For years, members of the Nhon Hai community group for aquatic resource protection in Quy Nhon Dong Ward have volunteered to dive around coral reefs to collect waste from the seabed.
Plastic bottles, bags and other debris carried by waves and currents often become lodged among rocks and coral, requiring divers to search underwater and retrieve them by hand.
Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang, 41, said members set aside time each week for clean-ups. Six members dive to the seabed, while others collect rubbish from the water and along the shore.
Although the work is unpaid, members take part voluntarily because they see protecting the marine ecosystem as a way to safeguard local livelihoods and support the area's development, Sang said.
The group also patrols coastal waters, places marker buoys in designated areas, removes crown-of-thorns starfish, rescues sea turtles and takes part in efforts to protect aquatic resources.
Local youth groups also organise beach clean-ups, broadening what began as a volunteer initiative into a wider community effort to protect the marine environment.
Tran Viet Quang, chairman of the Quy Nhon Dong Ward People's Committee, said community involvement in marine conservation was helping protect aquatic resources and ecosystems while providing a foundation for tourism development.
Nhon Hai has nearly 40 hectares of coral reefs, including a 12-hectare area west of Hon Kho Nho that is co-managed and protected by the community group, according to Nguyen Van Nhung, deputy head of Gia Lai Province's fisheries sub-department.
Since taking responsibility for the area, members have collected rubbish, patrolled the waters, raised public awareness and worked to protect the coral reefs.
Activities that can damage coral reefs, including anchoring on reefs and breaking coral, have declined significantly. Monitoring data show coral cover in the protected area increased from 36 per cent in 2016 to 44 per cent in 2023.
Nhung said the recovery of the reefs provides shelter and breeding grounds for aquatic species while helping preserve the landscape, enhance ecosystem value and support tourism development.
Located on the Phuong Mai peninsula in Quy Nhon Dong Ward, Nhon Hai has about 15 kilometres of coastline, with beaches, rocky shores and diverse coral reefs that have attracted growing numbers of visitors in recent years.
