The Department of Animal Health and the Department of Fisheries signed a comprehensive coordination regulation

At the signing ceremony, providing information about the two industries’ general overview, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tien, Head of the Division of Aquatic Animal Health, Department of Animal Health, said that the fisheries industry implemented the 8-month plan for 2023 under a mixture of favorable conditions and challenges.

Of which, the most difficult fact is the decline in export markets, leading to export turnover reaching USD 5.68 billion, down about 25% over the same period in 2022, and reaching about 57% of the 2023 plan.

Meanwhile, the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting predicts that in the last months of 2023 and in early 2024, there will be complicated weather and climate phenomena, causing unfavorable factors for aquaculture, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, and causing difficulties for production.

According to statistics from the veterinary industry, in the first nine months of 2023, the total aquaculture area damaged was about 22,500 hectares, an increase of 12% over the same period in 2022.

Among them, damage to farmed shrimp accounts for the largest amount, over 88% with about 19,800 hectares, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2022. Damage caused by diseases covers 5,000 hectares, accounting for 26% of the total damaged shrimp area, down 5% over the same period in 2022.

Based on the difficulties and challenges in managing the two industries, the Department of Animal Health and the Department of Fisheries have developed a coordination regulation on aquatic animal health and aquaculture management between the two Departments.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that Vietnam currently has 750,000 hectares of shrimp farming and 6,400 hectares of aquaculture. Every year, the Mekong Delta has 140 billion shrimp and 4.5 billion pangasius.

"However, it is necessary to determine that achieved economic targets depend on many factors, including the quality of seeds. The survival rate depends on environmental monitoring, but disease prevention must depend on the veterinary industry," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien raised the issue.

According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, if the survival rate increases by 5% each year, output will immediately increase. But if we only research seeds without researching veterinary disease prevention, processes, and monitoring, we will not be able to achieve high technical targets.

Therefore, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that signing the coordination regulation between the two Departments is very important. In order to improve efficiency in implementation, the two units need to invest in human resources, funding, and equipment, especially when the difficulties and challenges are still as numerous as today.

Currently, the Department of Animal Health has controlled serious diseases in livestock such as foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, the blue-ear pig epidemic, African swine fever, etc. Therefore, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien assigned the Department of Animal Health to participate more in disease control in the fisheries industry in the coming time.

"After this signing, the two Departments are assigned to organize synchronous implementation solutions and have a preliminary and final review at the end of the year. It is recommended that the two agencies cooperate closely and demonstrate the effectiveness of the signing in real life. We need to think honestly, speak honestly, and act honestly. I believe the two sides will coordinate effectively, contributing to the sustainable development of livestock and fisheries activities," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized.

Accepting the direction of Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director of the Department of Fisheries, pledged that after today's signing, the two sides will have more initiatives to share and effectively coordinate.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Director of the Department of Animal Health, said that in recent years, the two Departments have been actively coordinating activities. However, previous coordinated activities between the two sides have not yet met practical requirements.

"Therefore, today’s signed regulation is an important step for the Department of Animal Health and the Department of Fisheries to coordinate more smoothly and closely. The two Departments will need to turn each content in the regulation into practical activities so that the two sides can truly become effective supporting agencies for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development," said Mr. Nguyen Van Long.

The regulation signed between the Department of Animal Health and the Department of Fisheries stipulates the principles of responsibility in coordination. The regulation shares content, information, documents, data, and management activities between the two industries. Thereby, the two sides will apply both direct and online coordination methods, through face-to-face meetings, regular and unscheduled meetings, phone calls, phone messages, faxes, and emails, to resolve the most quickly, promptly, and effectively issues arising in the fields of management of the two sides.