Lagoon resource users themselves consistently mentioned the challenges of pursuing a fisheries-based livelihood. Case study work

at the village level enabled an assessment of the potential for farmers to fulfill VietG.A.P. certification requirements. Reflective of the district survey, most Thuy Dien households are involved in some type of polyculture (172 households of 196). Of the 172 households, 134 practice mixed species net enclosed aquaculture, and 38 households practice polyculture in ponds. Participants were asked to consider their current fish farming practices in terms of information check details they tracked or of information in which they were knowledgeable. We compared their answers in relation to VietG.A.P. requirements. VietG.A.P. was chosen rather than ShAD or GLOBALG.A.P. since it is a national standard and likely the most realistic entry point for certification. Table 4 outlines key VietG.A.P. requirements and illustrates the percentage of fish farmers in Thuy Dien village who currently meet these requirements. Table 4 demonstrates that VietG.A.P. requires well documented records for all aspects of production, food safety, feed, and disease management. Although pertinent for compliance with any food safety or sustainability standard, detailed record keeping other than for specific aspects of production, is not an

activity typically performed by small producers [22]. Detailed record keep Fulvestrant research buy was also found to be a struggle for small, medium and large-scale pangasius producers [50]. Farmers tend to record economic returns per crop rather than, for example, listing all sources of feed or recording disease impacts. As one farmer commented, “when my shrimp are sick [with disease],

it is hard to know why exactly. We talk to each other to try to find a solution, and sometimes use human medicine to try to help”. Farmers also note Vasopressin Receptor that both feed and seed can be expensive, and depending on price and availability it may make more sense for them to source trash fish or wild seed [9]. Some certification schemes prohibit the use of wild seed such as GLOBALG.A.P. while others, like VietG.A.P., do not. Nonetheless, VietG.A.P. compliance would require a substantive shift in current practices. Farmers were also read a list of factors related to sustainability, and asked which factors they considered important for sustainable fish farming. This line of questioning was aimed at determining the interest of small producers to comply with more rigorous farming practices as well as to assess the key challenges with which they are faced. Farmers in Thuy Dien do not typically use chemical inputs or currently employ workers outside the family unit [32], [51] and [31]; consequently, the use of antibiotics for fish disease and workers׳ rights criteria were not considered important.