Fry and fingerling transportation in the striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, farming sector, Mekong Delta, Vietnam: A pivotal link in the production chain

The striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, farming sector in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (8°33′-10°55′ N; 104°30′-106°50′ E), has been one of the major global aquaculture successes. The sector currently produces over a million tons, of export value of 1.4 billion US$, in an area of about 7000 ha and provides employment to over 180,000. Catfish farming is pond based, along two main branches of the Lower Mekong and associated waterways. The sector has integrated independent sub-sectors viz. hatchery production, fry to fingerling rearing and grow-out and product processing for export. These are linked through coordinated transportation by water using especially designed boats with the ability to navigate narrow channels along the production chain. This paper deals with the aspects of transportation of 2,264,448 fry/fingerlings, weighing approximately 48,330 kg, to grow-out operations involving 20 producers. All transportation is by boat, of two size classes, 20 and 30 t capacities, with easy access to farms. In general, a fry/fingerling farmer enters into a contract for the transportation to a grow-out farmer and a number of trips are required to complete an operation, depending on the size of the fish and the densities at transportation. Transportation mortalities were relatively low but on delivery to the grow-out farms mortalities increased in the first two days post-stocking and decreased gradually. A cost analysis of the transportation sector is provided and it was seen that the return of the capital cost per year on a boat was relatively high.