mekongeye.com by Thu Quynh Nguyen 31 July 2023 at 14:39

As coral reefs and marine life disappear, efforts to save them are underway, but is it too late?

Coral die-off in Hon Mun, Nha Trang. PHOTO: Konstantin Tkachenko.

NHA TRANG, VIETNAM ― In Hon Chong, one of Vietnam’s last coral reefs, colorful schools of fish have become distant memories. These days, only small fish lurk behind bleached coral formations, a stark difference from the way some travel brochures depict the place.

Half an hour by boat from Hon Chong is Hon Mun, a marine conservation site once home to more than 340 coral species, and valued at approximately US$70 million for its biodiversity in 2005.

About 10 years before the Covid-19 pandemic, professional divers started noticing a gradual depletion of the coral reefs in the area. They had hoped that lockdowns and border closures would alleviate stress from tourism and revive the reef.

“After two years [of Covid-19], I was speechless to see the ocean bed so empty, the coral all bleached,” photographer Na Son, a diver who has made hundreds of trips down to Hon Mun’s ocean bed, told Mekong Eye in June 2023. Last June, Na Son was one of many divers who spoke to local media about Hon Mun’s alarming coral depletion.

Coral reefs are considered to be one of Vietnam’s national treasures, as the country boasts one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems with 355 species, according to data from the World Resources Institute.

Yet across the country, vital coral reserves are depleting at such an alarming rate that frenzied attempts to salvage what remains are likely to be insufficient to restore the ecosystems.

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