Vietnam produces millions of tonnes of pangasius (basa) annually for export, with welfare challenges in intensive earthen pond systems including water quality, disease, and harvest practices.
Pangasius welfare in Vietnamese intensive production is challenged by stocking densities that far exceed what the species experiences in its natural Mekong River habitat. While the species air-breathing capacity allows survival in hypoxic conditions, chronic exposure to poor water quality and crowding stress causes immune suppression and disease susceptibility. Bacterial infections causing haemorrhagic septicaemia cause significant suffering over several days before death. Harvest by pond draining concentrates fish in declining water quality, causing acute distress. Implementation of basic water quality standards and disease monitoring would substantially improve welfare outcomes in this globally significant aquaculture species.