Sturgeon is a cold-water fish with high economic value. In Vietnam, fertilized sturgeon spawn were imported by Research Institute for Aquaculture No2 in 2004-2005 and successfully farmed in Sa Pa district in Lao Cai province. In 2006, sturgeon was trial farmed in Lam Dong.

Following success in Lao Cai and Lam Dong, sturgeon is now raised in 21 cities in Vietnam, mostly in the northern mountainous areas and the Central Highlands. Vietnam’s sturgeon output has increased sharply from 75 tons in 2007 to 4,303 tons in 2023. The figure was estimated at 2,000 tons in the first six months of 2024.

Lam Dong and Lao Cai are the two major farming areas where large sturgeon farming centers are located. Lam Dong produced 1,200 tons of sturgeon in 2021, 1,500 tons in 2022 and 2,297 tons in 2023. The figures were 239, 757 and 665 tons in those respective years for Lao Cai.

Nguyen Van Chau, deputy director of Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said there are 109 cold-water fish farms in the province (most of them are raising sturgeons), with a total area of 54 hectares and 640 cages on hydropower water reservoirs. Sturgeon farming can bring revenue of VND450 billion, improving locals’ incomes and developing local economy. 

The farms also produce 5 million sturgeon breeders each year that serve local farming and sell to other provinces.

The strong development of sturgeon farming for years has put Vietnam into the group of top 10 countries with largest sturgeon output (China, Russia, Italia, Bulgaria, Iran, the US, France, Vietnam, Poland and Germany).

In addition to farming sturgeon for commercial purposes, farmers also raise fish for spawn which are processed into high-quality products for domestic consumption and export.

Vietnam’s processed caviar output reached 3 tons in 2020. The sturgeon farming areas for spawn are mostly located in Lam Dong.

The sturgeon spawn output in Lam Dong has been increasing steadily, from 1 ton in 2018 to 2 tons in 2020. Vietnam’s sturgeon caviar is selling at VND40 million per kilogram, which is cheaper than some caviar imports.

According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), the consumed volume of sturgeon caviar is on the rise, about 2,000 tons a year now.

Caviar and products replacing caviar are increasingly popular around the globe. Sturgeon farms and the market have been expanding. The diversification of caviar supply sources will help to access the high-end caviar market.

Tam An