Mariculture in Kien Giang: Challenges in attracting investment

Investment attraction for mariculture

Kien Giang province possesses a strategic location for the development of the fisheries sector within the Mekong Delta region and the country as a whole. The province benefits from favorable natural conditions, featuring extensive tidal flats and multiple sheltered marine areas that are home to high-value aquatic species. These features are highly conducive to the conservation, development of marine resources and mariculture, particularly the practice of cage fish farming in marine and island environments.

In addition to coastal and inland mariculture, Kien Giang is allocating resources to the development of offshore mariculture and mariculture in open waters. This focus aims to fully utilize the province's potential and advantages for mariculture development, and establish Kien Giang as a marine economic powerhouse within the country in accordance with the recently issued provincial planning.

During the Kien Giang Investment Promotion Conference and the Kien Giang Provincial Planning Conference for the years between 2021 and 2030, with a vision towards 2050, the province's leadership provided major corporations and businesses in the aquaculture sector with numerous investment policies and mariculture projects. They possess strong financial capacity and the ability to adopt advanced technologies in mariculture, with modernized farming processes.

Le Huu Toan, General Director of Kien Giang province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, reported that the province has, to date, granted investment policies for mariculture to Australis Aquaculture Vietnam Company Limited, Mavin Group Joint Stock Company, Duc Truong Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, and Bat Ngoc Agricultural Development Joint Stock Company, with a total registered development marine surface area of over 2,608 hectares.

Following their implementation, these projects will contribute to promoting socio-economic development, increasing the province's aquaculture yield, and attracting tourists to the region.

In addition, Kien Giang province is currently managing several effective and ongoing projects, including cage fish farming, seaweed farming, and pearl oyster farming. These projects have been assigned to Ngoc Hien Phu Quoc Pearl Company Limited, Tran Phu Import-Export Trade Service Company Limited, and Hien Cong Company Limited.

Among these entities, the project belonging to Mavin Group is the largest in terms of scale, with several thousands hectares of marine surface area. In addition to planning large-scale mariculture investment, Mavin Group applies modern European farming technology to produce high-quality marine fish for domestic consumption and export.

Mavin Group's project in Kien Giang province is projected to produce approximately 30,000 tons of marine fish per year, which include economically valuable species such as sea bass, grouper, and golden pompano. This mariculture project aims to meet export demands, with a focus on environmental control and traceability to facilitate seafood exports; and compliance with the European Commission's recommendations on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention.

Additionally, Mavin Group plans to survey and invest in a marine seed center, an aquatic feed production plant, and a seafood processing plant for export.

These investments will enable the company to establish a closed-loop aquaculture chain from breeding and feed production to farming and processing seafood for export, all within one region. Furthermore, the aquaculture chain will help optimize production processes and product costs, thereby contributing to Kien Giang's development as a major center for mariculture and export seafood processing in the region.

Sustainable mariculture development planning

General Director Le Huu Toan emphasized that in order to utilize the local potential and advantages for marine economic development, the province regularly reviews, supplements planning, and issues implementation plans for development tasks. In 2020, Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee approved a project for sustainable mariculture development within the province until 2030.

The project aims to promote the rapid development of mariculture in an industrial and modern direction, with a focus on maintaining ecological sustainability, enhancing tourism, and contributing significantly to the restructuring of the province's agricultural sector. Additionally, the project will enhance competitiveness, boost marine economic growth, and increase incomes for local residents.

Kien Giang's mariculture areas are located around the islands of Kien Hai district, Phu Quoc city, several island communes within Kien Luong district, and Ha Tien city. In 2020, the province housed a total of 4,000 aquaculture cages, with a yield of 3,662 tons. Although this figure has decreased to 3,870 by 2023, their scale has increased; and many traditional cages have been replaced with modern models, resulting in a higher yield of 3,910 tons of various fish species. The main farmed species include cobia, grouper, golden pompano, and barramundi.

From 2022 to 2023, Kien Giang province's Agricultural Extension Center has developed and implemented models to support the transition from traditional cages to HDPE cages. As a result, 69 cages, with a total volume of 3,531 cubic meters, have been successfully converted. The utilization of HDPE cages features several benefits, including promoting the environmentally friendly, risk-free, increased yield, and profitable growth of cage mariculture in Kien Giang.

In addition to developing mariculture, Kien Giang boasts advantages in coastal, island, and inland aquaculture, featuring diverse species such as bivalve mollusks, pearl oysters, shrimp, crabs, and fish. Notably, the province's mollusk farming area reached nearly 22,000 hectares in 2020, with a total yield of nearly 63,000 tons. By 2023, the farming area has increased to over 23,000 hectares, with a total yield of more than 96,000 tons.

Blood cockles, suberenata ark, sea mussels, green mussels, and undulated surf clams are farmed in the coastal areas of An Bien, An Minh, Hon Dat, Kien Luong, and Ha Tien. Primary farming methods include seeding on tidal flats; and using stake, net, and hanging systems.

Kien Giang's total seafood yield reached over 798,300 tons in 2023, which includes 361,100 tons from  aquaculture, valued at over 20,245 billion VND. This is an increase in terms of yield compared to the corresponding period in previous years.

Kien Giang province will continue to invite major corporations and businesses to invest in high-tech, industrial mariculture and offshore farming, with various incentives to attract further investment. Additionally, the province will implement special policies to support the transition from coastal fishing to aquaculture, from traditional cage farming to modern cage farming using industrial pellet feed, with a focus on promoting the sustainable mariculture value chain.