Marine resources

The Con Dao seas are listed as "the highest protected areas" in the World Bank's marine protected area system.

According to the Institute of Oceanography Nha Trang and Hai Phong, Con Dao sea area is rich in density and abundance of species in Vietnam, many corals are also primitive, surveys on Recent marine professionals in the world specialized in specialized fields always find new species for the world and Vietnam.

There are 1,493 species in the marine fauna including 23 species of mangroves, 127 species of algae, 11 species of seagrass, and phytoplankton. Coral species (Coral) 342 species, Mollusa 187 species, Coral reef fishes 202 species, Crustacea 116 species, Echinoderms (Echiodermarta) 75 species, polychaetes 130 species, animals and marine reptiles 8 species.

The research results show that there are 44 species in Con Dao watershed, which is extremely rare gene source of Vietnam sea and has been included in the Red Book. They include: 02 species of seaweed, 02 species of mangrove, 3 species of coral, 12 species of molluscs, 01 species of crustaceans, 04 species of echinoderms, 07 species of fish, 07 species of reptiles, 05 species of birds and 01 species animals

Con Dao has three major ecosystems: the mangrove ecosystem is 18 hectares, the seagrass ecosystem covers an area of ​​about 200 hectares and the coral reef ecosystem covers an area of ​​about 1,000 hectares.

Coral ecosystem: The coral reef ecosystem is very strong in the area around Con Dao National Park, with 342 species, 61 species, 17 families. It can be said that the Con Dao coral reef is rich and diverse in the first and second types of Vietnam. The predominant coral species are Acropora, Porites, Pachyseris, Montipora, Panova, coral reef ecosystems containing a high diversity of fish and other aquatic species; It is an habitat for laying eggs, hatching larvae, feeding on many species of marine life in the South East Coast of Vietnam and in Southeast Asia. Coral reefs are also important for regulating, balancing oxygen levels in seawater and protecting the coast of Con Dao.

Seagrass ecosystem: Con Dao has 11 seagrass species, accounting for 84.61% of the total species currently known in Vietnam (13 species), more than Singapore's 04 species and more. Brunei 06 species. The existence and development of seagrass ecosystems play an important role as the primary food source of Dugong dugon in a rare marine species. In Con Dao, there are 8 to 12 Dugong dugons, the largest and most abundant marine mammal species in the world, currently only seen in Con Dao and Phu Quoc.

+ Saline forest ecosystem: The number of mangrove species in Con Dao has been identified as 23 species, the dominant species is Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Rhizophora mucronata ).

In addition, Con Dao Sea also has reptiles and marine mammals:

- Sea creatures: Con Dao often has three species of mammals: long snout (Stenella longirostris), blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and Dugong dugon, also known as seacow. There are 3 species of marine mammals that need protection, especially long-lived Dugong dugon in Con Dao but not discovered in 1995. Dugong is now the subject of global protection.

- Sea Shepherd: includes sea turtles and sea snakes. Sea Turtles: There are two large species that live and reproduce annually in Con Dao National Park: Chelonia mydas and Ertmochelys imbricata. Con Dao is also home to the feeding habitat of the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Lepidochelys olivacea. With 14 turtles of the sea turtles, the number of tortoises is estimated at 70-80% of the number of turtles nesting in Viet Nam every year. Male.