Solar-powered cameras proposed in Hon Mun for coral protection
The People's Committee of Nha Trang city in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa has proposed to install solar-powered cameras to monitor and protect coral in Hon Mun Area after severe coral bleaching was reported there.
The degradation of the coral reef ecosystem in the core zone of Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area. (Photo: VNA)
Khanh Hoa (VNS/VNA) – The People's Committee of Nha Trang city in thesouth-central province of Khanh Hoa has proposed to install solar-poweredcameras to monitor and protect coral in Hon Mun Area after severe coralbleaching was reported there.
Huynh Binh Thai, head of the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, said that thecameras would be installed on the island to monitor fishing boats andsubmersibles in the conservation area.
Underwater diving cameras were also proposed to facilitate the observance ofcoral growth.
Along with the installation of cameras, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre andthe Nha Trang Institute of Science and Technology for Aquaculture under NhaTrang University will pilot coral restoration in some areas of Hon Mun. Theythen would choose the optimal method to restore coral on a large scale.
Nha Trang Bay is nearly 250 square kilometers wide, and one of 16 marineprotected areas in Vietnam.
It has many corals and the richest and most diverse ecosystems in the country.It is also famous for diving beaches, attracting tourists to scuba dive and seethe ocean floor.
However, coral in some areas in the bay has seriously declined. Notably in HonMun conservation area, more than 10km from Nha Trang City, coral coveragedeclined from more than 50 per cent seven years ago to just about 10 per centnow, depending on specific areas.
At some locations around the island, hundreds of square metres of coral weredamaged, and in some areas, severe coral bleaching occurred.
Coral bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by changes in conditions suchas temperature, light, or nutrients, and they expel symbiotic algae living intheir tissues, causing them to turn white.
Khanh Hoa authority last month decided that from June 27, swimming and divingactivities were suspended in some areas in Nha Trang Bay, especially Hon Munisland.
"Now, people can only dive in Hon Rơm area and only divers with professionallicences are allowed," Thai said.
Currently, the management board is coordinating with the Việt Nam-RussiaTropical Centre to reclassify the coral areas in Nha Trang Bay, and recommendwhich areas are allowed to operate tourism activities and which are not./.
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The degradation of the coral reef ecosystem in the core zone of Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area. (Photo: VNA) 
