Sustaining the World's Large Marine Ecosystems

activities to support local uses of the Bay’s resources. The MPA project aims to
protect the marine environment and assist local island communities in improving
their livelihood. The MPA project partners with stakeholders to restore marine
biodiversity in Nha Trang Bay and it will serve as a model for collaborative MPA
management in Vietnam.
Figure 4. Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam – model Marine Protected Area
The Nha Trang Bay MPA covers about 160km 2 and has many important habitats
including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove areas. Nha Trang Bay has
the highest coral reef diversity of any surveyed location in Vietnam. Its
biodiversity makes Nha Trang Bay an “area of highest national priority” for marine
conservation and coastal tourism.
A cornerstone of the project is to improve the livelihood of local villagers through
the ecological sustainability of aquaculture and fisheries. This will reduce
overexploitation and depletion of traditional wild-caught fisheries. Since the MPA
was established, access to some traditional fishing grounds has been restricted
to replenish stocks.
To date, village aquaculture has focused on cage culture for reef lobster and
marine fish. To address the increased demand for wild-caught 'seed' and food to
supply aquaculture facilities, the Project has planned and implemented a series
of aquaculture trials to demonstrate the feasibility of species diversification, the
use of hatchery-produced seeds, and species that feed successfully from natural
food sources or formulated pellets. To date, most trials have shown that there is
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