A researcher from Con Dao National Park selects seed corals for transplantation (Photo courtesy of Con Dao National Park)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Con Dao National Park is one of the most popular coral reef diving destinations inVietnam. With coral cover of about 65 percent, it has some of the most gorgeousjagged coral reefs in the country.

Like similar spots, climate change and human activities are putting coral reefsunder great pressure, leading to a decline in coverage and coral bleaching.

Marine experts and researchers at Con Dao National Park have put a great dealof effort into recovering and developing the coral population. Their efforts havepaid off.

More than 1,500 branches of corals have been transplanted onto the seabed, 7 to8 metres underwater. The recovery rate is more than 95 percent, according toTran Dinh Hue, deputy head of the forest management board of Con DaoNational Park.

In 2018, Con Dao National Park coordinated with the Nha Trang Institute ofOceanography to recover and develop the coral population over an area of 40hectares.

“The project aims to protect more than 2,000 ha of coral reefs in Con Dao andraise awareness among local fishermen and visitors about the importance ofcoral reefs on the verge of degradation,” Hue said.

The project runs from 2018 to 2020 with an estimated budget of 1.4 billion VND (60,000USD) in three areas of Con Dao where coral reefs have been slow to recover: DatDoc, Hon Tai and Bai Canh. It aims to transplant 2,500 branches of corals overa total area of 3ha.

The marine experts and researchers of Con Dao National Park, with divingequipment, GPS and specialised devices, dive under the sea to track thecondition of the coral ecosystem. They study the hard coral and soft coralcover as well as the rate of dead coral.

The first phase of the project focuses on offering training to the localcommunity to improve their awareness of marine protection and coral recoverytechniques; recovering 1ha of coral with more than 1,500 coral branchestransplanted.

In the second phase, another 2ha of corals will be recovered.

Coral branches are transplanted by being placed in reef balls – the circularconcrete structures with holes and nodules for organisms to swim through andlive in.

Each reef ball is 0.8 metre high, 0.6 metre wide and 5cm thick. About 10branches of coral which are from 10 to 30 cm long are placed on each concretereef ball at depths of 7 to 8 metres underwater. Seven species of coralbelonging to three varieties of Acropora, Montipora and Pocillopora and two familiesof Acroporidae and Pocilloporidae were chosen to be recovered.

There have been 150 reef balls with 1,560 branches of corals anchored to theseafloor so far. The rate of recovery is 95 per cent. It is estimated thatafter one year, corals will be 15 to 20 cm tall and after two to three years,the transplanted corals will grow like normal ones, according to Hue.

"The recovery of coral reefs will help to increase the coral population,provide shelter for different types of aquatic animals including turtles whichare common in Côn Đảo; create an ecosystem balance and help to make the area anattractive destination for coral reef diving," said Nguyen Van Vung, amember of the coral recovery project.

The reefs cover less than one per cent of the earth’s surface and less than twoper cent of the ocean floor but reefs provide food and shelter for aboutone-quarter of all ocean species, according to the Ocean Portal, anorganisation aimed at increasing the “public’s understanding and stewardship ofthe ocean”. 

In the first phase, about 40 fishermen took part in training on values of coralreefs and techniques of transplanting and recovering corals.

In the future, local fishermen will take part in the recovery work with thepark’s staff. They will be paid to do the coral transplantation under the sea.

“By doing this, fishermen can earn from the preservation work and have agreater sense of responsibility in protecting the ecosystem and the ocean onwhich they have lived for generations,” said Hue.

Due to the deterioration of coral reef systems caused by the warming of thecoastal seawater and the boom of tourism and fishing activities, marine expertshave also conducted coral transplantation and recovery in areas including Co Toin Quang Ninh, Ran Trao in Khanh Hoa, Hon Ngang in Binh Dinh, and Phu Quoc inKien Giang.

Sanctuary for marine species

Con Dao National Park, covering nearly 6,000 ha onland and 14,000 ha of water, is an archipelago with 16 islands located some 80km off the coast of southern Vietnam.

With more than 340 species of coral, Con Dao is among the richest and the mostdiverse coral reef destinations in the country and coral reefs here also have ahigh diversity of fish and other aquatic species.

With three main ecosystems of coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass, the area isan ideal environment for marine species’ reproduction, nursery andconservation.

Coral reefs here also play an important role in regulating and balancing theamount of oxygen inജ the seawater and protecting the Con Dao coast.-VNS/VNA