Australis Aquaculture, an enterprise with aquaculture projects in south-central Vietnam, has been among the winners of the 2021 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) presented by the U.S. Department of State.

The Secretary of State’s annual ACE recognizes and honors U.S. companies that uphold high standards as responsible members of their communities. 

Established in 1999, the award seeks to highlight ways in which U.S. companies represent American values in the way they do business, in line with international best practices.

This year, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken presented six American companies with the 2021 ACE in three categories that reflect policy priorities and key global challenges, namely climate innovation, health security, and economic inclusion, according to the website of the department. 

In the climate innovation category, Australis Aquaculture has been honored for “pioneering climate-smart ocean farming in Vietnam’s marine tropics and developing technology to cultivate a seaweed species with the potential to eliminate methane emissions from cattle when part of their diet.”

An engineer monitors aquaculture via computer screens at Australis Aquaculture in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Photo: B. Trang / Tuoi Tre

The U.S. company started aquaculture in Van Phong Bay in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa in 2010, focusing on investment, technical research, manpower recruitment and training, and developing international markets for barramundi, or Asian sea bass, according to Tran Cong Khoi, deputy director of the Department of Aquaculture at Vietnam’s Directorate of Fisheries. 

Australis has made its name as one of the most modern marine fish farming companies in Vietnam, Khoi assessed.

The firm currently exports about 10,000 metric tons of fish a year, with four processing factories in Khanh Hoa employing about 1,000 workers, according to CEO and co-founder Josh Goldman. 

The company is on track to increase its fish production by about 35 percent per year, the CEO said.

This month, Australis is expected to complete the development of its largest automated feed barge and a new large automated harvester that can harvest 200 metric of fish per day.

In addition, it is also planning to build a modern seafood processing factory in Ninh Thuy Industrial Park in Khanh Hoa’s Ninh Hoa Town in 2022.

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