Young people dive to pick up trash in seabeds

Once a week, a group of young people in Quy Nhon City of the central province of Binh Dinh, gather to pick up rubbish in the seabeds.

From the center of Nhon Hai commune, Quy Nhon city, members of the Coral Reef Protection Team use boats to cross the sea to the guard post in small Hon Kho island.

At around 8 am, when the sea water gradually warms up, six members of the team help each other put on diving suits and air tanks. They hold racquets, nets, and hooks, diving into the deep sea in all directions to pick up trash and thorny starfish.

Mr. Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang (born in 1985, in Hai Bac village, Nhon Hai commune), leader of the coral reef protection team in Nhon Hai commune, said that this is one of four teams of this type in Nhon Hai commune.

These teams are established on the basis of voluntary participation of local households, individuals and organizations.

The coral reef protection team is responsible for releasing buoys, patrolling and protecting coral reefs in the area around the small Hon Kho island.

While doing their tasks, they realized that there was a lot of garbage on the sea beds, affecting coral reefs and other creatures. Sang and other teammates formed a group to clean up the ocean.

According to Sang, previously there was a lot of waste, mainly beer and soft drink cans, and plastic bags in this area.

These types of garbage have a great impact on the marine environment, particularly the living of sea turtles.

“This work mainly comes from our love of the sea and nature. We do this work voluntarily,” Sang said.

The team does this task once a week.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Vice Chairman of Nhon Hai Commune People's Committee, said that over the years, the team has helped clean up beaches and coral reefs in protected areas.

“Thanks to those volunteer activities, coral reefs and marine species have recovered, grown and developed again. The marine ecological environment has significantly improved. The awareness of local people in participating in the management and protection of aquatic resources has improved," Nam said.