HCM City (VNA) – Effective adaptation measures are important tosustainably developing aquaculture sector in the context of climate change,heard a conference held by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers (VASEP) in collaboration with the Nha Trang University and theUniversity of Tromso (Norway) on August 23.

Although the aquatic output in the country has increased for 17 consecutiveyears, with an average yearly growth of 9.07 percent, experts said the sectorwill suffer critical losses due to the impact of climate change.

According to Quach Thi Khanh Ngoc, from Nha Trang Univeristy, Vietnam ranks 27th among the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world; however, itis in the list of the nations having weak measures in response to climatechange.

Aquaculture will be badly affected by climate change which results in aneconomic loss of nearly 2 percent in the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030,she said, highlighting that change in rainfall, rising sea level, and diseaseswill shrink aquaculture area and reduce quality of the products.

In the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, 60 percent of ponds that breed trafish will be impacted as the water level is expected to rise 2-2.5 metres.Thus, farmers will have to spend more on the building and maintenance of theirfarming facilities.

Meanwhile, a study by the World Bank showed that without adaptation measures,damage to tra fish farming will be 200 million VND (8,600 USD) per hectare by2020 while the figure will be three times higher by 2025.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has estimated a yearly lossof 40 percent in the aquaculture output. It also said that nearly 3 millionlabourers will become unemployed due to climate change.

Ngoc stressed it is crucial to set up special zones for sea, coral reef and submergedforest eco-system preservation.

Other experts said that relevant authorities should issue guidance in aquaculturefarming in severe weathers, and raise local farmers’ awareness of the impact ofand adaptation measures to climate change. Due attention should be paid to aquacultureinsurance as well, they stressed.

Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, a researcher at the University of Tromso, highlighted thatadvanced technologies should be applied for the exploitation of the resourcesmarketing, along with the search for the new markets.

Proper aquaculture farming zones must be studied carefully, and the sector isalso in need of breeding models of aquaculture species, she said-VNA