Attendees of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, have been polled, using electronic devices, on a number of issues thus far. Here are the results of the Day 1 questions (Day 2 results available tomorrow). My responses have an asterisk (some questions do not apply).
1. What sector of the seafood business are you in?
A—Producer (hatchery, farm, processing) 13%
B—Supplier (feed, equipment, services) 8%
C—Buyer (retail, foodservice, distribution) 41%
D—Government or Institutional 6%
E—Other (finance, academic, NGO) 32%*
2. In which continent to you primarily do business?
A—Asia and Australia 26%
B—Europe 16%
C—North America 53%*
D—Central and South America 4%
E—Africa 2%
3. Which is the primary species of your business?
A—Crustaceans 60%
B—Salmonids 6%
C—Marine Finfish 14%
D—Freshwater Finfish 17%
E—Bivalves 2%
4. What is the most important challenge limiting aquaculture?
A—Health and Disease Management 48%
B—Feed 9%*
C—Environmental and Social Responsibility 11%
D—Investment Capital 9%
E—Market Support 4%
F—Leadership 6%
G—Consumer Education 13%
5. What is the most important tool for managing EMS (Early Mortality Syndrome)?
A—Diagnostics 13%
B—Genetic Resistance 30%*
C—Hatchery Management 18%
D—Farm Management 37%
E—Feed Additives 3%
6. How soon will shrimp farming rebound from EMS?
A—1 year 8%
B—2 years 33%
C—3 years 31%*
D—4 years 9%
E—It’s already happening 18%
