood up to standards, eligible to export to Europe, the US, Japan, and Korea,... the annual turnover is about US$ 342 million.