ABSTRACT
Aquaculture, and especially semi-intensive shrimp farming, is a fast-growing industry in Vietnam, promising better income and employment to rural communities along the coast. Chau Thanh Tam, a former rice farmer, started his business in 2000. His shrimp farm is situated a few kilometres outside Ca Mau City in the centre of the Mekong river delta in the far south of Vietnam. The Chau Thanh Tam Shrimp Farm (shortened to CTT in the following discussion) buys the larvae of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodom) from specialist larvae hatchers and grows them to a marketable size. Mr Tam sells his shrimp to wholesalers, who export them to the United States. The shrimp farm is a small enterprise providing an income for Tam’s family and eight employees. Mr Tam is also the chairman of the shrimp farm club in Ca Mau City.
