Coral reefs in the Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area are dying en masse. (Photo: VNA) Coralbleaching occurs when corals are stressed by changes inconditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, and they expelsymbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn white.
Recently,the public has been stunned by the image of coral around Hon Mun Island,the core area of Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area, which has been severelydamaged.
Thebeautiful coral reefs are a tourist attraction in Nha Trang Bay for theirdiverse marine ecosystem and dense coral reef ecosystem, and as a breedingplace for many species of fish.
TheNha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area (formerly Hon Mun Marine Protected Area)was established in 2001, covering an area of about 160 square kilometres,including 38 square kilometres of land and 122 square kilometres of wateraround nine islands of Hon Tre, Hon Mieu, Hon Tam, Hon Mot, Hon Mun, Hon Cau, HonVung, Hon Rom and Hon Ngoc.
Ithas diverse ecosystems in which hard corals are found on Hon Mun Island.
Accordingto scientific researchers, the coral reef ecosystem is particularly susceptibleto environmental factors such as changes in temperature, light intensity, andacidity in the water. The amount of sediment and some elements of salts andmetals also affect the viability of the coral reefs.
DrNguyen Tac An, former director of Nha Trang Oceanography Institute, said themarine environment all over the country, including Nha Trang Bay, had beenseriously degraded.
Inaddition to the impact of climate change, the Hon Mun coral reef has been underpressure from economic development. An said it is necessary to haveobjective and scientific research and assessment on the cause of damage tothe coral reefs.
Residentsand visitors have also been angered.
DoThanh Quan, a resident of Nha Trang city, said he returned to the diving sitein Hon Mun Island after two years of the pandemic and was sad tosee white dead coral along the beach.
Whendiving deep into the sea floor, Quan said many areas of coral reefs were nolonger as vibrant as in previous years.
Adiving coach with more than 20 years in the profession, who asked foranonymity, said the coral reefs were dying. The seabed of Hon Mun had turnedfrom a beautiful scene into ravaged, bleached coral reefs.
Hesaid low awareness of marine conservation, illegal fishing andoverexploitation, and loose management of functional forces were themain issues.
Alarmingnumbers
Theassessment and monitoring of biodiversity resources have been carried out since2002. The results of surveys and scientific research conducted by Nha TrangOceanography Institute from 2002 to 2015 in Nha Trang Bay’s strictly protectedareas showed that coral reefs remained stable.
Meanwhile,most monitoring points outside the protected area saw a decrease in thecoverage of corals by 7.2 percent since 1994.
Inearly January, Nha Trang Bay Management Board conducted a biodiversity surveyin Hon Mun protected subdivision.
Thesurvey showed that the quality of the Hon Mun coralreef was average.
Theaverage coral coverage was recorded in the northeast Hon Mun area with about41.63 percent, followed by low coverage of 24.6 percent and 14.5 percent in thenorthwest and southeast areas, respectively. A very low coverage was reportedin the southwest area with only 7.8 percent.
In2015, the coral reefs in the northeast and southwest areas were in a good statewith an average coverage of 53.7 percent, but in 2022 that reduced to only32.62 percent. The southeast and northwest areas, with an average coverage of52.2 percent, fell into poor coverage with only 11.15 percent.
HuynhBinh Thai, Head of the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, admitted thedeterioration of the coral reef ecosystem but said many factors caused thesituation.
Extremeweather has left some areas with rich and diverse coral reefs, such as HonMun, Hon Mot, Hon Tam and northeast Hon Tre, severely damaged.
Upto 70-80 percent of corals were destroyed after Typhoon Damrey in November2017. In Hon Tam alone, the coverage of hard corals declined from 56.8 percentin July 2017 to 12.5 percent in December 2017.
In2019, corals started bleaching because sea water temperatures increased in someareas on Nha Trang Bay. The hard coral's bleached rate is 39.5 percent thisyear.
Atthe end of 2021, coral reefs in the area continued to be affected by typhoons.Up to 70 percent of the coral reef in southwestern Hon Mun and the south waswashed ashore.
Inaddition, tourism development, water pollution from aquaculture, polluted waterfrom the Cai River flowing into Nha Trang Bay and illegal fishing worsened thesituation, he said.
InMarch, the management board’s patrol force fined a vessel 12.5 million VND (538USD) for illegally exploiting aquatic products in the form of electric guns inthe north of Hon Rơm in the strictly protected subdivision.
Thepatrol force has repeatedly dealt with fishermen who deliberatelydrive large-capacity vessels to the restricted area for illegal fishing.
Theforce had only one patrol vessel with six crew members in charge of more than296 square kilometres across the bay.
Sustainableeconomic development strategy
Thaisaid the management board planned to install surveillance cameras in the entirebay in the near future to give fines to all violating vessels.
Moreimportantly, the authorised agencies need a development strategy toimprove the quality of people's lives around the bay.
Themanagement board has continuously called on organisations and individuals inthe area to regularly release aquatic resources to the Hon Mun strictlyprotected area. He said that it has worked with diving clubs to avoid damagingcoral and raise public awareness of coral protection.
Accordingto experts, the National Assembly and the Government need appropriatepolicies to preserve the sea and develop the economy.
An, formerdirector of the Institute of Oceanography, emphasised that conservation was notsimply about releasing animals but required changes in conservation policies topromote marine resources in a scientific way so that marine resourceswould be protected and developed to their full potential.
Ansaid coral restoration in Nha Trang was not easy as culturing a coral reefcould take thousands or even millions of years.
Hesaid stable livelihoods for local people would prevent them from going into theprotected area for illegal fishing.
“Itis necessary to immediately stop the exploitation of marine resources in NhaTrang Bay and tightly control sea projects to clean up the bay, and then along-term and sustainable project will help solve the situation,” he said.
NguyenTan Tuan, Chairman of the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, said thatthe committee had assigned Nha Trang city to handle the problem.
"Theimmediate task is to check the environment and work with the Institute ofOceanography to find out the cause of the massive death of coral,” he said.
Thecity People's Committee said it had received the report from the Nha Trang BayManagement Board. It will organise a meeting addressing the problem next week.
Currently,Khanh Hoa province has a strategy for the multiplication and development ofbiodiversity in Nha Trang Bay. The province has assigned more than 28 hectaresof coastal waters of Tien Beach in Vinh Hoa ward to Van San Island Joint StockCompany to conserve, restore and develop biodiversity in the next five years.
Theproject has an investment capital of about 14.7 billion VND, funded by thecompany itself.
Theproject’s environmental impact assessment report was approved by the Ministryof Natural Resources and Environment early this March./.
VNA
