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Wish you were here? Viet Nam’s Nha Trang beach. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngo My

Watching the sea grass grow: one man’s fight to help a plant in need

KHANH HOA — Fifty-five year old Nguyen Huu Dai is never one to shy away from a challenge. For five years he has been pulling out all the stops to create a product that nobody wants to buy or sell. His ambition is simple: to replant the sea grass which is becoming increasingly thin on the sea bed.

"It’s true that I am planting something that no-one is interested in," Dai admits.

But Dai has good reason to hold sea grass in high esteem. Sea grass plays a vital role in the marine ecosystem, he explains. Not only does it help to purify sea water, but it is a valuable source of food for various fish.

However, sea grass is also increasingly under threat from pollution and commercial fishing.

"It is about to disappear due to people’s poor awareness about the importance of preserving this plant," says Dai.

Since 1997, Dr.Dai and a colleague in the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute conducted investigations in the bays of Van Phong, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh and Van Ninh in Khanh Hoa Province. They found that the area of sea grass has reduced to 785ha this year from 1,287ha five years ago: an average loss of about 80ha each year.

Most people are aware of coral and sea weed, but sea grass is virtually unheard of. Many scientists have sounded the alarm over the extermination of coral reefs caused by pollution or the use of explosives in fishing.

Unlike sea weed, which usually drifts and is easier to recognise, sea grass sprouts up from the sea bed and is more varied in appearance, said Dai.

Dai’s work is part of a broader international recognition of the importance of sea-grass and efforts to re-plant the world’s sea beds.

Since 1924, many foreign scientists have also been researching and growing sea grass in laboratories in the hope that they will be able to plant it on the sea bed.

Vietnamese scientists have concluded that it is possible to replant sea grass, but caution that it is much harder than growing grass in gardens or fields.

It is also extremely expensive.

International experts have estimated that it costs at least US$9,000 to replant 1ha of sea grass. Here in Viet Nam, Dai and his colleague confirm it costs less than that.

They are also growing sea grass in a laboratory on a small scale, and have reported successful progress with certain sea grass strains.

However, Dai and his colleague believe that more money and time should be invested in replanting sea grass, which they say would reduce pollution and bring fishermen an extra source of income.

If precious coastal organisms such as sea grass, coral and mangrove forests are lost, Dai says, the sea’s food resources will soon be exhausted. — VNS