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During the Gap Assessment Stage of the Ca Mau Fishery Improvement Project (FIP Ca Mau), the collaboration and support of Ca Mau's public sector are crucial. To facilitate this, Kim Delta was granted an official meeting with the Committee of People of Ca Mau:

1. Introduction of FIP Ca Mau to Ca Mau government departments (DARD):

   - Ca Mau province expressed a warm welcome for FIP and expressed readiness to support information sharing and advocate for more project members.

   - The project received valuable feedback, which will help in planning FIP activities in Ca Mau during the next stage.

2. Discussion on data sharing for Gap assessment:

   - DARD will be ready to provide information on fishing vessels, output, fisheries, and other relevant data.

   - DARD will initiate a conference involving various stakeholders, starting with fishmeal and aqua feed companies in Ca Mau, to encourage their participation in the project and secure additional funding for FIP implementation.

Thanks to the meeting, the importance of cooperation between public and private sectors was emphasised, with a focus on data sharing to facilitate the completion of the current assessment stage. Kim Delta's representatives primarily engaged in discussions with Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee, and Mr. Nguyen Viet Trieu, Deputy Head of the sDF. Representatives from the College of Aquaculture and Fisheries - Can Tho University (CAF-CTU) assisted in the meeting together with various FIP Ca Mau fishmeal partners. 

Over the past few weeks, he had the privilege of meeting with the Department of Fisheries in Bangkok, actively participating in discussions surrounding fishmeal certification, fishing procedures, and port in port out techniques. Engaging with the Thai Sustainable Fisheries Roundtable - thanks for the support from Vorapong Iamtrakul - Martijn explored the crucial factors of the roundtable and active Multispecies Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) in Thailand. Additionally, he gained insights into the seafood supply chain by visiting the vessel monitoring center, a fishmeal factory, and the port. Moreover, he'll compare Thailand and Vietnam fishery situations and report similarities and distinctions. Stay tuned for updates!

Beyond work, he embarked on a journey through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, immersing himself in the vibrant cultures and stunning landscapes. Grateful for the unwavering support and guidance received throughout, he looks forward to leveraging this transformative experience as he continues to pursue excellence in his career.

Introducing Xuyen, our dedicated Office Assistant! With over six years of experience and a Bachelor of Arts, she brings flexibility and attention to detail skills to our team, including translating and interpreting documents, as well as managing office tasks.

Seeking opportunities to contribute to a company that resonates with her values and build long-term stability in Can Tho, motivates her to be a committed member of our staff. We are excited to have her at Kim Delta, driving our team forward.

Last month, Kim Delta met with NSF International representatives in Bangkok - Thailand. For the last couple of years, NSF has been auditing Thai fishmeal factories for the MarinTrust Improver Programme. There has yet to be experience with this specific type of audit in Vietnam, and Kim Delta Vietnam needed to learn how to help their fishmeal factory clients better.

Kim Delta participated in workshops during the Seafood Expo Global 2023 in Barcelona to provide the market requirements information regarding the #responsible sourcing of marine ingredients for #processors & #buyers. On April 26, Steven Starmans was a presenter in the workshop, 'Supporting Improvements in Surimi and Related Fisheries in Vietnam' hosted by the Certification and Ratings Collaboration and Kim Delta Vietnam, MarinTrust, Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd., and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The objective was to discuss how Vietnamese #suppliers and their global customers can collaborate to support and increase efforts to enhance the #sustainability of Vietnamese surimi and marine ingredients.

The workshop was attended by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) chairwoman, and other #seafood actors from Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Japan. We are especially grateful for the support of MarinTrust's: Libby Woodhatch and Nicola Clark, and David Martin of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership during the activities of the Expo.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest producer of tropical surimi, producing an estimated 180.000 tons in 2020. #Surimi production uses a variety of gears, including #multispecies trawl fisheries that also supply raw materials for producing #marine #ingredients. Although these fisheries face some sustainability challenges, Vietnam is home to one of the first fishery improvement projects organized under the MarinTrust Improver Programme Multispecies Pilot.

Kim Delta participated in workshops during the Seafood Expo Global 2023 in Barcelona to provide the market requirements information regarding the #responsible sourcing of marine ingredients for #processors & #buyers. On April 26, Steven Starmans was a presenter in the workshop, 'Supporting Improvements in Surimi and Related Fisheries in Vietnam' hosted by the Certification and Ratings Collaboration and Kim Delta Vietnam, MarinTrust, Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd., and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The objective was to discuss how Vietnamese #suppliers and their global customers can collaborate to support and increase efforts to enhance the #sustainability of Vietnamese surimi and marine ingredients.

The workshop was attended by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) chairwoman, and other #seafood actors from Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Japan. We are especially grateful for the support of MarinTrust's: Libby Woodhatch and Nicola Clark, and David Martin of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership during the activities of the Expo.

At Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global 2023, Kim Delta Vietnam Seafood Consultant Ms. Kim Thanh NGUYEN was excited to attend the panel discussion: Blue Transformation - Case Studies from South East Asia, involving Mr. Tuantong Jutagate, Mr. David Martin, Ms. Libby Woodhatch and Ms. Nicola Clark.

Throughout, Multispecies Fisheries Improvement Program in Thailand and Vietnam was shared, and we had the opportunity to learn from each other. Therefore, Ms. Thanh emphasizes the importance of commitment and connection from all stakeholders in the supply chain during the implementation of FIP, especially in the private sector, to maintain momentum and achieve the long-term goal of improving fishermen's livelihood step by step.

We welcome another intern - Martijn Michels - to our team. He is passionate about #sustainability and business and is currently studying International Development Management, which brings a fresh perspective and knowledge. He will research #valuechain management during his time with us, focusing on #Multispecies #FIP projects.

“Hello, nice to meet you! My name is Martijn Michels, and I am a third-year International Development Management student majoring in Sustainable Value Chains at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. I am doing my half-year internship at Kim Delta Vietnam, researching value chain management in multispecies FIP projects and fishmeal value chains in Vietnam and Thailand.” - He gives his introduction.

Martijn has joined our organization, and we believe his skills and knowledge will strengthen our organization. Therefore, we are dedicated to ensuring that he receives both advantageous and constructive #internship experience that promotes his personal and professional development.

We are delighted to express our gratitude to our intern, Anouk Starmans. She is majoring in International Development Studies and has demonstrated a solid commitment to responsibility. Over the last two months, she has contributed to research on the efficiency and #sustainability of allocating #agriculture equity, particularly on Ca Mau.

At Kim Delta, we value diversity and inclusion and believe that #internship programs can bring unique perspectives to us. Together, we'll work towards our shared goals, leveraging interns’ contributions and providing them with a dynamic learning experience.

"I received a lot of assistance from Kim Delta, for which I am very thankful. The experiences that I have had during fieldwork and the people I have met here so far have been very memorable." - Anouk on our team's support and projects.

With six years of proficiency in administration, customer care service, and logistics, Thinh highly fits the Administrative Assistant role. Parallelly, her independence at work and organizational prowess is an asset to her team.

We are content to impart that as of February 2023, Thinh has opened a new chapter in her career path, dedicating her ability together with Kim Delta Vietnam to drive responsible and sustainable outcomes for our community and society. We believe our workplace will enhance more modern and professional sense because of her knowledge and attitude.

On 9 February, a meeting was held between partners of FIP Vung Tau to evaluate the FIP's progress and accomplishments in 2022 and establish priorities for 2023. Our participants included Nutreco, Skretting Vietnam, Grobest Group, Phuc Loc Fishmeal, Long Son, Dong Hai, Tan Tien, Tan Long, Sheng Long Bio-tech Co., LTD., and CP Vietnam Corporation.

In 2022, the FIP achieved provisional guidance on fishery data for multispecies trawl fisheries in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, identified data sources on Vung Tau fishery, and held a Fisheries Data Collection Workshop to strategize on collecting and sharing fisheries data for trawl fisheries assessment and management.

For 2023, the FIP aims to establish a co-management team, improve existing trawl fisheries data of Ba Ria - Vung Tau through sampling at fishing vessels, landing ports, and fishmeal factories, and support fishmeal factories in becoming Accepted Sites under the MarinTrust IP program to improve fishery traceability.

FIP Vung Tau is the first recognized multispecies FIP in Vietnam and has garnered interest from various stakeholders. The commitment of the FIP's partners demonstrates the important role of the private sector in achieving responsible and sustainable practices for the Vietnam fishery industry.

We are pleased to inform you that the initial stage of the project has been executed effectively. This marks a significant achievement for the Multispecies FIP CaMau program.

Main Outcomes of this phase:

1. A quick assessment of Ca Mau #fishery :

• Location: in the Gulf of Thailand. 

• Importance: With Kien Giang, the province is one of four key fishing grounds of #Vietnam. 

• Total catch: over 117 thousand tons (first 6 months of 2022).

• Number of registered fishing vessels: 3.780, of which inshore vessels comprised over 60%.

• Main fishing gears: gill nets and hooks & lines, accounting for over 40% and 33%, respectively.

• Biggest landing ports: Ca Mau city and Song Doc.

• Key ‘buyers' of multi-species fishing landed at Ca Mau: #surimi processors, #seafood processors and #fishmeal processors.

2. Project Plan for Phase 2 of the project;

3. Partner Agreement for Phase 2.

Kim Delta expresses our heartfelt gratitude to eleven project collaborators, consisting of four quafeed and seven fishmeal companies, for entrusting us with the responsibility of assisting them in achieving this FIP.

Multispecies FIP Vietnam is live today!

With all the hard work that has gone into the project over the years, we are proud to share that the first and only website for Multispecies FIP Vietnam is now live!

Sustainable fishery is high on the agenda, yet except for some experts and companies, most people have no clue on what the problems are and what is really being done about it. Though we cannot prevent using ‘jargon’, the website will over time try to explain the complexity of working on sustainability of multispecies trawl fishery, for everyone to understand.

Some first explanations:

• FIP: Fishery Improvement Project.

• Multispeciesfishery: Fishing method using non-selective gear(s) that unavoidably catches a variety of species. Fishery data from multispecies fisheries are more difficult to interpret.

• Trawl: a fishing net pulled through the water behind one or more boats.

Visit the Multispecies FIP website: multispeciesfip.com

🎣To have a better understanding of FIP

🎣To be updated with transparent information about the current related projects

🎣To ask support from our team 

The Multispecies Trawl Fishery Improvement Project in Vung Tau (FIP Vung Tau) intends to develop a Fishery Management plan and tools for stakeholders, specifically the Fishery Department of Ba Ria Vung Tau, to be able to guarantee a more sustainable fishery in the provincial waters.

Currently, September 2022, the initial work of creating a guidance to collect data about the fishery has been done and the next step will be to start actually collecting the data and analyzing it. At the same time the partnering fishmeal companies have the opportunity to start their process to become certified for MarinTrust. One by one their factories will be assessed to establish what improvements they need to make to pass a MarinTrust Improver Programme (IP) audit.

As the project coordinator of FIP Vung Tau, Kim Delta Vietnam met Phuc Loc fishmeal company on September 14 to discuss their preparations for the coming audit and to obtain their feedback on the FIP existing works. Our team also visited a landing port to learn more about the fishermen of Vung Tau and the fishmeal industry's raw materials.

The Mekong Delta is one example of how salinity intrusion has seriously harmed the livelihoods of millions of farming households and imperiled the survival of most coastal districts. Salinity intrusion has clear consequences, including shortage of fresh water for consumption and production, as well as decrease in farming productivity. Separately, the local farmers, the experts, and the governments cannot deal with it on their own, but they stand a better chance collaboratively. Thus, interdisciplinary solutions are necessary.

Kim Delta Vietnam is collaborating with its partners, HZ University of Applied Sciences, The Water Agency, and Tra Vinh University (TVU), to establish the Mekong Salt Lab as a Center of Expertise which assists local farmers with salinity mitigation and adaptation.

The concept of Salt Lab is inspired by the idea of a hospital where people with a complex health problem, that they can not solve themselves, would go to. The same applies to the Salt Lab: farmers with an urgent salinity intrusion problem can seek assistance from Salt Lab for an integrated expert consult.

Salt Lab aims to:

1. Further develop expertise in salinity mitigation and adaptation including freshwater management and integrated and adaptive planning;

2. Transfer the interdisciplinary expertise to farmers for better salinity adaptation and mitigation;

3. Collaborate and exchange knowledge with local stakeholders and international partners.

We are about halfway through the first phase of building the Salt Lab and have been focussing on training personnel, trainers, and researchers to work with local farmers; constructing the business model and plan; and creating ownership and commitment to the province and TVU board.

The Vietnam-Netherlands Sustainable Aquaculture Business Forum 2022 took place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on September 7, aiming to create a business platform for trade and investment promotion and facilitate knowledge exchange and technology transfer to develop a sustainable aquaculture industry in Vietnam. 

In the Panel Discussion ‘Inclusive Approach’, Mr. Steven Starmans - Director of Kim Delta Vietnam shared the importance of including smallholder farmers in the development process: 

“Today, we share a lot about technologies that promote sustainable aquaculture and/or agrifood, but how many smallholder farmers will be able to adopt these technologies? We - the researchers, trainers, and consultants - always talk about how we want to support farmers and help the Mekong Delta to become sustainable. However, it would be better if we also include the main actors, the smallholder farmers, in the process from the start.”

A technical talk about the Salt Lab was held in the event's afternoon as an example of how to actually reach the smallholder farmers. This project aims to provide a place farmers can turn to when they have an urgent problem with saltwater intrusion. 

In Ca Mau the first phase of a multispecies trawl fishery improvement project was launched last week (FIP Ca Mau). The FIP is commissioned by 8 fishmeal and 4 feed companies to Kim Delta Vietnam. FIP Ca Mau is the second multispecies FIP in Vietnam, after FIP Vung Tau. Both aim to help the participating fishmeal companies to become eligible for MarinTrust assessment under Improver Program.

Just as important as the potential certification, is the expected benefit of more sustainable fishery in the provincial waters.

FIP Ca Mau is the first Vietnamese multispecies FIP in the Gulf of Thailand (GoT), with Thailand having taken the lead a few years back with the worlds' first multi-species trawl FIP.

Both FIPs are expected to collaborate, trying to make fishery in the GoT more sustainable, something that the governments of the 4 GoT countries Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia have promised to support. A great boost has also been given by the interest of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on the subject.

Current participants of FIP Ca Mau includes Công ty Cổ phần chăn nuôi C.P. Việt Nam - CP Vietnam Corporation, De Heus Vietnam, Skretting Vietnam, Grobest Vietnam, Kim Son fishmeal, Minh Phat Ca Mau, Sing Viet Song Doc, Nam Hai, Thuy San Song Doc, Viet Uc, Thuy San Truong Phuc, and Tan Ganh Hao. In the first phase, FIP Ca Mau will focus on doing a quick multispecies trawl fishery scan in Ca Mau province and develop a project plan.

Building on the success of #FIPVungTau, a FIP introduction meeting was held by Kim Delta Vietnam on 1st August 2022 to assist fishmeal and feed companies from #CaMau and #KienGiang learning about FIP and stay ahead of fisheries industry problems while ensuring sustainable fishing. A deep explanation of the project and certification process was provided by Ms. Nicola Clark from MarinTrust in that meeting.  

The FIP Vung Tau quarterly partner meeting took place on July 29th, attended by representatives of 10 fishmeal and feed companies, MarinTrust, SGS and BAP under the coordination of Kim Delta Vietnam.

The partners were updated on the FIP Vung Tau process. Furthermore a tripartite dialogue was held among fishmeal factories, MarinTrust (Nicola Clark & Deirdre Hoare), and SGS Vietnam regarding MarinTrust certification.

FIP Vung Tau is the first multi-species FIP in Vietnam which is financed 100% by the private sector: 6 fishmeal and 4 feed companies, as we are all aware of the need to transition fisheries into more responsible and sustainable.  

Learning the farmer's language is a crucial step to setting up a thorough communication channel with them, so that the academic experts can hear farmers properly, gain farmers' trust and pave the way for knowledge moving between the world of academia and the rural world.

The first field trip of the project to set up “Mekong Salt Lab” - partnership of Tra Vinh University, HZ University of Applied Sciences, The Water Agency and Kim Delta Vietnam - took place on June 14, 2022. 

Consultation with shrimp growers in Ca Mau. They want to be heard (intensive farming), they want support so that they can maintain the sustainability of their mangrove shrimp farming (which they have been doing for more than 10 years), and they want better solutions to transform their rice straw to shrimp food (rice shrimp farming). Kim Delta Vietnam continues supporting shrimp value chain stakeholders, especially small growers, for their better mutual understanding and fairness. 

A Value Chain describes the processes for all actors and other stakeholders active in steps going from an idea to a finished product or service. In order to increase control of its activities and its outcome, an actor in the chain should first understand the steps and processes before being able to try to influence them to his or her benefit.

Kim Delta had the opportunity to train lecturers of universities and colleges in the Mekong Delta and HCMC to help them understand this concept, so that they could teach their students and/or use the knowledge and skills to improve the local agrifood sector.

The training was called  "Value chain management and market linkages for fruits and aquaculture in Mekong Delta" and was part of the Netherlands funded Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) Project 'Towards a climate resilient nursery sector and value chains in the Mekong Delta through capacity building in the educational and government sectors', coordinated by Aeres University of Applied Sciences.

Trainers were Ms Kim Thanh Nguyen (Value Chain Management) and Mr. Steven Starmans (Agribusiness Development), both of Kim Delta Vietnam, coordination by Mr Jos Leeters and Mr. Chuong Nguyen.