Collect trash on shore, clean the marine environment

For the past 4 months, every day in Vung Ro Bay (Hoa Xuan Commune), there have been 2 motorboats taking turns collecting tons of waste from lobster farming activities in the bay.

This is a free garbage collection model in Vung Ro Bay, implemented by the Hoa Xuan Commune government in coordination with a supporting unit since June 2025. Two motorboats and a team of workers are arranged to collect garbage daily from aquaculture rafts. The cost of collecting and transporting garbage for treatment each day is about 4 million VND, sponsored by Mr. Tran Thien Toan, a businessman in Khanh Hoa province.

In the middle of the morning, the motorboat carrying Mr. Tran Van Loc cut through the waves and weaved through each aquaculture raft to collect trash. From nylon bags, old foam sheets to leftover lobster food..., all were collected by fishermen and given to him. Every day, two boats of Mr. Loc's group diligently collected trash throughout the bay, regardless of sun or rain. Mr. Loc said: "On average, we collect about 3.5 - 4 tons of trash every day. After gathering, all of this trash is transported to trucks to be sorted and recycled, contributing to cleaning the bay environment."

Motorboats collect trash from aquaculture rafts in Vung Ro Bay.

Fortunately, the garbage collection model not only contributes to cleaning the marine environment but also helps fishermen change their waste disposal habits and raise awareness of protecting the bay. Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Thach, a resident of Hoa Xuan commune, said that in the past, Vung Ro Bay was often covered with garbage, especially nylon bags and plastic packaging floating in large patches on the water surface, causing serious pollution. Although the local government has organized many cleaning and garbage collection activities, this situation recurred after a short time.

In fact, for a long time, waste treatment and marine environmental protection in Vung Ro Bay has been a difficult problem for local authorities. According to statistics from the People's Committee of Hoa Xuan Commune, there are currently 604 raft owners in the bay with about 3,900 aquaculture cages. Most of the waste in the bay comes from this farming activity. As for nylon bags containing shrimp and fish feed, each household uses an average of 50 - 100 bags per day, creating an uncontrollable amount of waste and causing significant pollution to the bay's water surface.

Since the implementation of the garbage collection model, the awareness of protecting the marine environment of aquaculture fishermen here has been significantly raised. Mr. Nguyen Khac Tuong, a lobster fisherman in Vung Ro, shared: “Before, every day my raft discharged about a kilo of garbage, not knowing where to put it so I just threw it into the water. Since the collection boat was installed, people have proactively collected it to transport it away. Thanks to that, the water in the bay is cleaner, the shrimp and fish in the cages are healthier, everyone is happy.”

Mr. Tran Kim Trong, Vice Chairman of Hoa Xuan Commune People's Committee, said: "The waste collection model in Vung Ro Bay has been piloted since June 1, 2025. After more than 4 months of implementation, the amount of waste in the bay has decreased significantly, the marine environment here has improved by more than 80%. In the coming time, we will continue to mobilize people to maintain this meaningful work to protect the marine environment in Vung Ro Bay. The locality has also reported and proposed to the Standing Committee of the Commune Party Committee to request a mechanism and policy on collecting appropriate waste collection fees."

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/moi-truong/202510/gom-rac-vao-bo-lam-sach-moi-truong-bien-6fc160d/