Anyone wanting to understand the fluctuation fortunes of Vietnam’s pangasius aquaculture industry would be wise to tune into a refreshingly balanced recent documentary.
Produced for Undercover Asia, the documentary – which is now available on YouTube – follows the highs and lows of the sector over the last 25 years. In particular, it looks at the rollercoaster reputation of a fish that has been the subject of often critical media attention over the course of the last decade.
“Pangasius is an Asian aquaculture success story and I think the rest of the world should give it a bit more credit for being such an important source of fish produced at such high levels of efficiency,” explains Professor Simon Bush from the Environmental Policy group at Wageningen University, one of the key contributors to the film.
“Does that mean there are no problems with the industry? Absolutely not. Like any food production system there are going to be concerns but the point is that we have the institutions in place that are able to pick up and deal with those issues as they come,” he adds.
Known as “basa” and “river cobbler” in Europe, “catfish” in the US and “dory” in Singapore – there are over 20 pangasius species. After French scientists successfully developed spawning technology for the fish in the mid-90s, the sector took off on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. And with low mortalities, a short production cycle and the ability to be stocked at high densities, pangasius soon became one of the world’s most widely produced whitefish. Vietnam now produces 70 to 80 percent of global pangasius production, generating exports worth $2 billion a year.
However, as the documentary explains, the industry was soon the victim of its own success, as the booming trade in pangasius led to a number of investigations and allegations – not all of which were scientifically objective.
“Despite all the controversies the truth is we need fish like pangasius, it’s just the kind of cheap and nutritious protein essential to feed a growing and ever-more hungry world,” the documentary concludes.
https://thefishsite.com/articles/a-more-balanced-appraisal-of-vietnams-pangasius-sector