Dying coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay
The Standing Board of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee on June 20 held a meeting to look into the coral reef degradation in Nha Trang Bay following reports from local media.
The meeting concluded that recent reports on reef degradation in the bay, especially at Hon Mun Marine Protected Area, were true.
Explaining the causes of the situation, experts at the meeting mentioned some objective causes relating to impacts of climate change and two strong storms, Damrey in 2017 and Rai in 2021. Meanwhile, the subjective cause is the loose management and coordination among relevant departments, sectors, and localities, along with impacts of improper human activities such as illegal fishing, unregulated coastal construction, and waste release from tourism activities.
The Standing Board requested the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee to suspend scuba dive tourism activities in the vulnerable coral reef areas in Nha Trang Bay, especially the area surrounding Hon Mun Island, and take measures for protecting those areas.
It ordered authorities of Khanh Hoa province and Nha Trang city to conduct patrols to conserve the Hon Mun Marine Protected Area, increase communications to raise locals and tourists’ awareness, and ask institutes, research centres, experts, and scientists to carry out studies and surveys so as to make a precise assessment of the situation and propose solutions.
According to the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, the coral coverage in the waters to the northeast and southwest of Hon Mun Island declined to 32.62 percent (medium condition) in 2022 from 53.7 percent (good condition) in 2015. In the areas to the southeast and northwest, the coverage stands at 11.15 percent (poor condition) this year, down from 52.2 percent (good condition) in 2015.