The Norwegian Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) today [October 9] co-hosted a national a seminar on blue ocean economy in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa.
A view of the seminar. Photo: Norwegian Embassy
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The seminar was attended by Norway’s Ambassador to Vietnam Grete Løchen, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, and over 150 participants representing ministries and central agencies; departments of agriculture and rural development, and departments of science and technology of several coastal provinces with potential to develop marine aquaculture industry; Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish); Innovation Norway in Vietnam; Norwegian Seafood Council; relevant international organizations in Vietnam; academia and institutes on fisheries; and a large number of Vietnamese and Norwegian businesses.
The one-day seminar serves as forum for Norwegian and Vietnamese policy makers, researchers and creative business community to meet and share information and experience about the government planning and management of the marine aquaculture industry, needs for green technologies and smart solutions for the industry’s sustainable development, challenges including financing, solutions as well as to promote transfer technology and explore potential opportunities for cooperation.
Focusing on green technologies and solutions for sustainable industrial marine aquaculture, the seminar covers the entire value chain in the industry from genetics breeding, fish health, feed, farming techniques, to fish handling & marine rest raw materials processing.
“Building on over 30 years of cooperation between Vietnam and Norway in the fishery sector including aquaculture, this seminar is a good opportunity for Vietnam and Norway to exchange information and experience in relation to sustainable development of industrial-scale marine aquaculture. Vietnam sees Norway as one of its preferred partners in this industry”, said MARD Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.
“At the UN Climate Action Summit in New York two weeks ago, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy chaired by our Prime Minister Erna Solberg launched a Call for Ocean-Climate Action which highlights five areas including sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture that can help boost ocean health and mitigate climate crisis. We have learned many good and practical lessons from the sustainable development of our salmon industry, and Norway is ready to share it with Vietnam”, said Ambassador Grete Løchen.
Top leaders of 12 Norwegian organizations take part in this Seminar. Each of them represents a link of the entire value chain and has unique and interesting experience to share about, for example, the importance of applied genetics in breeding as a driver for sustainable seafood, feeding solutions for marine fish species, new modern fish farming techniques, how to handle fish from sea to processing plant, particularly how to turn marine rest raw materials into high quality human grade & feed grade products.
As part of the seminar, Director General of D-Fish Tran Dinh Luan and Norwegian Commercial Counsellor Arne-Kjetil Lian co-chair a discussion session on possible ways for Vietnam to develop an industrial marine aquaculture industry in an effective and sustainable manner, and how the two countries and businesses can cooperate in this course.
A display area at the Seminar provide the participants with an overview of the current advanced green technologies used in Norway’s industrial-scale marine farming and processing industry.
After the seminar, on 10 October, Vietnamese and Norwegian businesses will join a field trip to visit the barramundi hatchery of Australis Vietnam Co. Ltd, and learn about practices of pompano and barramundi aquaculture in the industrial cage farming system in Khanh Hoa province.
During Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit in May to Norway, which is well-known for its maritime economy, blue ocean economy was a focus on the agenda.
