Net Returns from Tra Fish Farming
Attributes
Medium: Animals, Plants and/or Others
Country: Vietnam
Analytical Framework(s): Economic Analysis
Study Date: 2005
Publication Date: 2009
Major Result(s)
| Category | Resource/Environmental Good | VND, thousand currency units (2005) |
VND, thousand currency units (2014)1 |
USD, thousand currency units (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainers | total cost3 | 525,000.00 | 979,576.50 | 45.85 |
| Gainers | cost per kg of Tra fish sold | 10.00 | 18.66 | 0.00 |
| Gainers | net returns | 124,000.00 | 231,366.64 | 10.83 |
| Gainers | net returns per kg | 2.50 | 4.66 | 0.00 |
| Losers | total cost | 465,000.00 | 867,624.90 | 40.61 |
| Losers | cost per kg of Tra fish sold | 12.50 | 23.32 | 0.00 |
| Losers | net returns | -55,500.00 | -103,555.23 | -4.85 |
| Losers | net returns per kg | -1.50 | -2.80 | -0.00 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Vietnam (VND) changed by 86.59% from 2005 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.87 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2026) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: The general objective of this study was to provide an economic assessment of the environmental consequences of and pollution control options for pond Tra fish production in the MD. The specific objectives were: to identify the environmental problems associated with the dumping of waste from pond Tra fish production. to identify cost-effective technological solutions; and to recommend policy optiions to address the water pollution problems caused by pond Tra fish production.
Study Details
Summary: This study examined the environmental consequences arising from pond "Tra" fish breeding in the Mekong Delta and explored technically and economically feasible wastewater treatment options for bringing water pollution down to an acceptable level in accordance with Vietnamese environmental standards. The research results showed that the farmers' practice of exchanging water between fishponds and outside water bodies was one of the main causes of surface water pollution in Tra fish-breeding areas. Water sample analysis results indicated that the COD concentration in Tra pond water was 34 mg/l, exceeding the limit of
Site Characteristics: "Tra fish" or catfish production has been on the rise in many provinces in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, and has brought significant profits to commercial fish farmers. However, it has also caused considerable pollution to surface water sources in the areas where catfish culture has taken place as the waste generated from pond fish breeding has been dumped into outside surface water bodies without proper treatment. As a result, the organic matter content (measured by the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) parameter) in these bodies has increased substantially, exceeding the legal surface water quality standards in Vietnam and adversely affecting the water bodies as well as threatening the livelihood of the fish producers.
Comments: Given the available resources, this study was confined to commercial Tra fish production at the household level and considered only the level of organic pollution with respect to the COD parameter. Feasible pollution reduction options only for commercial fish farms that sold their products to export companies were identified.