Representatives from agencies, associations and businesses and farmersin aquaculture have gathered in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trangfor a workshop on the application of VietGap standards in the sector’ssustainable development.

During the workshop on November 19,participants discussed advantages and difficulties for the sector,including environment and the application of the Vietnamese GoodAgriculture Practice (VietGap) standards in intensive shrimp farming,while seeking ways to connect the Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice(VietGap) standards with other clean production international models,such as ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council), GlobalGAP, BAP.

President of the Vietnam Fisheries Society Nguyen Viet Thang said theevent helped figure out the similarity and correlation of sets ofstandards to ensure sustainable development for aquaculture with focuson food safety and hygiene.

According to the Department ofAquaculture, the country’s total aquatic products hit more than 6million tonnes in 2013, a year-on-year increase of over 2 percent,making a substantial contribution to the country’s export.

Thesector targets to have 30 percent of aquafarming establishmentsreceiving VietGap certificates by 2015. The figure is expected to riseto 80 percent by 2020.-VNA