A review of economic issues for sustainable shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

In recent years, the growth and intensification of shrimp aquaculture in Asia has been explosive. Asia reportedly produces nearly eighty per cent of the world's total farmed shrimp output. With strong demand and high world prices, along with declining wild shrimp stock, shrimp aquaculture in Asia, particularly in coastal regions, is becoming an increasingly important source of income and employment. In Vietnam, shrimp aquaculture is now one of the most important aquaculture practices in terms of area, production, employment and foreign exchange generation. In the coastal regions of the Mekong Delta, where most of the shrimp aquaculture is practised, saline intrusion in the dry season often limits rice production to just one wet season crop per year. The adoption of shrimp culture as a second crop has brought significant income gains for farmers in the region. The sustainability of shrimp aquaculture, however, is under question. This paper reviews the key sustainable development challenges facing shrimp aquaculture in the Mekong Delta, in the context of a shrimp aquaculture in the whole of Asia. Particular attention is given to the nature of the environmental impacts associated with shrimp farming. In this paper, the application of economics is investigated as a tool for addressing the environmental issues and guiding solutions to the sustainable development challenges facing shrimp aquaculture development.