Growing Coral Under the Sea: The 'Gardeners' of the Ocean

Many coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay (Khanh Hoa) are affected by natural and human impacts. With concern and love for nature, many young people have started to regenerate and restore corals.

Trồng rừng dưới đáy biển: Những ‘thợ vườn’ của đại dương - Ảnh 1. — Coral nursery in Tri Nguyen island area, Nha Trang bay - Photo: XUAN VU

Few people know that on Tri Nguyen Island (Nha Trang Bay) below the sea level is a coral nursery of all kinds, implemented by Wonder World Nha Trang Company.

Putting on a diving suit, Mr. Tran Van Chuong, a technician at Wonder World Nha Trang, wrapped himself in diving lead, carried an oxygen tank, and an underwater camera and measuring tape. Then, Mr. Chuong and his colleagues dived into the sea to begin their work.

"This oxygen tank can last for more than an hour at a depth of about 5-10m. We will measure the size of the coral, record the growth process, clean the nursery, and catch pests such as drupella snails, crown-of-thorns starfish, etc., and clean up trash stuck to the coral," said Mr. Chuong.

Mr. Chuong said that coral cultivation is similar to that of young plants. After being grafted, corals will be tied to strings. Once the corals reach a certain length, they will be transplanted into coral reefs.

"The coral branches after being separated must be very carefully handled to avoid damage. After being tied to the hanger, the coral will grow in size and when it is long enough, it will be transplanted to the nursery as well as an environmental test to create resistance for the coral before being permanently transplanted to the reefs," said Mr. Chuong.

Depending on the type of coral and the water environment, the development time will be different, such as antlers and top holes corals to reach a length of 10 - 15cm must be raised for about 8-18 months, table corals to reach a length of 5 - 10cm must be raised for 1 - 3 years... Currently, the nursery is about 350m wide, in which more than 1,000 branches of various types of coral are raised.

According to Mr. Nguyen Vu, CEO of Wonder World Nha Trang Company, Nha Trang has more than 350 species of coral, and the company is currently restoring nearly 50 species of coral. In addition to the coral nursery in Tri Nguyen, the company has also been assigned 28 hectares in Bai Tien - this is also the first project that Khanh Hoa province and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have allowed to pilot coral farming to protect biodiversity.

"Coral restoration is quite difficult in terms of legal issues such as water ownership, lack of coral transplantation and care programs. In addition, coral is also affected by many environmental factors such as rising sea temperatures, water pollution, etc.," said Mr. Vu.

According to Mr. Vu, coral restoration is a process and requires the contribution of many people, especially young people because they have a changing mindset and are receptive to new things. It is not necessary to go directly to each coral reef to solve the restoration problem, but anyone can help coral grow well through daily activities such as limiting the use of electricity, plastic products... and not throwing trash into the sea.