Con Dao stopped swimming and diving in many places to protect bleached coral

Con Dao National Park Management Board announced the temporary suspension of swimming and diving activities to see coral at the following locations: Con Son Bay (except the buffer zone), Trac Lon Island, Trac Nho Island, Tai Island, Bay Canh Island, Ong Dung Island, etc. from July 1 to September 30.

The remaining locations are Giong Beach - Bay Canh Island, Cat Lon Beach - Cau Island, and the beach in front of Tre Lon Island Ranger Station, which is open for swimming and diving to see coral for ordinary tourism.

The suspension occurred about a month after the Management Board said many coral reefs in Con Dao were bleaching. The cause was determined to be the impact of El Nino, causing the bottom water temperature to increase to 32 degrees Celsius. In comparison, the ideal temperature of coral fluctuates between 24 to 30 degrees Celsius.

Director of Con Dao National Park Nguyen Khac Pho said this decision to stop was necessary to create conditions for coral to recover. The decision was made after the unit coordinated research with the Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

According to survey results in early June, reefs in the Northeast and Southeast areas such as Cau Island, Tai Island, etc., coral bleached from 80-100%, of which about 15-20% just died after bleaching. Most common hard coral varieties on the reef are affected, and soft corals are entirely bleached.

Reefs in the West and North, such as Tre Lon Island, Tre Nho Island, Ong Cuong Beach, and Ong Dung Beach, have about 60-70% coral bleached, of which the coral has just died after being bleached for about ten years. Sea water temperature at a depth of 20m was recorded at 32 degrees Celsius.

A representative of the Institute of Oceanography said that it is unlikely that there will be overcrowding at the remaining coral diving sites because there are few visitors to Con Dao for coral diving.

Con Dao National Park said that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the level of coral bleaching in Con Dao will gradually decrease after June 9. In the coming time, authorities will continue to survey and evaluate the recovery situation of coral reefs and propose appropriate solutions.