Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Viet Thang said that the fishermen often breed stocks using traditional techniques, but this often leads to weak resistance against disease. He added that domestic and foreign enterprises are being encouraged to join the move. The ministry would coordinate with relevant sectors to build a legal corridor and study international laws to protect domestic bio-tech products.
According to Thang with more than 40 projects, the bio-tech plan is expected to meet 30 percent of demand for disease-resistant fisheries breeds including prawn, tra catfish, green-clawed prawn, African carp, crab and red snappers by 2010; 70 percent by 2015; and 100 percent by 2020. He appealed the research institutes to send talented scientists on 6-12 month study trips to countries with well developed fisheries bio-technology.
Thang told that experts should be trained in fisheries bio-technology covered in the plan. The Deputy Director of the ministry’s Technology Department Pham Anh Tuan, explained that the fisheries sector has already completed studies in areas including technology on developing breeds, preserving species, boosting quality and managing the environment.
Tuan informed that the problem was that the application of bio-technologies had been carried out at laboratories which lacked modern equipment. Fishermen often breed stocks using traditional techniques, but this often leads to weak resistance against disease. Deputy Head of the Seafood Research Institute Dao Manh Son said that each seafood research institute has one lab which carries out many different projects at the same time but these are hindered by a lack of staff.
