Even for those doing fishing or a mix of other livelihood activities, 67

out of 111 households practiced some form of extensive aquaculture. As one fish farmer noted, “the best livelihood is to mix fish farming with other activities. Fish farming alone is not enough … without land or water to farm fish, it is really tough here” (January, 2014). The mean age of household heads interviewed was 49 years. Fish farmers tend to be older, with younger community members sometimes leaving the BTK inhibitor supplier area to find other livelihood opportunities [31]. Black tiger shrimp is an important species across fishing and aquaculture, with near shore fishers targeting a mix of shrimp species (including black tiger shrimp and greasy-back shrimp) selleck kinase inhibitor and fish farmers cultivating black tiger shrimp, along with crab and rabbitfish. Those practicing aquaculture

owned more land (1.7 ha) on average than those practicing fishing or other livelihood activities (less than 1 ha). A range of 0.05–8 ha was found amongst the data set, with ¾ of all respondents having some land for aquaculture. Nearly half of all households had a household member complete secondary school, although over half of household heads had either no education or had only completed primary school (gr. 5). This figure contradicts Vietnam׳s reported overall literacy rate of 93.2% [26]. Worth noting is that, other than near shore fishing, all the other livelihood categories claimed similar income levels, with the mean proportion of annual income per primary livelihood Immune system ranging between 62%

and 77% of income. Fish farmers, in comparison to other primary livelihoods, gained the greatest proportion of their income from their primary livelihood (i.e., aquaculture), whereas fishers and those practicing other livelihoods needed to mix up their livelihood portfolio to a greater extent than fish farmers to secure their livelihoods. Although the continuum of extensive fish farming exists in Phu Vang district, with stocking intensity varying, this is an area where small producers continue to be the predominant form of aquaculture. While a few farmers grew white leg shrimp in the past, this crop failed in part because of poor water exchange systems and stocking densities [32]. Water quality is a major concern for fish farmers in this area since all rely on water from the lagoon, which is utilized intensively. Most households, whether using net enclosures, earth ponds or cages, now practice polyculture. Since it is expensive to buy fish feed, they tend to draw on ‘trash’ or forage fish from the lagoon.