Advantage: The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are significant contributors to the economy of Vietnam. Direct production value (at the farm gate or on the wharf) in 2003 was approximately Ð25 trillion ($1.7 billion) or approaching 4% of GDP. Export earnings from fish, shrimp and other seafood products totaled about $2.2 billion in 2003 of which 52% was shrimp 1) Natural and environmental factors : +) Vietnam has a land area of 329,200 km² , an exclusive economic zone of about 1 million km², and a coastline of 3260 km, with 28 provinces abutting with the The sea area of Vietnam can be divided into four main regions as shown in Table 1
Table 1 : Biomass and estimated MSY | Fish stock 000 tons | TAC 000 tons | Tonkin Gulf | 681.2 | 272.5 | Central Region | 606.4 | 242.6 | South Eastern | 2075.9 | 830.5 | South Western | 506.7 | 202.3 | Sea mounts | 10.0 | 2.5 | Total sea area | 300.0 | 120.0 | | 4180.2 | 1670.4 |

MSY = maximum sustainable yield, TAC = total allowable catch Source: Fistenet based on RIMF 1997 estimates. +) Vietnam has a dense river network, including 2,360 rivers with a length over 10km. Eight have large basins with catchments of more than 10,000km². This river network includes many international rivers that originate in other countries. +) With some of the provinces in the Mekong delta , mangroves are central to the sustainability of many of Vietnam’s fisheries. => potential to develop in shores fisheries. +) Weather type is tropical => convenient for fishing. There are two main fishing seasons – the south season (from May to October in the north and July to December in the south) and the north season (from November to April in the north and January to May in the south). 2) Socio- Economic aspects : +) Policy and Legislation : Government policy and the new Fisheries Law enacted in November 2003 provide a good basic framework for inshore and offshore fisheries management, environmentally sustainable aquaculture development and poverty reduction in the fisheries sector. Vietnam’s WTO membership, expected during 2005, will have important implications for the fishery and aquaculture sectors and the livelihoods of the people involved. the development of new and modern transportation high skilled labor.