Pangasius (Tra catfish) is one of Southeast Asia most exported aquaculture species and faces significant welfare challenges throughout its production chain.
Pangasius welfare represents the challenge of improving animal welfare in a global commodity market where price pressure is intense and welfare oversight in producing countries is limited. Consumer awareness of pangasius is low in importing markets, and the cheap price of the product reflects in part the welfare and environmental costs externalized from the supply chain. Meaningful welfare improvement requires engagement from major importers and retailers who have the market leverage to require certification; regulatory frameworks in Vietnam that set and enforce minimum welfare standards; and investment in lower-density production systems that allow better water quality management. The scale of production means even incremental improvements reach hundreds of millions of individual fish.