Every time Trần Văn Cường from Phú Vang District, goes fishing he collects lots of plastic waste in order to raise funds for his students, all the while protecting the ocean from plastic pollution. Over the past 20 years while fishing Cường has noticed a lot of trash in the ocean saying “I thought that if garbage was dumped into the sea, sooner or later the environment would be polluted, and the source of fish and shrimp would gradually become exhausted. So, I decided to pick it up and put it on the ship and carry it ashore. I have done this for many years,” Always picking up the plastic waste from the ocean earned him the nickname 'crazy guy' from the locals. But he doesn't think it's crazy For a long time Cường has used the idea of recycling plastic to make flood proof boats for the poor. Therefore contributing to the protection of the ocean and providing safe transport for people during the flood season. “Now, there are not as many fish and shrimp as before. About 50 percent is seafood, the remaining 50 percent is garbage. On many trips to the sea, we pick up more trash than fish,” Cường said. “The situation of plastic waste has lessened due to the effect of the ‘Green Sunday Movement’ launched by the Thừa Thiên Huế provincial People’s Committee. However, the change is not much. Many fishermen clinging to the sea like me are worried about the widespread plastic waste,” Cường also said. “Every day, people throw trash into the sea, and soon the sea surface turns into a garbage dump. As every household living near the sea does this, others follow. It’s sad to see this. Garbage on the shore could be treated by faster, easier ways such as placing public rubbish bins in convenient areas on the beach. Sometimes, volunteer groups come to clean up the trash. But with garbage floating in the sea it comes to an end.” In the rainy season when boats can not fish and no one is there to collect the waste, it piles up and makes its way to shore. Tourists are also not aware of the problem about waste, and contribute more to the waste on the shore. As was stated in the beginning Cường long thought about using the plastic he found the raise funds for children and in turn raise awareness. “Since knowing that I launched the movement to collect plastic waste to recycle and sell for charity, there have been many organizations wanting to cooperate in promoting the movement of collecting plastic waste at sea,” he said. Cường also believes that there is no better way to save the ocean than raising funds and awareness. If ‘Crazy’ people such as Cường continue to do their part the ocean could be a lot cleaner. By Quinn
Bibliography News/Asia, Nam. “Vietnam’s ‘Crazy Guy’ Aims to Save Ocean from Waste.” INQUIRER.net, Jan. 2022, newsinfo.inquirer.net/1542536/vietnams-crazy-guy-aims-to-save-ocean-from-waste. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
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Writer - Philipp Lux The mysterious "Twilight" coral reef was found by a group of divers near the coast of Tahiti. The coral structure was found by a mapping expedition alongside of the island. The Team of divers were swimming at 30 meters depth when they stumbled upon the acres of giant, pristine, rose-shaped corals blossoming at the Twilight zone. The Twilight zone got its nickname for its deep depth, just at the point of the ocean where light still shines. The Reef is a wonder to most marine scientists as these rare corals are in pristine condition when at the depth of 30-70 m depth.
Most coral reefs that are present today are being harmed by the heat crisis and waste from humans. Scientist predicts that 70 - 90 % of all corals reefs will be eradicated in the next 20 years due to coral bleaching. Therefore, the marine biologists want to keep this amazing find in the most pristine condition for better marine structure and a hope for further coral growth. With only 25% of the ocean map ranging from 30 to 60 m, it was quite puzzling to find a coral reef that stretched to such a wide depth. Most coral structure only grow to the depth of 30 meters, as there it has the optimal current and sunlight for the best growth. This twilight coral structure just has enough sunlight to be able to continue growing. "We think that deeper reefs may be better protected from global warming," said Laetitia Hédouin, a marine biologist with the French National Centre of Scientific Research and the environmental research centre. The Coral reef will continue to thrive if no harm is done to it. The hope is to find more of these exceptional reefs at 30-70 meter depth, so there is some hope to fight against the coral destruction. For more information: CNN article | Rare Coral Reef : https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/19/world/coral-reef-tahiti-twilight-zone-climate-scn/index.html A continuing collection by - Anna Lena Lux (NIST Y13 Film student) |
AuthorThe OMG Newsletter is run by the members of the service group. Topics are taken from the whole world by our researchers and formed into concise articles of our own. We invite experts to bring facts into our educational newsletter, and special contributions of students to showcase their ocean themed comic strip, so that it can be enjoyed by various age groups. Archives
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