Coral reefs in the sea area of ​​Phan Rang-Thap Cham city. (Photo: Nguyen Thanh/VNA) Ninh Thuan waters have high biodiversity with hundreds of marine species of economic and conservation value. For sustainable development, the preservation of biodiversity and rational exploitation of resources from the sea has been identified by Ninh Thuan province as one of the priority tasks in the socio-economic development strategy. Rich in biodiversity potential Ninh Thuan has a coastline of more than 105km and a territorial sea of ​​over 18,000km2. According to the latest studies on biodiversity by the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in the waters of Ninh Thuan, coral reefs and the diversity of coral reef organisms are one of the most important components of the environment. Biodiversity most prominent. Scientists have recorded 6 coral reefs with an average coverage of about 42.6%. The coral reef has been identified with over 334 species belonging to 15 families, 59 varieties of reef-forming corals, of which 46 species have been newly recorded and added to the list of coral species in Vietnam. Coral reefs are home to many species of creatures, including coral reef fish with 147 species belonging to 81 genera, 32 families. Seagrass beds were also identified with 5 species distributed on the coastal bottom with an area of ​​about 341ha. Biodiversity of Ninh Thuan sea area is also shown in the record of 538 fish species, including 146 pelagic fish species, 392 benthic fish species, of which 68 fish species have high economic value. In addition, marine species include 45 species of mollusks, 24 species of crustaceans, 13 species of echinoderms, and 22 species of polychaetes. Notably, the waters of Nui Chua National Park – Ninh Thuan are currently one of the few rare areas on the mainland in Vietnam with a population of sea turtles spawning every year, including: green turtles, tortoiseshell turtles. Regeneration of aquatic resources With the potential of valuable ecosystems and biodiversity, the conservation of marine biodiversity has always been of special interest to Ninh Thuan province. Over the past time, functional branches of the province have cooperated with research institutes, universities, domestic and foreign organizations to implement many topics, projects and research programs on biodiversity. such as: upgrade database – GIS about Coral reef and coastal ecosystems; develop a program for periodic monitoring of coral reefs in Ninh Thuan; survey typical marine ecosystems in Ninh Hai and Thuan Nam districts; restore mangrove ecosystems in Nui Chua and Dam Nai sea areas to protect and create a development environment for marine species. In particular, Ninh Thuan province established a marine protected area in Nui Chua National Park with a total area of ​​7,352 hectares. Nui Chua marine conservation area includes strict protection zones, ecological restoration areas and development zones with the function of protecting endemic and rare marine species in order to regenerate aquatic resources, protect and enhance the biodiversity of local marine protected areas. Mr. Tran Van Tiep, Deputy Director of Nui Chua National Park Management Board, said that over the years, the park has coordinated with domestic and foreign scientific research units and organizations to investigate and evaluate the potential, develop data on marine resources and environment within the conservation area to serve as a basis for implementing projects on environmental protection and restoration of marine ecosystems. Currently, the Park is implementing synchronously many plans and solutions to effectively and sustainably protect sea turtle populations and their habitats and other endangered and rare aquatic species. Specifically, the Park builds and maintains strict protection zones for sea turtles at spawning grounds in the area; building a turtle conservation station, establishing volunteer groups to participate in protecting sea turtles; at the same time, build a marine life rescue area to receive, rescue, treat, raise and train turtles in captivity, catch, and ensure sufficient conditions for turtles to live on their own before being released into the environment. nature. Simultaneously, the Nui Chua National Park Management Board has promoted propaganda measures to raise awareness and knowledge of the community about the importance and value of marine biological resources. From there, creating consensus, support and active participation of local people in protecting the marine ecosystem and environment, Mr. Tran Van Tiep added. In order to protect, regenerate and develop aquatic resources, Ninh Thuan province has been implementing many measures to manage, propagate and organize fishing in the right season, using the correct net size as prescribed. exploit the right route, do not use toxic chemicals, explosives, electric pulses to exploit. At the same time, the province deducts a part of the local budget and mobilizes businesses to release millions of tiger shrimp and fingerlings into the sea to regenerate and supplement seafood resources. Particularly in 2021, Ninh Thuan has organized to release 700,000 tiger shrimp seed into the sea to regenerate aquatic resources for local waters. Improve efficiency of management and conservation Through the assessment, the conservation of marine biodiversity has been better protected by all levels and sectors, but like coastal localities in the country, Ninh Thuan’s marine biodiversity is currently under pressure. face many challenges. It is the decline of biodiversity and fishery resources, aquaculture activities, and waste that make some marine areas at risk of pollution, climate change is causing pressures. significant contribution to the conservation and development of local marine biodiversity. Seaweed covers a large coral reef in Phuoc Dinh commune (Thuan Nam district). (Photo: Nguyen Thanh/VNA) According to Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ninh Thuan province, Tran Quoc Nam, identifying biodiversity resources in general, especially marine biodiversity resources, is of great significance to socio-economic development. Every year, Ninh Thuan integrates the task of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation into the province’s general socio-economic development plan. In order to improve the efficiency of biodiversity management and conservation, the Provincial People’s Committee assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with agencies and units to periodically observe, analyze and evaluate the current state of the environment. annually and once every 5 years to create initiative for the development of orientations on environmental protection policies in the whole province. Regarding biodiversity conservation in general, marine biodiversity conservation in particular, in the coming time, Ninh Thuan will continue to develop mechanisms and policies to attract resources from the central and local governments. implementation of investment programs and projects in order to improve the operational efficiency of marine protected areas. The province promotes scientific research, basic investigation of marine resources and environment; focus on biodiversity conservation, restoration of Ecosystem , especially coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, coastal protection forests. At the same time, Ninh Thuan improves its capacity to respond to marine environmental incidents, actively propagates people living in coastal areas not to discharge domestic waste and plastic waste into the sea, actively collect clean the marine environment to prevent and minimize risk factors that may affect the development of marine organisms.

Mars hides the secret of life, always urging people to explore. Photo: NASA Today’s Earthlings are perhaps the most curious generation about the possibility of alien life on Mars, and are always wondering how humans might one day colonize there. From theories about Martian canals to alien radio messages, over the past three centuries, mankind has been constantly thinking about life on Mars. approach to his Martian “brothers”. Mars often appears in ancient texts as a “fire star,” or represents the god of War. In the 17th century, new early telescopes allowed scientists to get a glimpse of the Red Planet. Skilled “channel engineers”? Scientists need more powerful telescopes to be able to see up close, thereby trying to better clarify the hypothesis of life on Mars. In 1877, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noticed crisscrossing lines covering the “Red Planet”. He called these lines “canali”, which means “canal”. Schiaparelli himself does not believe that this is an alien product, but some others are sure of it. Giovanni Schiaparelli’s map of the “canal” system on Mars. Image: Wikimedia Commons As information spread, the word “canali” was translated into English as “canal”, meaning “canal”. And if there were canals, wouldn’t that suggest that aliens would have to dig them? With that argument, many people believe that the interlaced lines on the surface of Mars are a beautiful system of waterways spreading across the planet.. Such a system not only shows that Martians exist, but that they are also amazing engineers. On Earth, it took man 10 years to complete the Suez Canal in 1869. The achievements of the Martians therefore seem to be far superior to those achieved by man. Astronomer Percival Lowell certainly thought so. In 1894, this American scientist-businessman began to expand the concept of a “canal” on Mars. Lowell used his family’s large textile fortune to open the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Professor Percival Lowell works with a telescope invested by his family. Image: Wikimedia Commons Percival Lowell mapped the “canals” on Mars with the help of the 24-inch Alvan Clark & ​​Sons refracting telescope he set up at the Lowell Observatory. He made meticulous maps of what was observed on the surface of Mars, wrote many books and regularly gave lectures on his shocking theory that Martians existed and that they were trying to irrigate the planet. their dying elf. Percival Lowell offers logical explanations to answer the question of how and why life exists on Mars. He used the example of life on Earth to illustrate his arguments: “As long as it was proved with certainty that no life could exist on the seabed, dredgers deep sea beds were invented, and before long, they ‘frustrated’ us. Behold, they see full of life. Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms. In short, the life of all common floating fish, from protozoa to marine ‘monsters’ – have been found living in the depths of the seabed. What is impossible, turns out to be possible.” But mapping Mars is one thing, and soon scientists are looking for ways to make contact with any life that might exist on the planet. “Message” from the Red Planet In 1899, Lowell’s theory of life on Mars received a “kick” from a prominent scientist: Nikola Tesla. Tesla, then a successful electrical engineer, claimed that he had detected an “inexplicable, faint” signal originating from Mars. Portrait of Nikola Tesla circa 1890. Photo: Wikimedia Commons While conducting experiments with his magnifier at high latitudes atop Pike Peak, Colorado Springs, Tesla claimed that he received “a message from another world, unknown and far away. “. What does that message say? According to Nikola Tesla, it is simply: “ONE – TWO – THREE”. A few years later, on a February 1901 day, in an interview with Collier’s Weekly, inventor Tesla announced that he could communicate with Martians by sending wireless messages to any point. on the “Red Planet”. This is a strange statement, because the successful transmission of radio messages on Earth has only become a reality since December of that year. Tesla doesn’t know what the aliens might look like, but he believes they have adapted to living conditions on Mars. Like Lowell, he suggested that “it is possible that in a frozen planet, such as the presumed conditions on our Moon, intelligent beings could still reside, within it, if not within it. on the surface”. To many people, when humans can receive messages from Mars, we can also send messages, that seems reasonable. In 1909, there were attempts to find a contact with life on Mars. Harvard professor William Henry Pickering proposed sending planetary light signals through a series of reflections produced by a network of 50 giant mirrors. The flashes would continue to flash for several years, allowing the Martians time to develop the necessary means to respond. Professor Pickering’s giant mirror illustration for sending signals to Mars. Photo: Library of Congress “In the hope of receiving such signals again, we must of course assume that Martians, if they exist, have telescopes, eyes, etc., just like humans have on this Earth.” Mr. Pickering said. But the Harvard professor’s plan cost $10 million, and no one wanted to fund it.

The image of starfish dying dry on the sand after tourists arranged for pictures (Photo: NVCC)

The female tourist thought that some people wanted beautiful photos, so they arranged starfish to take pictures. But when they finished shooting, they left the starfish that burned dry in the sun. Frustrated by the lack of awareness of a part of tourists, she decided to share this story on travel forums. Since then, most of the online community have expressed their dissatisfaction and criticized the above behavior.

Over the past time, the trend of “taking photos with starfish” has become a “hot trend” today. Just type the keyword “starfish Phu Quoc”, within 0.64 seconds, google gave 48,300,000 related results. This shows how much interest and searching internet users have for this marine species.

In fact, it is normal to take pictures with the natural landscape in each trip and then share and introduce them to everyone. The incident is not worth criticizing if the photographer respects and does not affect the natural environment. Putting starfish on the sandy beach and then leaving it not only shows a lack of awareness in public (creating more trash for the beach), but more harmful than affecting the environmental ecosystem and marine resources.

Whether carefree or intentional, bringing starfish ashore to take pictures and then “neglected” is difficult to accept. Not to mention, the “holding, holding, touching” starfish can also cause negative effects if human hands carry viruses and bacteria harmful to marine organisms. Even so, many opinions even say that bringing starfish to the sandy beach to take pictures and then released back into the seawater is also harmful to starfish.

Starfish is the common name for the echinoderms of the class Asteroidea. There are currently about 1,800 living starfish species present in all oceans of the world. Starfish are present in a wide range from tidal flats to abyss (6,000 m). Most of them have a symmetrical 5-armed star shape with a central center point. However, there will be individual starfish species with up to 10, 20 and even 40 arms.

Starfish as well as other types of marine life contribute to the general ecosystem, creating continuity in the food chain. Once this food chain is damaged excessively, it will reduce the number of populations in the ecosystem, reduce biodiversity, loss of landscape.

In many countries, even tourists will be severely fined for touching marine creatures such as corals to take pictures. In Vietnam, the application of sanctions like this in tourist destinations is not much. However, the Law on resources and environment of sea and islands No. 82/2015 / QH13 passed by the National Assembly on June 25, 2015 clearly states the rights, obligations and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals in the general management of natural resources, protection of the environment of the sea and islands of Vietnam. In which, content No. 5 in Article 8 of the Law clearly shows the prohibited acts: Destroying or degrading the environment, marine and island ecosystems.

Protection of marine environment contributes to ensuring the diversity of marine ecosystems (Artwork: Phuquocxanh.com)

Looking at the world wide, the issue of environmental protection, marine and island ecosystems has also been noticed for a long time. Many international conventions on the protection of the marine environment have been established, creating a basis and legal corridor for preserving the marine environment and preventing pollution at sea. In particular, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) has established the basic provisions for the conservation of marine life. UNCLOS 1982 not only defines the obligations of countries to protect the marine environment, but also dedicates a separate section on the protection and preservation of the marine environment.

Perhaps it’s time to change our perception, behavior, and habits while traveling. Instead of littering and affecting the living environment, it is necessary to consciously preserve and protect the landscape and the diversity of the ecosystem. The story of starfish in Phu Quoc is just one example, a testament to the “carefree”, “carefree” of people in front of nature. The time has come, each of us needs to contribute and join hands to build a healthy and sustainable ecosystem, for our own health, our lives! ./.

After sunset in Jaffna, Anthony Vigrado dived into the waters of Palk Bay to catch sea cucumbers – a prickly skin creature that has grown in value and has been his main source of income for the past 12 years.

But after 10 hours of searching, what he got is a fraction of what he used to be. The reason is that sea cucumbers have been extensively exploited in the northern coasts of Sri Lanka and southern India.

Treasures of the sea

“Illegal fishermen are fishing illegally in the places where we often dive for sea cucumbers. We are losing income and a livelihood for them, ”said the 31-year-old fisherman.

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms with a soft, tubular body resembling a vegetable of the same name. Photo: Guardian.

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms with a soft, tubular body resembling a vegetable of the same name. They are an unusual animal but play an important role in the marine ecosystem. When they eat debris in sediments, they regenerate nutrients and excrete nitrogen, ammonia and calcium carbonate – components that make up coral reefs. Sea cucumber also helps slow ocean acidification due to human activity.

The demand for sea cucumbers is huge in China and Southeast Asian countries, where they are processed into delicious dishes and used in traditional remedies. Dried sea cucumber is called calche-de-mer or trepang. They are also considered by many, especially China, an aphrodisiac.

This has made the sea cucumber trade become “super profitable”. Therefore, this animal is in danger of extinction. In the 1980s, sea cucumber was priced below 70 USD / kg, now the price has increased to more than 270 USD / kg. The rare species cost up to nearly 3,500 USD / kg.

Over the years, sea cucumbers in Palk Bay and Mannar Bay are overfished. For the most expensive species, the number of individuals has dropped by more than 60% globally.

Fishermen harvested sea cucumbers caught on Mannar Bay. Photo: Guardian.

Now, this tiny tropical island has become a hotspot for smuggling and illegal sea cucumber fishing. Like Vigrado, more than 10,000 fishing families living along Sri Lanka’s north coast are anxious about their livelihoods.

Chamari Dissanayake, Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Sri Jayewardenepura University in Sri Lanka, said: “The number of sea cucumbers is plummeting due to overfishing. It affects the biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal fishermen who have long depended on this profession ”.

Vigrado said many illegal fishing boats damaged the facilities and equipment of local fishermen to catch sea cucumbers, causing some people to commit suicide because they could not pay the debt.

“They are grabbing everything”

AM Stanny Lambert, a 31-year-old fisherman from Vankalai in Mannar, said he was sad and angry at these crimes.

“It was unethical and we were stuck, because they were doing everything in front of us,” he said. Lambert and his father have been licensed to fish for 11 years and are the breadwinner of the family.

Most reported offenses take advantage of different regulations from neighboring countries. While Sri Lanka issued fishing permits and permits the export of sea cucumbers, India has completely banned all trade in these animals since 2001.

As a result, sea cucumbers are illegally caught in India and smuggled into Sri Lanka, where they are legally exported to Southeast Asia, or exported from India under fake labels.

Marine animal protection forces in Lakshadweep Islands, India seized 486 sea cucumbers died in March 2021. Photo: Lakshadweep Forest Management Board.

In August 2020, three men were caught smuggling nearly 1,000 kg of sea cucumber from Tamil Nadu in India to Sri Lanka via Mannar Bay. The Indian Coast Guard priced these sea cucumbers to nearly $ 700,000 in the international market. A similar case was reported in March 2021.

Teale Phelps Bondaroff, research director at OceansAsia, an organization that recently mapped sea cucumber arrests and seizures in the two countries, said: “If you have a legitimate market near a market, illegal, legal markets will become huge “fish wash” dens.

Exhausted

For many years, the Sri Lankan and Indian authorities have worked to combat this type of marine crime. But the growing number of arrests shows that illegal trade is spreading to areas that have never been affected before.

Nowadays, as the value of animals is increasing, exploitation is also becoming more common. Great demand for sea cucumbers has led to deadly violence in Mexico, related to yakuza criminal organizations in Japan, and smuggling between Tanzania and Zanzibar.

According to OceansAsia, the network of organized sea cucumber fishing and smuggling criminals is spreading from the Palk Bay and Mannar Bay into untapped areas of the Lakshadweep alliance, an archipelago off the west coast. South India.

Wild island of Suheli in Lakshadweep. Photo: Guardian.

In the largest recorded arrest, disclosure from local fishermen in February 2020 helped authorities find 1,716 sea cucumbers worth nearly $ 580,000 hidden in nearby coral reefs. Suheli deserted island.

“Resource depletion may be the main reason these people are looking for new locations. Lakshadweep is still pristine, which may be why merchants moved there, ”said Sajan John, head of the Marine Projects and Policy Management Unit at Wildlife Trust of India.

Realizing the seriousness of the crime of selling sea cucumbers, the local government reacted strongly. In February 2020, the world’s first sea cucumbers conservation area was established in Lakshadweep, anti-theft bases were established across the islands and Lakshadweep Sea cucumber Protection Task Force was established. established with the help of the Central Bureau of Investigation of India.

A batch of 416 dead sea cucumbers was seized on a deserted island off Perumal in Lakshadweep in March 2021. Photo: Lakshadweep Forest Management Board.

“The people of Lakshadweep understand the importance of sea cucumber because their livelihood depends on fishing. When sea cucumbers are affected, other fisheries are also affected, ”said Sivakumar Kuppusamy, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Wildlife.

But as the majority of illegally-caught and trafficked sea cucumbers continue to be smuggled into Sri Lanka, Kuppusamy agrees that while it is important to stop this illegal supply chain, educate the fighters. Illegally catching sea cucumbers correctly appreciates the importance of this animal is also important to protect them.

“We have to convince them of the role of sea cucumber in the ecosystem. Without sea cucumbers, they are jeopardizing the sea, ”he said. “That’s when they begin to realize that their livelihoods and their children’s futures will be affected.”

“Break that illegal supply chain and convince the fishermen – we have to do both. If not, this business will continue to grow ”.

The strange movement of a flying snake Some snakes are able to climb trees and “fly” from branch to branch with deliberate jumps. Scientists are investigating what makes them do that.