Coral is a precious gift of the sea, also a testament to a clean sea, ensuring conditions for the growth and development of this primitive animal species. In Ha Long Bay, coral is even more precious because it is in a warm sea, with high natural turbidity. According to a survey by scientists, Ha Long Bay is one of the three sea areas of Quang Ninh that still has coral reefs...
The coral reef ecosystem is one of the typical ecosystems of Ha Long Bay. The coral reefs here are mainly composed of hard corals. According to the results of a biodiversity survey in Ha Long Bay in 2015, there are 110 species of hard corals and 37 species of soft corals in Ha Long Bay. The areas with the most corals in Ha Long Bay are Cong Do, Tra San, Hang Trai, Dau Be (coverage from 30% - 45%). Sharing with us, Dr. Do Dinh Minh, Head of the Department of Fisheries (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), assessed: Ha Long Bay at that time compared to the whole province as well as similar sea areas in the North such as Cat Ba (Hai Phong), Hon Me (Thanh Hoa) is still the place with the most abundant number of coral species.
Under the sea surface, thanks to the relatively stable environment, with many caves to shelter and avoid enemies, the coral reefs of Ha Long Bay are the habitat, feeding and breeding ground of thousands of different marine species, such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, seaweed, annelids, sponges, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, marine fish and many species of important economic value, such as geoducks, razor clams, groupers, pearl oysters, lobsters...
Along with that, Ha Long Bay coral reefs also distribute many endangered and rare species listed in the Vietnam Red List 2007, such as: Wrinkled platycodon, spiny seahorse, Japanese seahorse, black seahorse, flat-branched horn coral, rough top hole coral, top hole coral, nine-hole abalone, spiny tailed horseshoe crab, male and female top snails, spiral snails, black-lipped pearl oysters, squid, tiger-striped cuttlefish, etc.
The coral reefs under the sea with many colors and shapes also create extremely interesting natural landscapes, likened to a tropical forest under the sea. It is really hard to imagine that under the hazy water, there are countless types of corals with brilliant colors. There are types of corals that look like small, pretty mushrooms, types of corals with branches like deer antlers, types of corals that form clusters with thousands of stars, thousands of tiny flowers blooming brightly, clusters of orchids at the bottom spreading out like wood ears, sometimes like strange green cabbages, some species release silk threads that catch prey gracefully like the flowing hair of a fairy...
Through research, it is known that the coral in Ha Long Bay before 1998 was quite lush, some reefs were of good and very good type, corresponding to coverage of over 51% and over 76%. The reefs are mainly distributed around the limestone islands in the bay, including islands near the shore with many reefs stretching and wide up to hundreds of meters. But like many other sea areas, the coral here has significantly decreased in coverage and area in recent years. The survey results in 2015 showed that there were no good reefs left, the coverage of the best reefs was below 50% and the average coverage across the bay was only about 20%. Not only the coverage, the range and distribution of the number of species in the reefs are also much lower than before.
Through conversation, experts from the Institute of Marine Resources and Environment (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) said that corals are among the ancient creatures of the earth, they have survived many climate and environmental changes. Therefore, besides the major visible causes of coral decline such as climate change and human impact, there are still many specific things that cannot be explained, need to continue to learn and research.
Commenting on the decline of Ha Long Bay's coral reefs, Dr. Nguyen Dang Ngai, Deputy Director of the Institute of Marine Resources and Environment, analyzed: Ha Long Bay is better preserved, thanks to factors such as aquaculture and better-managed fishing. However, the disadvantage is that Ha Long Bay is affected by the mainland environment, in terms of turbidity, coal mining for example, so during the rainy season, water flowing into the sea has a great impact on the environment of Ha Long Bay. Or the activities of water vehicles and port channels, when the water level is low, the propellers of moving ships will stir up the water, making it turbid, affecting the water environment, affecting the coral.
To protect marine ecosystems in general and preserve coral reef ecosystems in particular in Ha Long Bay, in 2019, Quang Ninh issued the Ha Long Bay Management Regulations, including regulations on not fishing in the core heritage area. Along with that, in all sea areas, there are regulations prohibiting destructive fishing methods. This helps limit fishing boats that potentially pollute the water environment and kill corals. At the same time, it prevents exploitation activities in areas with corals, such as: trawling, dredging, and scraping the seabed, breaking corals; creating a layer of sediment that covers and kills corals...
Recently, through expert assessments, many coral reefs in Ha Long Bay have shown signs of good recovery. Surveys have even found coral reefs with high coverage (from 60-70%), in which branch corals are precious coral species with good recovery. Dr. Nguyen Dang Ngai commented: This is also reasonable because branch corals are a very sensitive group of species but have a faster growth rate than other species. When facing unfavorable factors, branch corals are the first to be affected, but when the environment recovers, branch corals grow very quickly.
Ha Long Bay is a heritage site that attracts a large number of tourists throughout the four seasons. Many visitors who come here want to dive and explore the magical beauty of corals under the sea. However, according to the leader of Ha Long Bay Management Board, in order to protect coral species, this service has not been developed in Ha Long Bay but is mainly used for surveying, studying and researching by scientists.
In addition, the unit is also conducting research to establish the Ha Long Bay Marine Protected Area according to the Plan for protection and exploitation of aquatic resources for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister. It is expected that by 2030, the Ha Long Bay Marine Protected Area will be established with a total proposed area of about 55,000 hectares. This will contribute to the sustainable restoration of ecosystems, including the coral reef ecosystem of Ha Long Bay.
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