Hutton researchers visit shrimp aquaculture project workshop in Vietnam

Hutton colleagues Susanna Mölkänen, Mads Troldborg and Rupert Hough recently attended a kick-off meeting and stakeholder workshop in Can Tho, Vietnam from 2 to 5 December 2026 for the early intervention for sustainable aquaculture in Viet Nam and Thailand project. This UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded project is a collaboration between the University of West of Scotland, University of Strathclyde, The James Hutton Institute, Can Tho University, Vidyashirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), and Aston University with project partners Skretting and Phileo to develop low-cost and low-tech solutions to monitor disease and water quality in shrimp farming. This workshop was the first official in-person meeting for the project and was hosted by colleagues at the College of Aquaculture & Fisheries at Can Tho University (CTU).

The first day of the workshop commenced with a kick-off meeting to facilitate introductions followed by a tour of the research facilities at CTU. We were given a tour of both the indoor and outdoor research facilities where CTU conducts fisheries and aquaculture research on various organisms including shrimp, fish and eels.

The second day of the workshop was for project partners to report on their work package progress to each other. The Hutton team’s work on the model structure as part of Work Package 3 (WP3) was presented to the rest of the consortium for feedback. We also held a discussion session where we gathered expert knowledge from the consortium and project partners which will inform future model development.

A stakeholder session was held on the third day of the workshop for shrimp farmers, shrimp farm managers and local government officials to attend. The project was introduced to those in attendance, and we were able to ask questions from local experts on their experience with shrimp farming in Vietnam.

The final day of the workshop consisted of a visit to see the project research shrimp ponds hosted at ShrimpVet facilities in Ca Mau province of southern Vietnam. We were given a tour of the shrimp farm consisting of nursery ponds and grow-out ponds and their future sustainability plans of growing mangroves in a wastewater treatment pond.

Overall, the project workshop was insightful and collaborative. It also gave us as at Hutton the opportunity to engage with the end-users of our model, the local farmers who we hope will one day be using our tool for decision support. While aquaculture is a new area of research for us, the process of participatory model development with end-users is a familiar approach. As always, interaction with farmers, project partners, and government officials benefited our work immensely.

Blog by Susanna Molkanen, Post-doctoral Systems Risk Modeller, ICS

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author, and not an official position of the Hutton or funder.