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TURE Towards sustainability: Vaccinated pangasius in Vietnam By Pham Cong Thanh and Jan Oppen Berntsen
AqUACUL The pangasius industry in Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing segments within the global
aquaculture industry in the last decade. However, there are signs of stagnation in the last two
years. What is happening?
Pangasius catfish is a leading aquaculture commodity in Vietnam. It also holds the top position among seafood exports. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in 2011, AINABLE the production of pangasius was 1.14 million tonnes and it was 1.3 million tonnes in 2010. In general, there has been rapid increase in production in ten years since commercial farming began in 1992, led by intensification whilst farming areas have remained stagnant at around 6,000ha. MARD has targeted a yearly production of 1.2 to 1.3 million tonnes. Although there has been no major epidemic disease outbreak in pangasius farming to date, the industry does suffer from negative reports on hygiene, food safety and the use of non-approved chemicals to treat AND diseases. Efforts have been on-going to improve farming techniques and reduce adverse environmental impacts. Vaccination in progress Figure 1. Volume and price development of the Vietnamese pangasius
industry. (VASEP)
acid and enrofloxacine). Two years later Dung (2010) reported that 97.5% of the E. ictaluri strains checked developed multiple resistance towards three commonly used treatment drugs.
PHARMAQ Vietnam Ltd is a pharmaceutical company specialising in servicing the global aquaculture industry with sustainable solutions for its fish health challenges. In 2006, PHARMAQ started to invest in research and development of a vaccine for the pangasius industry of Vietnam. Today, five years later, the first fish vaccine developed for Vietnam is used on a commercial scale in the Mekong Delta. Millions of fish have been vaccinated and at this point in time, vaccinated fish are being monitored by PHARMAQ staff and National Veterinary Center officials. The findings are interesting, but not very surprising to someone that has followed the development of many aquaculture segments around the globe during the last few decades (Figure 2) Figure 2. Field observations with ALPHA JECT Panga 1.
Keeping up fish health
All segments of aquaculture that have expanded, mainly through Blue: Mortality of vaccinated fish. Green: Mortality of unvaccinated fish. high stocking densities, have experienced the threats of disease. Red: Signifying treatment with a mix Subsequently, treatment of disease is the first step but this is usually of three antibiotic substances effective for a limited period. The disease problem will eventually escalate, mortality rises and treatment doses are then increased. In due course, these treatments do not work at all. Prevention is usually the solution but such new fish health management tools take time, money and special knowledge to develop. Reports from the field on resistant bacteria and failed treatments are beginning to be more common. % cumulated mortality
Dung (2008) found that 70% of Edwardsiella ictaluri strains investigated were resistant to three commonly used treatments (trimethoprim, oxytetracycline and streptomycine) and reduced sensitivity towards three more drugs were reported (flumequine, oxolinic days post vaccination
36 May/June 2012 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific Magazine

Prevention is better than cure
The idea of insuring fish against disease and mortality through vaccination is already very evident with the salmon industry where today hardly a single salmon smolt is transferred to sea without this lifesaving insurance. This is still not common in the pangasius industry, at least at the moment. Different from the salmon, the pangasius is much smaller at slaughter and does not command high ex-farm prices. However, the advantages of vaccination are the same: • Increased survival because fish is protected against specific • Better growth, as healthy fish eat more and grow better; reducing the production cycle and time to market.
• Reduction in cost of antibacterial treatments; reducing the general dependency on antibacterials and the danger of resistance.
JOIN US AT THE 11TH GLOBALG.A.P. • Reduced use of antibacterials also eliminates the risk of residues CONFERENCE IN MADRID! in the fish and subsequent problems in trading the fish in international markets.
• Vaccines are definitely setting a new standard as far as food MEET AND NETWORK WITH TOP INTERNATIONAL safety is concerned. This should in fact be the trigger factor for a RETAILERS, FOOD SERVICE EXPERTS AND PRODUCERS responsible industry to start vaccination on a large scale.
• Sustainability across all agricultural sectors The vaccination process – a new industry
• Effi cient supply chain solutions in itself
• More information for consumers Currently. we can see that a new industry is being created in Vietnam. Be part of a debate that simply couldn't be more The vaccination process is a logistic challenge where biology meets important to all our futures – how to deliver food geography and transport. Juveniles are health checked prior to any safety and sustainability now and in the years to vaccination. The whole vaccination process has to be considered. come. If the future of global agriculture matters to you, then this event is simply a must.
• Special working tables are built to facilitate a smooth vaccination • The quality of the vaccination process is checked as well as the health status of the fish immediately following the vaccination. • A general check of fish is also done once during the production cycle. If there is an outbreak of disease, a diagnosis will be carried out to find the cause of mortalities. The company already has 40 trained vaccinators and is adding new staff every month. Today, these new professionals are forming a Recruiting and Retaining Talents, Aquaculture, Women in Agriculture, Water, Livestock, Mircrobiological Issues, new industry and they are all proud to be a part of the new beginning Chain of Custody, Flowers & Ornamentals for Vietnam's pangasius industry.
Open Stakeholder Meetings Welcome & Opening Pham Cong Thanh is technical service
The GLOBALG.A.P. Mission for 2020 and marketing manager in PHARMAQ Key Note Guest Speaker: How to Build a Susccessful Business Response to Sustainability Requests Vietnam Co. Ltd. His role is to provide Driving Safety and Sustainability as a Business Agenda services and technical support to Adopting a Culture of Safety and Sustainability on the Farm: Removing Barriers and Creating Incentives for its Implementation customers. He is also responsible for Our Offering of Best Practice Solutions to Every Farm on sales and marketing of products in Vietnam. Currently, Thanh has a special focus on the implementation of the first Can Government Food Safety Controls and Private Certifi cation ever fish vaccine in Vietnam. Thanh has a Master of Science in Highlighting the Differences in International Standards: aquaculture. Email: [email protected] The UN s Drive to help Business make Better Business Decisions Certifi cation 2.0 – How Information Technology and Social Media Can Add Value to Third Party Auditing Jan Oppen Berntsen is sirector,
Breakout Sessions Produce: international sales, PHARMAQ AS, Oslo, Flowers & Ornamentals, Livestock and Aquaculture Norway. He is responsible for business The Future of Food Retailing: Building Brands around Safety, Sustainability and Taste development and sales and marketing The Future of Agriculture: Farming for Consumers issues with special focus on Asia. He The Future of Food Processing: Driving Innovation to Meet Global Demand has worked in international business to Conference Closing business since 1982 and with animal health and fish health since 1989. Jan has a Master of Science in chemistry. Email : [email protected] May/June 2012 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific Magazine 37

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