Year Two of the DeltaVax project marked a period of significant progress, scaling both the technical depth and stakeholder engagement needed to drive a sustainable improvement in pangasius health and welfare in Vietnam. With training, demonstration systems, and on‑farm trials now fully operational, the project has strengthened capacity across the value chain, from hatcheries and nurseries to grow‑out farms, while generating practical evidence on innovative production techniques.
Year two has not been without its challenges, with inclement weather and global trade disruptions causing significant issues within the pangasius value chain. These challenges highlight the need for increased collaboration amongst actors in the chain to stabilise both production and product quality.
Scaling Knowledge: 498 Farmers Trained Across the Delta
During 2025–2026, the project delivered a comprehensive series of training sessions that reached 498 pangasius farmers, technicians, farm managers, government officers and students. These sessions focused on the core technologies and husbandry practices required to improve survival, robustness, and overall system performance.
Beeld: Fresh Studio
Key training topics included:
- Advanced aquaculture technologies for more efficient and resilient production
- Grow‑out techniques that improve welfare and reduce losses
- Breeding and nursing best practices for healthy seed supply
- Larval rearing in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
- Vaccination principles and protocols tailored for pangasius
- Rapid diagnostic tools and field‑ready health assessments
- Microbiome management to stabilize pond and RAS environments
The turnout reflects increasing farmer interest in science‑based management and a growing appetite for practical, affordable solutions that reduce risk and improve profitability.
Demonstration Farms Fully Operational
This year marked the first full cycle of activity at the DeltaVax demonstration farms, supporting both farmer training and technology validation. Two RAS larval-rearing trials were completed, focusing on survival and robustness of pangasius larvae, water quality and microbiome management, and transition to outdoor nursery ponds.
Beeld: Fresh Studio
Larval rearing is the most complex and critical stage. Survival in typical ponds is very low (5–10%), while DeltaVax RAS achieves higher rates of 30–50%. After RAS, fish were transferred to nursery ponds and grown to about 30 grams, allowing observation of growth, health, and system practicality. Results show that low-cost RAS can improve fry quality, reduce early mortality, and support more predictable production.
New year-three trials have started with promising results, and fish will soon be moved to nursery ponds to reach 10 grams for vaccination.
Demonstration Days: Showcasing Practical Innovation
Multiple demonstration days were organized throughout the Mekong Delta, bringing together farmers and industry experts. These events offered hands‑on experience with technologies that are both innovative and accessible to small, medium and large-scale producers.
The demonstrations highlighted:
1. Low‑cost RAS solutions - Affordable designs adapted for local farm conditions, focusing on ease of construction, operation, and maintenance.
2. Rearing pangasius larvae in RAS - Live demonstrations of system setup, daily management, and water quality control.
3. Pangasius vaccination techniques - Practical training on fish handling, injection protocols, and stress‑minimizing procedures.
4. Rapid diagnostics - On‑site demonstrations of sampling, PCR screening workflows, and interpretation of results.
5. Microbiome management strategies - Understanding beneficial microbial communities and how they influence water quality, pathogen regulation, and early-life fish health.
Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with farmers expressing interest in adopting select techniques, particularly low‑cost RAS designs and simple health diagnostic methods.
Beeld: Fresh Studio
Studies
As part of the DeltaVax project, studies were conducted to better understand and manage microbial communities in pangasius production systems, including pond water, sediments, and RAS. These microbiomes play a key role in water quality, nutrient cycling, fish health, and disease risk, and are strongly influenced by environmental conditions and farm management practices.
A key focus was microbial monitoring during larval rearing in RAS and nursery systems. Using the KYTOS framework, indicators such as bacterial load, viability, productivity, and diversity were tracked, showing clear differences in microbial stability across systems and stages. This highlights the need for active microbiome management, especially in early life stages.
Applied trials also tested microbiome optimisation strategies, including probiotic fermentation, showing how water source and management affect microbial stability and risk.
Studies’ results are available here.
Farm Visits
In year 2, the extension team carried out 147 farm visits across key pangasius provinces in the Mekong Delta. The visits covered both nursery and grow-out farms, from company operations to smallholder households. Most visits were regular follow-ups, combined with training, sampling, and problem-solving. During each visit, the team recorded key data such as water quality (pH, oxygen, temperature, ammonia), stocking density, feeding, fish growth, mortality, and health status.
Health issues were common, including disease signs, unusual fish behavior, and environmental stress like bad weather or unstable water quality. Each visit also included advice and coaching on topics like water management, pond preparation, disease prevention, vaccination, and monitoring tools. Farmers’ understanding and interest were tracked to improve future training.
DeltaCare Launch
In November 2025, the DeltaCare project was officially launched at the Mekong Delta Business Forum in HCMC.
The DeltaCare Initiative is a spin off from DeltaVax, developed to specifically address the growing interest in fish and shrimp welfare in Vietnam. The project focusses on:
- Developing a welfare assessment tool for pangasius
- Raising awareness for fish and shrimp welfare amongst farmers and consumers
- Improving the image of Vietnam’s aquaculture industry
A Strong Foundation for Year 3
As DeltaVax enters its final year, the project is well positioned to consolidate, refine, and embed the advances achieved over the previous phases. Building on strong foundations in farmer training, applied research, demonstration systems, and extension engagement, the final year will focus on translating proven approaches into sustained on‑farm practice and wider sector uptake.
Key activities in the final year will include the continued training of pangasius farmers and extension personnel, with an emphasis on deepening understanding, reinforcing best practices, and supporting confident adoption of technologies introduced during earlier phases. Training will remain closely aligned with real farm challenges, particularly in larval and nursery management, biosecurity, vaccination, diagnostics, water quality control, and microbiome‑based approaches to health management.
By the end of the final year, DeltaVax aims to leave a clear legacy of trained farmers, functioning demonstration systems, accessible tools and data, and an empowered extension network, ensuring that the improvements in pangasius health, survival, and production consistency achieved during the project can continue beyond its lifetime.