wild shores of singapore

Beting Bemban Besar after the storm

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:41:00 +0000

A small team head through the storm to survey this humungous submerged reef near the ongoing reclamation at Pulau Sudong.

Photo by Richard Kuah

They make all kinds of special finds including Knobbly sea stars and many colourful marinelife commonly seen on our reefs. The corals and seagrasses seem alright. I had to skip this survey to attend another advocacy event. So much thanks to Richard for making sure the team was safe.

Quek Chui Qing found two Knobbly sea stars! We used to see many of them in the past, like on this 2010 survey but I have not been able to find them recently. The rest of the team saw common sea stars as well as many colourful slugs, flatworms, crabs and fishes commonly seen on our reefs.

Thanks to Zen Xuan He for this great clip of a shark peacefully hunting for fish at the reef edge. We often encounter them on our surveys, especially of the more remote offshores reefs. Our sharks are NOT dangerous to humans. It is perfectly safe to be on the shore with them if we respect their space. We have surveyed shores for decades, often in the dark among sharks, without any harm to people or sharks. Sharks are a sign of a healthy reef. Many sharks means there is enough fish for them to eat. So let's rejoice when we see sharks on our shores! More about our peaceful wild sharks.

It is always exciting to see animals that live in other animals. Today, the team saw anemonefish in Magnificent anemone, and also the rarely seen Merten's anemone. Rui Quan checked out every Cauliflower coral and found in a small one, a snapping shrimp and crab that live only in such corals.

The team saw 3 Fluted giant clams!

The team braved the thickening Sargassum seaweed to check out the reef edge. And they saw some large colonies, some special corals as well as Mushroom corals. There were also common corals, mostly boulder shaped ones. Towards the middle of the reef flat, they also saw one rather dense field of Branching montipora, as well as a few patches of more scattered ones - hopefully they will become more dense.

The team also saw many medium-sized colonies of Leathery soft coral of various kinds. They seemed to be alright.

Thanks to photos by Rui Quan Oh and Zen Xuan He, I sense the seagrass situation is similar to our May 2026 survey. We first observed seagrass recovery on our Jul 2025 survey. Seems like sprinkles of seagrasses evenly covered the shore - the green horizon in the photo Rui Quan took of a Brahminy kite that landed on the shore. There seems to be scattered patches of denser growth. Most seem fresh and green. Tape seagrass remain cropped.

The ongoing reclamation at Pulau Sudong is still very visible from Beting Bemban Besar. Thanks to Zen Xuan He for great close ups of the works. Seems like the sand mountains are getting flattened. But there are still many large vessels and construction equipment on the shore.

From Port Marine Notice No. 55 of 2026 "Reclamation at Pulau Sudong" with effect from 08 Apr 2026 to 07 Oct 2026. The works involve the installation of navigational buoys, removal of metallic debris, demolition of abandoned jetty, dredging works, installation of marine staging platforms for soil instrumentation, infilling works, marine vibrocompaction, stone revetment works, and jetty construction to facilitate the reclamation and jetty construction works at Pulau Sudong.

Here is the location of Beting Bemban Besar and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

Google Earth does not show the current map of Pulau Sudong (historical imagery stops at 2023). But thanks to some help, I got this Copernicus view of the ongoing reclamation.

What is the fate of Beting Bemban Besar?

Large areas nearby are also slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Pulau Semakau and nearby islands and submerged reefs have been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for Immediate Conservation Priority. The Blue Plan recommends the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Semakau and adjacent Pulau Hantu, and Pulau Jong to be designated Marine Reserve.

Photo by Richard Kuah

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on this survey

Richard Kuah

Lon Voon Ong

Quek Chui Qing

Zen Xuan He

Tammy Lim

Rui Quan Oh

Others on the survey: Zheng Hao, Giant clam team

St John's Island still alive

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:24:27 +0000

Just minutes from the Central Business District, lies one of Singapore's last natural cliffs at St John's Island. The rocky shore and reef edge has corals. There are also seagrasses throughout, as well as rare mangrove trees on the untouched western shore, which is part of the Sisters Islands Marine Park.

A large team checks out the shores well before dawn. The corals seemed fine, seagrasses still doing well. As usual, the team make all the special finds: 'Nemo's and reef fishes, octopuses and Magnificent anemones. And slugs of all kinds.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. A night time visit makes it easier to photograph fishes. Indeed the team saw many of the usual colourful reef fishes like anemonefish and damselfishes. As well as odd fishes like the razorfish, dragonets, flatheads and dragonets. Juvenile fishes also find shelter here, such as baby barracuda. A special wrasse was also seen, on this lovely shore, among the last with the full spectrum of habitats from coastal forest to reef edge.

The Magnificent anemones are still on the shore. As well as a nice Leathery sea fan. There were many octopuses and pygmy squids. And a tiny feather star. As usual, interesting slugs and flatworms are spotted.

I have never seen a lot of corals on this shore since I started surveying it. Most are boulder shaped, with common plate corals, mostly small to medium sized, but also a few very large colonies. Today, I saw the usual assortment and all seemed fine. I didn't see any bleaching corals, or corals with dying portions. As in the past, I saw a variety of small to medium-sized colonies of leathery soft corals.

St John's Island has one of the few remaining natural coastal forest, growing on natural cliffs leading onto a natural rocky shore with corals and other marine life.

The real treasures are the grandmother Nyireh laut tree and her daughters that grow on the western shore of St John's Island, which overlooks the Sisters and is part of the Sisters' Islands Marine Park. Nyireh laut is Critically Endangered in Singapore and we probably have only about 7 trees on our shores. There are another 3 on Sentosa Tg Rimau. Today, they are still fine, although the large wooden pallet is still lodged near one of the daughter trees.

It is natural for landslides to occur on our natural cliffs. Although these take out trees that grow there, these also produce the wonderful boulders and pebbly shores that we find so pleasing. Today, we revisit the landslide on the western shore, with the fallen tree at the base, mostly dead, though the upper parts remain green. The bare rock is slowly being colonised by small plants. On the eastern shore, the smaller landslide is still visible. While a very old landslide that had been cemented over is now almost hidden by foliage.

The sandy artificial lagoons are alive! Dotted with burrows of Sand bubbler crabs, signs of Acorn worms and on the high shore, Ghost crab burrows. There were still some Common sea stars and I saw a Common cerianthid.

Similar to our survey in Oct 2025, seagrasses here seem fine! Outside the seawall of the swimming lagoons, I saw clumps of Tape seagrass with long leaves (30-50cm), though many were cropped shorter (about 20cm). St John's Island is one of the few shores left that still has some long Tape seagrass. Inside the swimming lagoons, and on sandy patches in the natural rocky shore, there are large patches of Spoon seagrass with small leaves with sprinkles of Needle seagrass. On the Western shore facing Sisters Islands, there are still sprinkles of Sickle seagrass among the rocky areas. All seagrasses looked fresh and green and healthy.

There seems be a bloom of Bryopsis green seaweed on the small area of the rocky reef edge on the northern tip of the island. The annual Sargassum seaweed bloom is just starting up. Today on St John's Island, the seaweed getting fluffy at the reef edge near the jetty. But are starting to form thick carpets with long strands on the western shore facing the Sisters Islands. I'm tracking the bloom season as we feel that in recent years, it is starting earlier and ending later.

St John's Island in the Singapore Blue Plan

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018 highlights the importance of St John's Island to our marine biodiversity. The cluster of Kusu, Lazarus and St. John's Islands has been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for elevated protection status.

The Sisters Islands from the western shore of St. John's Island.

The Blue Plan highlights that Lazarus, St. John’s, and Kusu Islands are established sites for coral nurseries as their shoreline offers ideal sheltered areas for growth of corals. Designating these islands as No-fishing Areas can bolster their rehabilitation. Protecting a larger cluster of islands means zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on the survey

Richard Kuah

Rui Quan Oh

Jianlin Liu

Marcus Ng

Sam Lau

Jason Ooi

Mathias Luk

Myra Khoo

Others on this survey: Lester Tan, Zheng Hao, Yaohui, Anya, Qing.

Ubin rocks still alive

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:04:03 +0000

A small team surveys the living rocks and seagrass meadows next to Ubin Jetty.

We started at Thomson's Rock which was sparsely 'painted' with colourful encrusting animals. And ended up at the shore opposite the old Civil Service Chalets, where the sea fans were much reduced. The rest of the team make all the special finds: flatworms of all kinds, lots of crabs.

This rock is made famous by John Turnbull Thomson's 1850 painting: "Grooved stones on Pulo Ubin near Singapore."

Image from Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance

The fluted sides of Thomson's Rock were 'painted' with sparse patches of colourful encrusting sponges, ascidians and fluffy hydroids. Compared to our last survey in Jun 2025, today the variety remains low. Seems like the shore has not recovered to what we saw in Jun 2021. Nevertheless, we saw one Rose nudibranch and many Blue-dotted flatworms which feast on such encrusting animals.

The sea fan garden near the jetty seems much reduced today, compared to our last survey in Jun 2025. But there were still large colonies of Flat branch sea fans and Asparagus sea fan. As well as some of the commonly seen varieties. Most were well covered with Tiny colourful brittle stars. But near the Big Rock and even among the live ones near the jetty, there were many dead sea fans.

There were many Zebra corals, which can be quite common on our Northern rocky shores. I saw some Cave corals and one small Flowery disk coral. I saw many more small colonies of Pink flowery soft corals stuck on the big rocks than I did on our last survey in Jun 2025. I didn't see any that were bleaching.

The rest of the team make all the special finds. On the rocks, there were many small flatworms, and some large ones of various kinds. A rock star was spotted. Samuel took great closeup of the sponges. And Jaeden captured the lovely sunrise reflected in the rock pools.

The team also spotted more life in the soft seagrassy areas. So glad the Tiger anemone named after our beloved Prof Daphne is still there. Cadence spotted a mangrove synaptid sea cucumber that looks like a worm and commonly seen on our northern mudflats. Plus the usual soft shore animals like cerianthids, sea pens. And all kinds of crabs large and small.

Today I saw sprinkles of Spoon seagrass (with large leaves) all along the shoreline from the Big Rock to Ubin Jetty. The leaves were nice and green, most were free of epiphytes. The ground is very soft in some parts. This is similar to our last survey in Jun 2025. The tide turned before sunrise so I couldn't see if the seagrasses were as lush as they were in Jun 2021. The shore was rather quiet. Haddon's carpet anemones remained the most abundant cnidarian visible here. There were many Ball sea cucumbers, but I only saw one Thorny sea cucumber. I saw the usual variety of sea pens but no cerianthids. I saw one hermit crab.

What is the fate of Pulau Ubin?

This shore, together with Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu is slated for reclamation in the Long-Term Plan Review. The plan includes a road link (black line) from the mainland jumping off at Punggol, crossing to Pulau Ubin through Chek Jawa to jump off to Pulau Tekong before circling back to the mainland on Changi East. Proposed reclamation (in yellow) will bury Pasir Ris shores, Pulau Sekudu and Chek Jawa as well as a large stretches of Changi Beach.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Among the Proposed Areas for Immediate Conservation Priority, the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 proposes that the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Ubin to be designated Marine Reserve.

We started in the dark and ended at sunrise as the tide turned.

The proposed area would include Tanjung Chek Jawa, the largest known intertidal area in northern Singapore. Considered one of the richest in Singapore, Chek Jawa comprises many adjacent ecosystems: coastal hill forest, mangrove areas, rocky shores, seagrass meadows, coral communities, and sandy areas. Chek Jawa remains an icon of celebration and hope for many Singaporeans since its reprieve from reclamation in 2001.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on this survey

Richard Kuah

Jaeden Lim

Anya Gajanur

Samuel Lau

Rui Quan Oh

Others on this survey: Cadence Foong, Rui Quan

Less starry at a Changi shore

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 03:19:34 +0000

I made a quick solo survey of sliver of Changi shore that is seldom done by the whole team. I surveyed in Jul 2025 following a break in May 2021.

The seagrasses seem to be doing well in the less disturbed parts of the shore. But I saw fewer and smaller sea stars. The shore was affected by seawall works all of 2024. It doesn't seem to have recovered fully from this yet.

I was relieved to see some Biscuit sea stars, which seemed to have disappeared from some of our northern shores in recent years. Compared to our last survey in Jul 2025, I didn't any big ones, only small or tiny ones today. All the others sea stars I saw were small or tiny: Eight-armed sand star, Cake sea star, Plain sand star. I didn't see any Knobbly sea stars. I saw some of the sea cucumbers commonly seen on our northern shores, all were small or tiny, and not super abundant. Only the Ball sea cucumbers were the usual size.

I saw a mama octopus near her egg strings inside an empty volute shell. Mama octopuses will guard their eggs not eating, and often dying after the eggs hatch. Not sure why the shell is in this state and parts of the egg string broken off nearby. I hope she can fix things when the tide returns. The most abundant anemone remains Haddon's carpet anemones, I didn't see any other kinds of anemones. I saw one cerianthid but no sea pens. I didn't see any live volutes, but empty shells were occupied by crabs or hermit crabs. There were a few large Moon snail sand collars. I looked for and didn't find any Ghost crab burrows until the seawall and sand bags ended.

As during the Jul 2025 survey, in the more undisturbed part of the shore, there were patches of healthy looking Fern seagrass (which is only common in our Northern shores like Changi, Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu). There were also lush Needle seagrass (narrow leaves) and Spoon seagrass (big leaves). Elsewhere, there were sprinkles of Spoon seagrass with small leaves. Today, also Needle seagrass with narrow leaves.

The legs of a jetty nearby still had colourful sponges, ascidians and hyroids. But I didn't see any sea fans or feather stars or flowery soft corals, no cowries or flatworms. Seems like the diversity is even lower than our last survey in Jul 2025, which was already lower than our survey in May 2021. There were still some sprinkles of the usual sponges, ascidians and hydroids. As on our last survey in Jul 2025, I didn't see the Burgundy anemone - it was still there in May 2021, I first saw it in Sep 2018.

Similar to our survey in Jul 2025. It is no longer possible to access this shore without climbing seawalls, or walking a long distance to where this is easier access. The seawalls along the entire shoreline from the SAF Ferry Terminal to Carpark 3 were being repaired most of 2024. Beyond the granite seawall, there is now a stretch of huge bags forming a wall. Below the 'bag' area, large rocks. The shore directly opposite the work area still has a lot of coarse sand and the sand bars there have hardly any seagrass.

Fishing seems a common activity from the seawall. I saw one crab trap, a few fishing rods, many entangled fishing lines and some long abandoned nets already grown over by seaweeds.

What is the fate of these shores?

In 2013, the plans were to reclaim all of Pasir Ris, all of Changi from Carpark 1 to Carpark 7 and beyond, and reclaim Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu. These appear to remain in place in the Long-Term Plan Review. Including plans for a road link that starts at Pasir Ris, crosses to Pulau Ubin, right across Chek Jawa to Pulau Tekong, and back to the mainland at Changi East.

Aviation Park reclamation at Changi

In Jul 2025, it was announced that adjustments were made to protect seagrasses at Changi from Carpark 6 to 7, in a planned 193ha reclamation to develop an aviation park. The original reclamation outlined in the Long-Term Plan, was cut by nearly one-fifth, or 45ha. This adjustment will benefit a seagrass area of about 34ha. But a study found seagrasses off the north of Changi Beach Park, Changi Golf Club and Chek Jawa Wetlands are expected to suffer from a “slight negative impact”, even if measures to blunt the reclamation’s impact are adopted. Corals within the project’s footprint and a surrounding buffer area will be transplanted elsewhere before development works begin. No timeline was given for the reclamation.

See Changi shores for yourself!

They are easy to get to, and enjoyed by many people. It remains rich in marine life. More details in "Changi - an easy intertidal adventure for the family".

Pulau Tekukor is alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 07:46:04 +0000

Just minutes from Sentosa Cove, lies the natural reefy rocky shores of Pulau Tekukor. Including last longest natural coastal cliff in Singapore.

The corals seems fine, and coastal forest looks good. As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds: giant clams and more! I will update later.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds: colourful flatworms and nudibranchs, reef fishes and octopus, tiny sea stars. And also make interesting interpretations of the rocks.

Today, we saw two large Fluted giant clams. Unfortunately, one that we saw in the past is missing. We didn't even find the shells.

Rui Quan and Chui Qing took great photos of the monkeys eating washed up mangrove propagules and seagrass.

The western shore of Pulau Tekukor is part of the Sisters Islands Marine Park. Thanks to the team for checking on this stretch, it seems the seagrass situation is similar to our last survey in Jan 2025 and in Mar 2024. There are still Sickle seagrass with fresh green leaf blades. The patch of Tape seagrass is still there with longish leaves (about 20-30cm), but no flowers. Seems they didn't see any Spoon seagrass. I didn't see much bloom of Bryopsis seaweed as we did in Jan 2025 The sargassum seaweed is just starting to bloom on the reef edge.

I have never seen a lot of hard corals on this shore. As on our last survey in Jan 2025, there remains a few large ones. I saw the usual sprinkling of small colonies of the boulder-shaped common hard corals. Most seemed alright and well-formed without dings and dead portions. I didn't see any that were bleaching.

As in the past, there remains some small to medium sized leathery soft corals of various kinds. I didn't see any that were bleaching or stressed.

Pulau Tekukor has probably the last longest natural coastal cliff in Singapore. It is cloaked in a natural coastal forest. Today, I spent most of the time here. The forest seem alright with the usual trees and plants commonly seen.

Rock slides and landslides are a natural part of cliffs. They are what create the charming rocky shore and pebbly beach. But the falling rocks also take out trees and plants.

Nasry was particularly keen to have a closer look at the many large patches of Raffles pitcher plants that continue to grow well here. We noticed, they seem to form a fringe under the growth of Resam. We saw some with large pitchers and others with small ones. Most were flowering profusely.

There was also a large healthy Nyireh bunga producing large bomb-shaped fruits, a small Chengam shrub profusely flowering and fruiting, and several Beach gardenias also flowering.

We were shadowed by four macaques as we explored the coastal forest area. While we were amused by the one little macaque that appeared to stalk Yan Le very closely, we were probably also being stalked by the others in the troop. The macaques didn't confort or attack us and they left us alone after it became apparent we had nothing to offer them.

There was an intriguing line of Tape seagrass and Sickle seagrass washed up on the mid-water mark. Nasry noticed the macaques were nibbling on them. We also saw the small patch of Sickle seagrass on the southern most point facing St John's Island. I didn't make it to the western shore where most of the seagrass is. Hope to update based on observations by the rest of the team.

I am relieved to see that the trash on the high shore remains highly reduced, first noticed in our last survey in Mar 2023. In previous years, there is usually a lot of plastic trash here. I hope whatever changed the situation continues to keep trash off the shore.

The shores of Pulau Tekukor might be impacted by the Keppel Tg. Pagar reclamation, slated to start after end of 2027. Feedback to these plans highlighted that nearby shores such as Tekukor might be impacted by higher sedimentation from these works.

Photos by others on the survey

Loh Kok Sheng

Che Cheng Neo

Richard Kuah

Jianlin Liu

Rui Quan Oh

Chui Qing

Others on the survey: Jason Ooi, Dylan Seng, Samuel Lau, Lester Tan, Yan Le Su, Muhd Nasry, Qing, Giant clam team

Pulau Semakau (North) with 3 giant clams

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:50:15 +0000

Pulau Semakau (North) is close to the petrochemical plants of Pulau Bukom and yet has some great reefs. A full team survey today and find 3 giant clams, a seahorse, special sea anemones and more.

The corals seem mostly alright although there are signs of stress in some colonies. The seagrasses remain sparse.

Today, the Giant Clam team are not with us, working on another shore. So we try our best to find clams and seahorses for them. Bravo to Dylan for finding a Burrowing giant clam (9cm) as soon as we landed. A little worrying to see it has a bleaching bit on its flesh - like corals, giant clams also rely on symbiotic algae to make food from sunlight, and thus can also bleach. Sam Lau found a large Fluted giant clam (35cm) near the reef edge. And Marcus found the another (23cm) near our departure point. And I found a seahorse! Wow, I was so surprised.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. We landed during a spectacular sunrise. Marcus found the Leathery sea anemone which we rarely encounter. Zen found a Strapweed filefish, also not often seen. There were also 'Nemos', Magnificent anemones and Fire anemones. Richard saw two special flatworms not often seen, while everyone else saw a lot of Spangled flatworms and many different kinds of nudibranchs. Including some mating, and egg ribbons laid.

So delighted that Dr Clarence Sim has captured a view of several sharks peacefully foraging on the reef edge. Great proof of how we often encounter them on our surveys, especially of the more remote offshores reefs. But they are shy and will flee as soon as they sense we are nearby.

Tammy also captured a view of these sharks. Our sharks are NOT dangerous to humans. It is perfectly safe to be on the shore with them if we respect their space. We have surveyed shores for decades, often in the dark among sharks, without any harm to people or sharks.

Sharks are a sign of a healthy reef. Many sharks means there is enough fish for them to eat. So let's rejoice when we see sharks on our shores! We often see sharks cruising the edge of submerged reefs at low tide, probably waiting for the tide to turn. Just as the moment a 'kopi tiam' door opens, the sharks are eager to rush in and be the first to get the fishes. Adding these great clips to our compilation of peaceful sharks seen on our shores.

The team also shared some awesome underwater reefscapes. And sightings of some special corals.

Although most of the corals and cnidarians seen seem alright. The team did see a few corals that were stressed or bleaching. Or had large patches of dying tissues. Including one bleached anemone.

Within sight of the ongoing Sudong reclamation, there are stretches of rich reefs on Pulau Semakau North.

The coral situation seems similar to our last survey in Apr 2025. The reef edge remains rich with many well formed healthy corals. Mostly boulder shaped corals, but also some plate corals. There were also many mushroom corals.

I saw about 5 colonies full on bleaching, some were stressed (pale or pinkish), many corals had dead portions taken over by algae. I saw one Boulder pore coral with bluish grey dying tissue.

Today, I saw many Leathery soft corals on the reef edge of various kinds. I didn't see any that were bleaching, but one had peeling 'skin'.

I also briefly checked the seagrass situation. There remains basically no seagrass in the shallow lagoon which used to have lots of long Tape seagrasses. This is similar to our last survey in Apr 2025.

In this lagoon, I saw a sprinkle of Spoon seagrass (small leaves) and dense patch of green scum (got scammed, thought it was seagrass) with a little Noble volute in it. I saw one clumps of cropped Tape seagrass. At the reef edge, I did see small clumps of Tape seagrasses with longer leaves (about 30cm). Thankfully, Dr Clarence did a better survey of seagrasses, check out his album here.

The ongoing Sudong reclamation is visible from the reefs on Pulau Semakau North.

Thanks to Zen for taking these great photo of the ongoing Sudong reclamation. It seems to still be in full swing. The pile of sand seems to still be growing taller with huge vessels spitting out sand, excavators moving sand. And other huge vessels working nearby.

Here is the location of Pulau Hantu and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

More about Pulau Semakau

Just as Changi Airport and Changi Beach are not the same even though they are near one another and share a name, Pulau Semakau is NOT the same as the Semakau Landfill. The Landfill was created by destroying all of Pulau Saking, and about half of the original Pulau Semakau by building a very long seawall. Fortunately, the landfill was constructed and is managed in such a way that the original mangroves, seagrass meadows and reefs on Pulau Semakau were allowed to remain. It is NOT true that the construction of the Landfill created the marine life found on Pulau Semakau. The marine life was there long before the Landfill was built.

What is the fate of Pulau Semakau (North)?

Pulau Semakau (North) is likely to be affected by the massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on this survey

Che Cheng Neo

Richard Kuah

Rui Quan Oh

Zen Xuan He

Marcus Ng

Tammy Lim

Lon Voon Ong

Clarence Sim

Others on this trip: Yan Le Su, Ian Mun, Dylan Seng, Sam Lau, Chui Qing

Mangroves growing on Pulau Hantu seawall still doing well

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:16:05 +0000

Today, I focused almost entirely on the mangroves growing on the artificial seawalls of Pulau Hantu. Such a joy to do this with another mangrove enthusiast - thanks Kwan Siong! Amazing to see the mangroves, reefs and all kinds of marine life just opposite the huge petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom.

We visited the large Nyireh laut growing on the seawall, and may have found another small treelet in the Southern lagoon. But sadly, someone had chopped all the saplings that settled on the Southern lagoon. My brief look suggest the corals are mostly alright. The rest of the team make all the special finds, I will update later.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. Richard spotted the sundial snail, which we seldom encounter. Everyone saw the usual nudibranchs commonly seen on our reefs. Also octopuses, sea star, anemones of all kinds and a red feather star.

Thanks to the rest of the team for documenting the north-western reef edge. I'm relieved to see that it is still rich and most of the corals seem alright. There were many mushroom corals of all sizes and shapes, and special corals like Anchor corals. The big colony of blue Branching horn corals was still there with a big dead patch in the middle which I first observed in Mar 2025. The long stretch of Branching montipora corals in the shallow lagoon between Hantu Kecil and Hantu Besar seems to still be there.

While waiting for daylight, I was delighted to see happy clown anemonefishes in a Giant carpet anemone, just across the massive petrochemical plants, all still alight in the dark.

At sunrise, I got to the top of the seawall for a view of the mangroves growing here. A great view of the surrounding Terumbus, Pulau Hantu from the mangroves on the seawall.

Mangroves have settled naturally on the artificial seawall around the northern lagoon. I had earlier noticed this in Apr 09 (although they were probably growing there much much earlier). The trees are still growing very well. With fresh green leaves hardly chewed up by bugs or dinged by disease. Almost every tree was flowering or producing propagules.

Kwan Siong and I revisit the rare Nyireh laut that we first saw growing on the seawall in Jun 2025. Listed as Critically Endangered in Singapore, we probably have only about 7 trees on our shores. I visit those at Sentosa Tg Rimau and St John's Island regularly.

We also noticed a small tree next to the enormous Nyireh bunga, and we think it might also be a Nyireh laut! It seems the treelet was there in Jun 2025, but not in May 2022. The treelet had been chopped together with all the other treelets in the Southern lagoon. But it had managed to sprout new branches! While the Rhizophora next to it has not.

Heartbreaking to see that someone had chopped off all the young well-growing Rhizophora growing on the seawall of the Southern lagoon that I saw in Jun 2025. I first noticed this in May 2022 and they were okay in Jun 2025. Today, we even saw the chopped off portion of the trees on the shore, with a sheer clean cut on the trunk. Such a shame. But small saplings are starting to settle again on the seawall. Hope they will grow up unmolested.

Mangroves have also settled within the artificial Northern lagoon of Hantu Besear. Mangrove saplings settle among the lush border of Gelang laut on the high shore. And some grow quite large, including a tall Perepat near the seawall.

I only checked the corals at the mouth of the big lagoon on Hantu Besar. They were mostly boulder shaped corals. Almost all the Boulder pore corals had dying tissues (bluish grey). But most Merulinid boulder shaped corals were prefectly okay without even dead portions on the top. These were also growing on dead portions at the top of pan-caked shaped Boulder pore corals. There were still healthy corals in the shallow lagoon between Hantu Kecil and Hantu Besar. I didn't see any bleaching corals.

There were some medium sized colonies of Leathery soft corals of various kinds. As well as Asparagus flowery soft corals. All looked alright, although there were some pale patches on the flowery soft corals. I also saw a Magnificent anemone and Leathery sea fan.

Similar to our survey in Jun 2025 and Mar 2025, there remains hardly any signs of seagrasses. Few clumps of Tape seagrass with cropped leaves (about 20cm) heavily covered in ephiphytes. Even Spoon seagrasses (tiny leaves) remain sparse.

The ongoing Sudong reclamation is visible from the Southern lagoon of Hantu Besar.

Here is the location of Pulau Hantu and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

What is the fate of Pulau Hantu?

Pulau Hantu and all the terumbus west of it are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten.

From western Hantu Besar, thanks to Jason's photo, we could see the full extent of the planned reclamation all the way to Terumbu Pempang Laut indicated by the yellow arrow. On the horizon, Jurong Island's industrial complex.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos of others at the survey

Chay Hoon

Rui Quan Oh

Richard Kuah

Jason Ooi

Others on this survey: Sam Lau, Ian Mun, Giant Clam team, Anya, Kwan Siong, Yaohui.

Mass coral bleaching expected in Mar-May 2027

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:06:10 +0000

Mass coral bleaching is likely in Singapore in Mar-May 2027. NParks will be monitoring.

Mass coral bleaching at Kusu Island, Jun 2024

Karenne Tun, group director of NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre said that while recent studies show that repeated bleaching in Singapore has caused relatively low immediate coral death – usually under 10%, and about 5% in the 2024 bleaching event – the reefs are changing and have “flattened” over time. Repeated bleaching and shifts to simpler reefs may affect coral spawning, limiting the reefs’ long-term resilience even if they appear to recover.

Marine biologist Huang Danwei, deputy head of NUS’ Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum noted that increased frequency of coral bleaching events means reefs have less time to recover between them. When corals do not recover, the flora and fauna that depend on reef habitats also decline in abundance and diversity.

According to third World Ocean Assessment: “The reefs of today will not be the reefs of tomorrow, and shifting baselines need to be considered when setting objectives, with respect to conservation, restoration and regeneration".

Current efforts include NParks’ 100k Corals Initiative, launched in December 2024 to plant 100,000 corals in Singapore over the next decade and beyond. It is the most extensive coral restoration effort in Singapore to date. Jani Tanzil, facility director of the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, noted that in Singapore’s case, where only about 10 sq km of reefs remain, there is no choice but to turn to this last resort of reef restoration to combat their decline.

Singapore corals may come under threat in 2027 if El Nino turns strong as predicted; NParks monitoring
Chin Hui Shan Straits Times Jul 27, 2026, 05:00 AM

SINGAPORE – If a super El Nino develops as predicted, it could turn Singapore’s reefs white again in 2027, just three years after the country’s coral reefs suffered widespread bleaching.

This is likely to take place between March and May 2027, during the expected tail end of the current El Nino event, as its impact on temperatures is highest when it weakens.

While this is not a certainty, El Nino conditions are already present and are likely to become strong during August and September, according to the Meteorological Service Singapore’s May 29 update.

The National Parks Board said that if El Nino proceeds as predicted, impacts on coral reefs may intensify in 2027, adding that it is monitoring the situation.

Marine biologist Huang Danwei, deputy head of NUS’ Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, said that if El Nino picks up rapidly and extends through the middle of 2027, there is a “good chance” that higher sea temperatures will cause severe coral bleaching.

Corals get their vibrant colours from microscopic algae that live in their tissues. When they are stressed by rising sea temperatures, the corals expel the algae and turn ashen white in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.

These algae supply the corals with nutrients, so when bleaching occurs, the corals become vulnerable to disease and may eventually die.

Global coral bleaching events occurred in 1998, 2010, 2016 and 2024, with Singapore also experiencing mass bleaching during those years.

All four global bleaching events followed El Nino – a climate phenomenon that warms sea surface temperatures and lifts global temperatures.

Severe bleaching during strong El Nino events can cause extensive coral mortality, reduce their structural complexity and lead to long-term declines in reef fish diversity and abundance, said Karenne Tun, group director of NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre.

While recent studies show that repeated bleaching in Singapore has caused relatively low immediate coral death – usually under 10 per cent, and about 5 per cent in the 2024 bleaching event – the reefs are changing and have “flattened” over time, she said.

Studies also indicate that a combination of factors, including heat stress, chronic turbidity, sedimentation and coastal development, has, over recent decades, shifted reefs from branching, structurally complex corals to more stress-tolerant, massive and dome-shaped forms, said Tun.

Repeated bleaching and such shifts to simpler reefs may affect coral spawning and potentially reduce reproductive output, limiting coral reefs’ long-term resilience even if they appear to recover, she added.

“Even when coral mortality is relatively low and coral cover remains moderate, research indicates that the loss of structurally important coral species can reduce habitat availability, biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, carbonate production and coastal protection functions,” she said.

Huang noted that the increased frequency of coral bleaching events also means that coral reefs will have less time to recover between them.

When corals do not recover, the flora and fauna that depend on reef habitats also decline in abundance and diversity.

Declines in reef fish – which are critically important for the food security and livelihoods of millions in South-east Asia – could endanger the lives of the most vulnerable communities, he added.

This comes as coral reefs have been under siege.

The third World Ocean Assessment, published on June 8, found that global coral cover continues to decline due to increasing ocean temperatures associated with climate change, continued coastal development, pollution, sedimentation, diseases, and marine resource destruction and over-extraction.

The frequency and severity of disturbances caused by heatwaves, disease outbreaks and tropical storms have also increased, it wrote, curtailing the recovery time between such disturbances.

This pattern is projected to continue on its current trajectory or accelerate, it added.

Written by more than 650 experts from 86 countries, the assessment provides the latest insights into the health of the oceans, providing a vital evidence base to help make better decisions for a sustainable future.

It is also the only global integrated assessment of the state of the marine environment that explores the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the ocean.

Tun said the report, unlike most global reports, does not prescribe policy. Instead, it brings together hundreds of national and regional assessments into an authoritative “health check” of the ocean that is policy-neutral but policy-relevant.

Documenting how climate change, pollution and overfishing, among other factors, put ocean systems under severe strain, the report calls for stronger multilateral cooperation and is designed to help policymakers sustainably manage the ocean.

The paper also found that ocean acidification – which refers to rising carbon dioxide levels in seawater – adds further stress to corals.

Ocean acidification makes it harder for corals to build their structures and weakens the reef foundation, making it difficult for reefs to keep growing upwards, said marine biogeochemist Patrick Martin from NTU’s Asian School of the Environment.

While Martin – who contributed to the report – noted that studies have shown that excessive acidification can harm corals, he said corals also show tolerance to acidification to a certain extent, though more research is needed.

He added that while ocean acidification is currently not the most pressing threat to coral reefs and has not reached extreme levels, it is steadily increasing alongside other threats that damage coral reefs.

Tun, who also contributed to the report, said that ocean acidification is already contributing to reduced skeletal density, slower growth and greater erosion risk in South-east Asian reefs, although these effects are harder to detect than bleaching and are often masked by co-occurring local stressors.

She said that the report also highlights that South-east Asia as a hot spot where warming, ocean acidification, nutrient pollution and land run-off coalesce, with reefs also experiencing low carbonate levels, which worsen the effects of acidification.

Under high-emissions scenarios, modelling and observational work in South-east Asia suggest that many reefs will become “marginal” for net reef growth between 2020 and 2050, said Tun.

This means that the rate of coral growth could barely keep pace with physical and biological erosion, even if live coral cover persists, she added.

The paper also noted that while efforts to conserve, restore and regenerate corals are under way, few initiatives are carried out sustainably. It said that the approaches and tools – often designed to mitigate or halt reef decline – are usually restricted to local reef-wide projects and could be difficult to scale up.

It also emphasised that global efforts are needed to support the survival and continued functioning of reef ecosystems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change.

“The reefs of today will not be the reefs of tomorrow, and shifting baselines need to be considered when setting objectives, with respect to conservation, restoration and regeneration,” it wrote.

Huang, who contributed to the paper, said that measures like active restoration of degraded ecosystems, management of local stressors and the introduction of more temperature-resilient corals into reef systems need to be explored and scaled up.

However, restoration – such as coral gardening – alone cannot prevent coral reefs from degrading as climate change intensifies, said Huang, as the sheer logistical scale required for restoration to outpace climate change is staggering.

“Ultimately, climate change needs to be halted and reversed for coral reefs to have a reasonable chance to retain the functions that human communities have found useful and utilised for their sustenance and development,” he said.

Current efforts include NParks’ 100k Corals Initiative, which was launched in December 2024 with the aim of planting 100,000 corals in Singapore waters over the next decade and beyond. It is the most extensive coral restoration effort in Singapore to date.

However, Jani Tanzil, facility director of the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, noted that reef restoration should be seen as a last resort because it is not realistic in many parts of the region, given its high costs and limited impact.

But in Singapore’s case, where only about 10 sq km of reefs remain, she said there is no choice but to turn to this last resort to combat their decline.

To help conserve coral ecosystems globally, Huang said people can reduce their carbon footprint by opting for more energy-efficient choices.

They can also support local coastal conservation projects, choose sustainable seafood and advocate for stronger environmental policies, he added.

“Reefs as we know them may not persist through business-as-usual trajectories, but meaningful recovery remains achievable if climate action and restoration efforts advance together urgently,” he said.

‘Good’ bacteria and HIIT could train Singapore corals to withstand hotter seas
Shabana Begum Straits Times Jul 27, 2026, 05:00 AM

SINGAPORE – Just as some people rely on probiotic drinks and regular exercise to stay healthy, corals could also benefit from a special bacterium and a training regime to survive rising sea temperatures.

Bracing themselves for the next marine heatwave amid El Nino, Singapore scientists have identified a bacterium living in reefs that can fortify corals’ resilience to heat, potentially helping to prevent bleaching.

At the same time, researchers have been putting coral fragments through a heat-conditioning regime in aquariums to acclimatise them to higher temperatures.

Strengthened by these methods, 160 coral fragments were transplanted into the reefs of Kusu Island and St John’s Island in late May and will remain there for a year.

Coral fragments are small pieces of living coral that can grow into new colonies.

Every two weeks, researchers will revisit the artificial reefs to keep track of the corals’ growth, survival, colour and how well they absorb sunlight to produce energy– a key indicator of the animals’ health.

They will also be monitored for any changes in their microbial communities, said Huang Danwei, an associate professor and deputy head of the NUS Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

“The corals will face the warmest months of the year initially, from May to July, and potentially through the marine heatwave caused by El Nino,” he said.

Huang is overseeing the study, which is under the National Parks Board’s Marine Climate Change Science Programme.

This is part of Singapore’s quest to find solutions to address the wave of challenges climate change is bringing to the marine world.

Amid El Nino and forecasts that the phenomenon will rapidly intensify in the coming months, scientists are bracing themselves for a potential marine heatwave in 2027 that could cause mass coral bleaching – just three years after the previous El Nino killed 5 per cent of corals in Singapore.

Higher sea temperatures stress coral reefs, forcing them to expel the algae called zooxanthellae that give them their striking colours. This causes corals to bleach, or turn ash-white.

While the most well-known of coral microbes are zooxanthellae, they are not the only microscopic wonders that reside in the underwater garden. Bacteria, viruses and fungi also live on corals; some cause diseases, while others help to recycle nutrients and shield the animals from stress.

From NTU School of Biological Sciences, Rebecca Case – an associate professor and marine bacteria expert – and her team turned detective to find one microbe within the ringed plate coral species that confers protection against heat stress.

This coral species was selected as it has low susceptibility to bleaching and a strong ability to recover after it turns white.

As part of the screening process, each bacterium was isolated, and its DNA mapped to identify genes that could potentially be beneficial to corals.

Eventually, one bacterium, or probiotic, from the Roseobactereaceae family was identified as having properties that can confer heat resilience to corals.

Case’s colleague Joao Pereyra dosed coral fragments with the bacterium and raised the water temperature to test the probiotic’s effect on their survival. The stronger strains were used in the field.

Case said: “Coral fragments were submerged in a dilute wash of the bacteria for eight hours so they had time to swim to the coral and get themselves stuck to its mucus and eventually its cells and skeleton.”

Each strain differs in terms of how it sticks to the coral, so the more “sticky” ones needed to be identified, she added.

There are three ways the bacterium can make corals more resistant to warmer seas.

First, it converts sulphur-rich compounds produced by corals into a gas that can escape into the air. This gas can have a cooling effect on the atmosphere by helping clouds to form more easily and reflect some sunlight back into space.

Second, the microbes produce vitamins that stabilise heat-sensitive processes in the corals. Third, the microbes also produce antibiotics and other molecules that prevent viruses from infecting stressed corals.

Forty coral fragments were eventually treated with the bacterium before being transplanted to the reefs.

At the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, coral fragments have been undergoing intensive conditioning in tanks. The facility’s director, Jani Tanzil, calls it heat HIIT (high-intensity interval training) for corals.

Over four weeks, the corals are exposed to water temperatures that swing from 29 deg C – Singapore’s average sea temperature – to 32 deg C. This is higher than the surrounding waters’ average monthly maximum temperature of 30.5 deg C in the hotter months of May to June.

Senior research fellow Tanzil said: “This results in the corals being exposed to an accumulated heat load that would stress the corals, but not enough to kill them.”

The regime worked well to boost heat tolerance in the ringed plate corals, especially for the weaker fragments, she added.

Another 40 fragments in the field have undergone heat acclimatisation, while an additional 40 have been exposed to both the microbe and the HIIT. The final 40 are untreated and serve as a control.

The aim of this project is to find the optimal solution to fortify corals against a boiling sea.

Tanzil said: “All the aquarium experiments have given us confidence that these methods to boost coral resilience work in semi-controlled settings and in shorter timeframes.

“A big question is how long these methods last – what are the lasting effects of the probiotics or the HIIT treatments?”

Nearly two months in, 98 per cent of the corals are surviving, said Huang.

Three other coral species, including a cauliflower-shaped coral, are undergoing aquarium trials and will be transplanted in 2027.

Huang added that the two methods can be scaled up if the strengthened coral fragments perform better than the controls during a marine heatwave.

“In future, fragments that have undergone HIIT or microbial treatment (or both) could be transplanted to sustain natural coral populations that may face higher mortality during heat stress.

“We could develop a field-based inoculation approach to introduce the resilient microbes directly to adult coral colonies on the reef,” he said.

Long Island: NParks to study fish on reclaimed shores

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:11:23 +0000

As preparatory works for the Long Island start in end-2026, NParks announced a study of fish on reclaimed shores. Initiated in 2025, expected to span 3 years, official start date not revealed.

HDB said “Given the mobility of fish and the availability of habitats outside of the work areas (of the Long Island preparatory works), the impact on fish is assessed to be temporary and localised.”

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum's senior collection manager of fishes Tan Heok Hui said there will not be enough time for the NParks study to document comprehensively the existing biodiversity at Bedok Jetty. He noted no proper baseline surveys currently exist for the East Coast area. And existing impact assessments often overlook less mobile, bottom-dwelling or burrowing organisms. Because the entire East Coast is already on reclaimed land, it is technically considered of lower ecological importance compared with pristine marine habitats.

Four anglers in their 20s formed a fish interest group to document the species at fishing hot spot Bedok Jetty before works start. Student Lin Jiayuan, 24, and three of his friends founded the Ichthyological Society of Singapore on July 6. The group, which has grown to more than 80 members, aims to document the biodiversity that remains along the Republic’s rapidly developing coastlines.
NParks plans study on fish along reclaimed shores, including where Long Island works will take place
Ang Qing Straits Times Jul 25, 2026, 12:00 PM

SINGAPORE – The National Parks Board (NParks) is planning to study marine fish communities along the Republic’s reclaimed shores to better design and manage such habitats.

Fish scientists and enthusiasts told The Straits Times that the NParks study will help fill some gaps when it comes to the little-studied marine fish off East Coast Park. This comes as preparatory works for the Long Island reclamation project are slated to start in end-2026.

“This could potentially help with future planning for the development and management of other fish aggregating devices like Bedok Jetty during the later stages of the Long Island project,” said fish biologist Jeffrey Kwik.

Karenne Tun, group director for the National Biodiversity Centre at NParks, told ST that the study covering fish communities living along reclaimed shorelines, including East Coast Park, will help ensure future nearshore habitats better support ecological functions and coastal uses valued by the community.

NParks is in talks with marine fish researchers from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the proposed study, which was conceptualised in 2025. Expected to span about three years, the research will examine the community structure of fishes, the distribution of adult and larval fishes, as well as the composition and impact of non-native species. NParks did not reveal the official start date of the study.

Kwik, an associate professor at SIT involved in the study, said such information has historically aided the protection and management of coastal marine habitats, such as mangroves and seagrass beds, in places like Australia and the UK.

“Information from changes in the size distribution of fishes over time has led to the enforcement of size and bag limits to enable sustainable recreational and commercial fishing and natural stock management in many countries,” he said.

Some local anglers are concerned that the Long Island environmental study, which was made public in June, might overlook the diversity of marine life at Bedok Jetty. Preparatory works, which involve sand infilling, are expected to start nearby.

Addressing these concerns, the Housing Board, which oversees the reclamation, said the environmental study for Long Island’s preparatory works had recognised that environmental pressures could affect fish communities in sensitive habitats like coral reefs.

“Given the general mobility of fish communities and the continued availability of habitats outside of the active work areas, the impact on fish is assessed to be temporary and localised, compliant with the environmental quality objectives set for the works,” said HDB.

The agency added that the report had assessed the impact on recreational fishing at Bedok Jetty, pointing out that the jetty is primarily recreational infrastructure rather than a natural ecological habitat.

While recreational fishing can continue there during the works, the HDB noted that catch rates might drop.

A spokesman for newly formed fish enthusiast group Ichthyological Society of Singapore argued that the environmental study should reflect significant and rare species of fish that anglers had caught at the jetty and documented for the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

Kwik said that given the lack of information on fish communities there, it may have been difficult to predict the potential impacts across different species recorded either from research or citizen science. Factoring in national interests and time constraints, conducting an extended baseline study prior to the preparatory phase might not have been feasible, he noted.

The museum’s senior collection manager of fishes Tan Heok Hui said there will not be enough time for the NParks study to document comprehensively the existing biodiversity at Bedok Jetty.

He pointed out that because the entire East Coast is already on reclaimed land, it is technically considered of lower ecological importance compared with pristine marine habitats.

Tan, who has researched fish populations for other coastline developments here, said no proper baseline surveys currently exist for the East Coast area.

A study that accurately reflects marine biodiversity in an area needs to span at least 1½ years and utilise a diversity of survey methods before the environment is altered, Tan explained. He called for the NParks’ study to employ a range of methods, noting that existing impact assessments often overlook less mobile, bottom-dwelling or burrowing organisms.

Fishing for science: Gen Z anglers form society to document fish in Singapore waters
Ang Qing Straits Times Jul 25, 2026, 03:00 PM

SINGAPORE – When the authorities announced that preparatory works for reclamation off East Coast Park will begin at the end of 2026, four anglers in their 20s formed a fish interest group to document the species at fishing hot spot Bedok Jetty before works start.

Student Lin Jiayuan, 24, and three of his friends founded the Ichthyological Society of Singapore on July 6. (Ichthyology is the scientific study of fish.) The interest group, which has grown to more than 80 members, aims to document the biodiversity that remains along the Republic’s rapidly developing coastlines.

They do so by noting down all the species they catch. While most fish are then released, a select few are preserved to provide scientific data on their behaviour and habitats, which aids in long-term conservation.

After reading the environmental study for the Long Island reclamation works – which will result in some 800ha of land created along Singapore’s East Coast – the co-founders discovered that the diversity of fish they had encountered at Bedok Jetty over the years did not appear in the study. On public database iNaturalist, the vicinity of the jetty has yielded 200 species.

The four co-founders say they have collectively caught and recorded some 500 of Singapore’s estimated 700-plus marine and freshwater fish species in the waters around the mainland and its offshore islands.

“We acknowledge that reclamation may be necessary, but if we’re going to change our coastline, we want the habitats and species that are actually there to be properly recognised,” said Lin, a bioengineering student at Nanyang Technological University.

While he is not a fish scientist, Lin has authored more than 25 biodiversity records published by the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. He has also contributed to local fish-related organisations like Pasarfish and the now-defunct Marine Stewards Singapore.

Sentosa Tg Rimau: EIA on slope stabilisation works

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 07:27:32 +0000

Work will begin in 2027 across a 400m stretch of Sentosa Tanjong Rimau. This include "a few hundred XblocPlus blocks, each weighing about a tonne, to be placed at three sites". The EIA found that more than 12 per cent of seagrass meadows may be lost. Soft, sandy and seagrass habitats are likely to transform into artificial hard, rocky habitats at the locations of the XblocPlus.

Muhammad Nasry Abdul Nasir, executive director of Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity said: “If you’re protecting an existing seawall or a reclaimed shoreline with little ecological value, (adding XblocPlus) for habitat complexity is a no brainer. But Rimau is not a blank canvas; there’s a lot of life there. Are there alternatives we can consider that are less drastic in terms of reshaping the shore, that can still provide the coastal resilience we are looking for?”

“While stabilising the slopes is necessary to prevent progressive collapse (of the cliff), the approach should minimise impacts to Tanjong Rimau’s biodiversity,” said Lester Tan, chairman of Nature Society Singapore’s Marine Conservation Group. “I’m always in favour of not changing one habitat to another. There could be a loss of connectivity,”

Read the full EIA on the Sentosa website.

Send your feedback here https://form.gov.sg/6a20d00d14f841cbd5b20469

Related blog post: Sentosa Tg. Rimau: Interlocking 1-tonne blocks to be deployed

Sentosa’s Tanjong Rimau to be shored up with nails, concrete blocks to prevent erosion, slope damage
Shabana Begum Straits Times Jul 19, 2026, 10:00 AM

SINGAPORE – To prevent one of Singapore’s last coastal cliffs and rocky shores from crumbling, rock masses at Sentosa’s western tip need to be nailed in place and brittle outcrops shielded from rough waves.

In 2027, a suite of measures will be undertaken to strengthen parts of Tanjong Rimau, a biodiversity haven that has been experiencing slope damage, rock falls and erosion over the years.

They include drilling metal rods or nails into the rock and soil, laying erosion-control blankets and lining X-shaped concrete blocks – called XblocPlus – at the foot of some slopes to protect the shoreline from coastal erosion.

These works across four weak slope areas within a 400m stretch of Tanjong Rimau are expected to take nine months to complete. The measures were revealed in an environmental assessment released in June on Sentosa’s website.

A few hundred of the interlocking XblocPlus blocks, each weighing about a tonne, will be placed at three sites in Tanjong Rimau, in partnership with national water agency PUB and the solution’s creator Delta Marine Consultants, among others.

This solution is also one of five novel coastal protection measures that will be tested islandwide over three years to help determine whether they can be used for future coastal protection works.

As one of Singapore’s remaining natural rocky shore and coastal cliff habitats, its richness in biodiversity and the unique geology of its intertidal zone make it a popular site for nature lovers.

“Tanjong Rimau is the best and one of the last of the accessible places in Singapore to see the type of coastal forest that clings to rocky outcrops,” said Shawn Lum, a senior lecturer at NTU’s Asian School of the Environment.

Muhammad Nasry Abdul Nasir, executive director of Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, noted that the coastal flora are adapted to regular disturbances caused by slope damage.

“The small landslides dump rocks on the shore, which create numerous tiny pockets for marine creatures to inhabit – that's how a rocky shore habitat forms,” he explained.

But all it takes is erratic weather to trigger a huge landslide and wipe out highly endangered species that are no longer widespread in Singapore, he said.

The study recorded 94 flora species, including four seagrass types. Of the 94, more than a quarter are threatened or important for conservation. These include the nationally critically endangered nyireh laut tree and the vulnerable Raffles’ pitcher plant, of which Tanjong Rimau is one of the last major strongholds.

Lum said: “In addition to safeguarding the physical site and its flora and fauna, earthworks at Tanjong Rimau might allow people to visit and study the area in a safe and sustainable way.”

But the measures, like any human activity, will cause impacts.

The environmental study, done by biodiversity consultancy firm Camphora, found that more than 12 per cent of seagrass meadows along Tanjong Rimau may be lost as temporary bunds will be constructed within the intertidal zone to enable works. Materials and machines such as excavators will be transferred along the bund.

Some loss is unavoidable, but the habitat can recover after works are completed, stated the report.

Another risk is how soft, sandy and seagrass habitats – which support creatures such as sea sponges, the galloping sand star, mudskippers and coastal horseshoe crabs – are likely to transform into artificial hard, rocky habitats at the locations of the XblocPlus armours.

With the possibility of losing some soft habitats, nature experts have concerns about the suitability of XblocPlus at a rare, fragile spot like Tanjong Rimau.

“While stabilising the slopes is necessary to prevent progressive collapse (of the cliff), the approach should minimise impacts to Tanjong Rimau’s biodiversity,” said Lester Tan, chairman of Nature Society Singapore’s Marine Conservation Group.

“I’m always in favour of not changing one habitat to another. There could be a loss of connectivity,” added Tan.

Nasry added that while the XblocPlus armours may not directly bury seagrass, they could alter the energy of waves and how sediments move, which could gradually bury or destabilise nearby seagrass meadows.

For example, patches of critically endangered tape seagrass are abundant on the southern shores of Tanjong Rimau, near two planned armour systems.

To compensate for any loss, the 200-page report by Camphora suggested that man-made micro-habitats be created alongside the revetments. These could include rock pools, grooves and crevices to mimic natural rocky shores for algae, corals and crustaceans.

Rock surfaces can be roughened, with spaces between the concrete blocks widened to create shaded, moist refuge for intertidal creatures.

“These interventions are expected to partially restore habitat functionality lost during construction, increase species richness and functional diversity relative to unmodified armour rock... while maintaining its primary coastal protection function,” said the report.

Tan acknowledged that XblocPlus enables the creation of new rocky habitats and is a better option than building a uniform sloping wall that is not conducive for wildlife.

But while new rocky habitats can be created, soft habitats could still be lost.

Nasry said: “If you’re protecting an existing seawall or a reclaimed shoreline with little ecological value, (adding XblocPlus) for habitat complexity is a no brainer.

“But Rimau is not a blank canvas; there’s a lot of life there. Are there alternatives we can consider that are less drastic in terms of reshaping the shore, that can still provide the coastal resilience we are looking for?”

In response to queries, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said the current environment at the toe of the slope comprises rocks and sandy substrate.

“The impact is therefore best characterised as a change from soft to hard substrate within the works footprint, and hence has minimal impact on existing biodiversity,” it added.

During construction, work areas will be sensitively managed and any disturbance to the biodiversity be kept minimal as technically possible.

“The XblocPlus system will incorporate eco-engineered features such as crevices and tidal pools, if feasible, to replicate the complexity of Tanjong Rimau’s natural rocky shores and support a diversity of intertidal fauna and algal communities,” added the statutory board.

An environmental monitoring and management plan will also be implemented throughout the project to ensure regulatory compliance and minimise impacts.

Steps recommended include salvaging seagrass for researchers before they get affected, and saving threatened coastal plant species before works begin.

The temporary bund alignment should also be adjusted to avoid three nyireh laut trees, with appropriate tree protection zones in place, stated the report.

Tan suggested that the Singapore Oceanarium’s intertidal surveys should continue, alongside monitoring by marine experts, after construction.

Lum said: “The work needs to be done sensitively, and the teams on the ground may have to be flexible and resourceful enough to adjust their workflow as any work, not least of all in a dynamic environment like the coastal zone, requires.”

Terumbu Semakau next to massive worksite

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:55:15 +0000

A large team surveys this large submerged reef next to Singapore's only landfill and near the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. There is currently a large worksite near it for repairs to the pipeline carrying crude oil to Pulau Bukom.

We still find rich reefs at the edge facing the Landfill, but elsewhere, less corals. The water seems a bit more murky that usual and sand seems to have built up on some parts of the shore. But two Giant clams are found, and the rest of the team make special finds which I will update later.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. Giant clam right next to the Landfill seawall. Seahorse! Coral snapping shrimp! Also the usual colourful nudibranchs and flatworms seen on our reefs. Plus several minefields of scary looking Diadema sea urchins.

They saw many Bubble tip anemones, two Merten's carpet anemones (one with anemone shrimps). Also special corals like Bubble coral (Physogyra), Cabbage coral, Anchor corals, Acropora corals and mushroom corals.

The most eye-poking animals on the shore remain the Magnificent anemones. These anemones form clumps of many individuals, apparently through division. So those with similar body colours are probably closely related. As usual, there were those with bright red, purple and white body colours. I saw some Giant carpet anemones including one right next to Magnificent anemones. Also a Fire anemone. The rest of the team saw Merten's carpet anemone.

At the mid-water mark, I saw several patches of what seems to be the beginning of fields of Branching montipora. The reef edge facing the seawall of the Landfill is still rich with healthy corals. Mostly commonly encountered corals, but I also saw a small Acropora colony. The reef edge Pulau Semakau East seems to have fewer healthy and large corals than before.

While most of the common Boulder pore corals were alright, some were pale and one had dying tissue (bluish). Some corals had stress colours: pus-yellow, or pinkish. The rest of the team spotted some bleaching corals.

There were still many medium to large colonies of leathery soft corals of various kinds. There were also still a lot of Asparagus flowery soft corals. I didn't see any that were bleaching, although one small leathery soft coral had a layer of 'skin' which happens when the animal is trying to get rid of something on its body.

Upon arrival, noticed in the distance, a large fish trap. Lon took a closer look and confirmed it's already broken. Nowadays, we don't encounter active traps as often as we used to in the past.

There is currently a huge worksite near Terumbu Semakau. From Port Marine Notice No. 83 of 2026 dated 24 Jun 2026: Seabed Repair Works for Aster SBM Pipeline. From 24 Jun 2026 to 21 Dec 2026. Works will be carried out by pipelaying barge “Sandpiper 1”. Anchor handling tugs, multi-cat, project material barges and pipe supply vessel will operate within the work rea, which include lifting activities for material transfer to pipelay barge.

The Aster Chemicals & Energy Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) pipeline enables Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to offload crude oil directly to the Bukom refinery. The site is currently undergoing a US$125 million pipeline rejuvenation. Here's the huge working vessels we saw in the work site today, with Pulau Jong for scale.

Here's a photo of a VLCC moored at a yellow SBM.

Photo from gcaptain

More about Terumbu Semakau

Terumbu Semakau lies next to the Semakau Landfill and close to the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom.

Just as Changi Airport and Changi Beach are not the same even though they are near one another and share a name, Pulau Semakau is NOT the same as the Semakau Landfill. The Landfill was created by destroying all of Pulau Saking, and about half of the original Pulau Semakau by building a very long seawall.

The team take a closer look at a Giant clam next to the Landfill seawall.

Fortunately, the landfill was constructed and is managed in such a way that the original mangroves, seagrass meadows and reefs on Pulau Semakau were allowed to remain. It is NOT true that the construction of the Landfill created the marine life found on Pulau Semakau. The marine life was there long before the Landfill was built.

What is the fate of Terumbu Semakau?

Pulau Semakau (East), Terumbu Semakau and even Pulau Jong and Pulau Sebarok are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on the survey

Loh Kok Sheng

Lon Voon Ong

Tammy Lim

Chui Qing

Others on the survey: Jayden Kang, Yan Le Su, Lester Tan, Ang Qing, Anya, Giant Clam Team

Terumbu Hantu in the face of Sudong reclamation

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:44:58 +0000

Despite being next to petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom and surrounded by heavy vessel parking, this little gem with rich reefs is one of our favourite sites.

Today we survey within sight of the ongoing massive reclamation on Pulau Sudong. We are relieved to see the corals are still doing well. The rest of the team make all the special finds, I will update later.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. Cushion star, 'Nemo' and stingrays among the corals. Violet brittle star, the usual nudis and flatworms. We didn't see any live giant clams but Lon saw the shells of large dead clam, which Che Cheng saw on an earlier survey.

The rest of the team saw special corals and took great shots of the despite the rain. Astounded by the very long mushroom coral!

The reef edge opposite Pulau Hantu has denser cover of corals. A large cluster of Galaxy corals, large plate corals and Barrel sponges, some colonies of less commonly seen corals like Anchor corals. Also many kinds of mushroom corals. All seemed healthy and well formed. I didn't see any that were bleaching. Here is a video clip of the reef edge, within sight of the ongoing Sudong reclamation.

There was still the usual scattering of medium-sized leathery soft coral various kinds, including a few larger clusters. I didn't see any that were bleaching. I also saw some Giant carpet anemones and other cnidarians like corallimorphs. All were fine.

The middle part of this small submerged reef is dotted with small colonies of commonly seen corals. Mostly boulder shaped, but also some commonly seen plate corals. Some of the Boulder pore corals were a little pale. A few boulder shaped corals were producing copious slime (like snot), which tends to happen when they are exposed to rain at low tide. I didn't see any that were bleaching.

One reason we visit this submerged reef is to check up on the damage when boats strike it. Like this large deep hole gouged out by the MV Nautica, a large live-aboard dive boat when it ran aground on Terumbu Hantu on 9 Nov 2014. The hole is still there 10 years later. Photo of the MV Nautica when it ran aground on Terumbu Hantu on 9 Nov 2014 by Lee Bee Yan.

Large colonies of Acropora coral have been seen growing in this boat strike 'hole' since our survey in Jul 2020. They are still doing well in Aug 2023 but were mostly in Jun 2025. Today, I couldn't find any inside the hole, but there was a nice patch on the reef edge near the hole! There was also a large patch of healthy Galaxy coral on the reef edge near the hole. So it seems the reef is slowly healing from the trauma of the boat strike.

Today, the scattered clumps of Tape seagrass I saw were still mostly cropped very short, with few with longish leaves (about 15cm). Leaves were fresh and green though.

The ongoing Sudong reclamation is very visible from Terumbu Hantu.

Here is the location of Pulau Hantu and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

We had a closer look on the way home and the worksite is still busy with many large vessels in the water and vehicles on the land. Seems similar to our last look at it while we surveyed Terumbu Pempang Laut earlier in Jul 2026.

With Terumbu Bemban in front of the worksite.

Thanks to Zen, who contributed to our survey despite being away. He shared this view from the plane, of the Sudong reclamation this week. This is not showing up on Google Earth. The latest image displayed for the area is for Oct 2023, so we might never get a satellite shot of the reclamation.

Storm clouds chased us as we headed out, and caught us once we were on the shore. After a brief period of hard rain, the sun came back out and we were rewarded with a lovely rainbow.

The rain took up about a quarter of the survey, so we couldn't help but take photos of the weather and rain falling like bullets. As well as the lovely rainbow that appeared after the weather cleared.

What is the fate of Terumbu Hantu?

Pulau Hantu and all the terumbus west of it are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten. Let's hope Terumbu Hantu stays safe until we can visit again.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Tammy Lim

Che Cheng Neo

Richard Kuah

Rui Quan Oh

Lon Voon Ong

Others on this survey: Yan Le Su, Ian and the Giant Clam team.

Kusu Island still reefy, with Giant clams!

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:07:52 +0000

This rich reefs of Kusu Island lies just opposite the Central Business District, less than half an hour away by fast boat. A small team surveys the rich reefs that are now part of Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef.

The corals are slowly recovering from the 2024 mass coral bleaching and we feel haven't quite returned to their former glory. This is quite worrying as we are expecting another round of mass coral bleaching next year. We also saw 3 giant clams and other fascinating finds. I will compile the rest of the team's finds later.

The reef edge outside the Northern lagoon is densely covered in hard corals. Today, the very low tide exposed a large extent. The situation seems similar what I saw in May 2025. Many corals seem alright, including large colonies. Towards the western side nearer Eagle Bay, there remains some less commonly seen corals like branching Acropora and delicate plateforming Montipora that look like tiered wedding cakes and large Horn coral colonies. There are still large colonies of Leathery soft corals at the reef edge, but fewer and smaller colonies at the seawall. I didn't see any bleaching corals. Here's a slide show of the northern reef edge.

Corals have settled inside the Northern lagoon. Challenging to survey in total darkness. But the situation seems similar to what I saw in May 2025 and Aug 2024. There remains far fewer live corals, and the area near the seawall opening was much sandier and bare. The large patch of Branching montipora corals remains mostly dead, with only those on the outer edge of the patch alive and not bleaching. Other large coral colonies were also mostly dead on the upper portion. But there were many small colonies of common coral growing, often on the dead coral patches. I didn't see any bleaching colonies, but there were a few with freshly dying tissues (bluish grey).

I had a look at the southern reef edge, facing Lazarus Island and east of the temple. The situation seems similar to what I saw in May 2025. A rich reef edge large colonies of Trumpet coral and small fields of Branching montipora coral! As well as a few mushroom corals. I also noticed many small to large colonies of Cauliflower coral - a few with small white patches. Most corals seemed healthy, I didn't see whole colonies that were bleaching. Here's a slide show of the southern reef edge.

Unfortunately, I noticed some large deep holes at the reef edge with piles of dead corals pushed up - possibly due to a boat striking the reef? Could this be something to do the ongoing works on the Kusu Island jetty? I didn't see the large Anemone coral colonies that I saw last year. Perhaps these were destroyed in the boat strike?

Today, we spot three Fluted giant clams (about 25cm long). One was at the northern reef edge, the other on the southern reef (photo by Richard), and yet another past the temple.

Magnificent anemones remain abundant in the northern lagoon and northern reef edge. Today I saw clusters of anemones with white, purple and red body columns. These large anemones multiply by cloning themselves, clones having similar coloured body columns. One of them had several large clown anemonefish aka 'Nemo'.

Updating with sightings by the rest of the team. Richard checked out the reef near the jetty and saw a nice table-like colony of Acropora. Mushroom corals were also seen. Richard also noticed lots of Upsidedown jellyfish in the big lagoon which I totally missed. Rui Quan took great photos of the little critters that live only in corals: shrimp, crab and goby! And a very pretty Wiggly star anemone.

Rui Quan saw a young Knobbly! Hope this means there will be more of them settling here soon. He also spotted many fishes only seen in good reefs. Richard spotted the Twin barred brittle star. There were also octopus and nudibranch.

Both lagoons had sprinkles of Spoon seagrass (tiny leaves) and Needle seagrass (narrow leaves). There were some sand dollars and moon snail, as well as Acorn worm signs.

What is the future of Kusu Island?

The rich reefs of Kusu Island of today are slivers of massive reef flats that were reclaimed less than one human lifetime, 50 years ago. Today, all these vast reef flats have been reclaimed, leaving very narrow margins outside the seawall that can only be accessed by non-divers at the very lowest tides. Check out the Historical maps of Singapore by NUS Libraries site where you can actually overlay the various maps over time and use a slider to see the changes.

Kusu Island was in fact originally a tiny outcrop where the temple now is. And during the annual Kusu Island pilgrimage, devotees would land by sampan. As captured by this iconic photo by Ivan Polunin, from "Once upon an island: A rare peek into our past" Scenes of old Singapore through the lens of the late naturalist Ivan Polunin. Wallace Woon, Straits Times 20 Sep 2023.

In May 2024, it was announced that the reefs outside the northern lagoon of Kusu Island would be part of Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef. It is good to cherish and protect what we have left. More on Singapore's second marine park: past, present and future.

Kusu Island is among the islands likely to be impacted by the upcoming Keppel-Tanjung Pagar reclamation started to start end of 2027. More about the potential impacts and responses to the EIA. Submit your feedback to HDB here https://form.gov.sg/6966fc4e7c5fe159af98b799

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018 recommended the cluster of Kusu, Lazarus and St. John's Islands for elevated protection status.

The Blue Plan highlights that Lazarus, St. John’s, and Kusu Islands are established sites for coral nurseries as their shoreline offers ideal sheltered areas for growth of corals. Designating these islands as No-fishing Areas can bolster their rehabilitation. Protecting a larger cluster of islands means zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on this survey

Richard Kuah

Rui Quan Oh

Dylan Seng

Others on the survey: Ian Mun

Pulau Sekudu with dugong feeding trails

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:46:26 +0000

A small team surveys this untouched island that lies opposite Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin. We survey in the dark and end as the tide turns at sunrise. Pulau Sekudu is off limits since 2007 and requires special permission from NParks.

I saw dugong feeding trails again! The team make all the special finds including seahorse, stonefish. I will update with their sightings later.

Updating with finds by the rest of the team! I estimate we saw 25 Knobbly sea stars distributed throughout the island, similar to our May 2025 survey. We saw mostly large grandmother stars, with only one young one seen by Jonathan (greenish on in the top left corner). Sightings of young ones would suggest regeneration of this population - hope to see more of them soon.

Since we noticed mass injuries on Knobbly sea stars at Cyrene in Feb 2026, we are on the look out for similar injuries in other Knobbly sea star populations. While most of those on Pulau Sekudu seems okay, I saw some sea stars with a few knobs that were sliced off or seem to be falling off. Could it be the sea stars self amputated their knobs, the same way that they can do with their arms? Zen also shared a photo of a yellow Knobbly sea star he saw in Bali with similar injuries. So it seems this is something Knobblies do?

Sadly, other kinds of stars were no longer so abundant. Biscuit sea stars have been missing from Pulau Sekudu since Jul 2020 and today, Jonathan saw a small one and I saw a tiny one. We didn't see many other kinds of sea stars, aside from a few Common sea stars, a Painted sand star. The most abundant echinoderm on the shore were Synaptid sea cucumbers! There were also some well camouflated White sea urchins. Also seen, one feather star, one heart urchin, and one small Diadema sea urchin, in addition to the big one near the rock; Marcus saw three big ones too.

Other special finds include the large Ramose murex, jewel-like Onyx cowrie. Also many nudibranchs and slugs - the Northern shores usually have a wider variety than the South. There were also many Lightning flatworms and Persian carpet flatworms! Not sure why. Many octopuses were out an about, as well as squid and fishes of all kinds. A snaky anemone was seen, as well as a large Flowery disk coral!

Recently, I sensed that we have been seeing much fewer Noble volutes that in the past. So we are now going to document every live Noble volute that we see. What a relief to see many today at Pulau Sekudu. As a team, we saw about 30, from small ones with 'clean' shells to larger ones with shell patterns obscured by age. Jason spotted a smaller on top of a larger one - possibly a mating pair? Many were seen laying egg capsules, there were also many egg capsules without snails nearby. Several also spotted burrowing - possibly eating some buried prey? This large beautiful snail is restricted to our part of the world, in particular, Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. We have a duty to protect them. Hopefully, our sightings will help encourage further study into whether the populations on our shores are okay.

Similar to our last survey in May 2025, colourful sponges, sea fans and some soft corals still dot the coral rubble. I still sense the sponges are not as abundant and their diversity is lower. But there were some good clumps of well formed sponges. The 'nudi rocks' were colourful with sponges too.

The team is diligently counting Knobbly sea stars - I saw 9. Will compile all their sightings soon. Sadly, Biscuit sea stars have been missing from Pulau Sekudu since Jul 2020 and today, I only saw one tiny one. But there were many Synaptid sea cucumbers, a large Garlic bread sea cucumber too. I saw a few White sea urchins, one Diadema sea urchin. When we arrived, we saw a large empty shell of what seems to be a Triton snail - we suspect it used in some shore-side religious or cultural ritual, and got lost. Jonathan also showed me a Ramose murex which we also saw on our last survey.

I saw many soft corals and other cnidarians, they seemed alright. The most abundant remains Haddon's carpet anemones. I saw one Swimming anemone. There were also a variety of small sea fans, many with large dead portions. I saw some small colonies of Flowery soft corals, and also some sea pens.

Similar to our last survey in May 2025, I saw about 15 small to medium sized Boulder pore corals, on the arm of the lagoon. None of them were bleaching but some had large dying (bluish grey) tissue and dead parts at the top. Most small colonies were perfectly well formed. I saw patches of Zebra coral on rubble and even a glass bottle. Also a Disk coral. But I didn't come across the Pock-marked coral colony and Boulder sandpaper coral colony that I had in the past.

Was glad to see many clear dugong feeding trails again today, though a bit challenging to photograph in the dark. These trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. Although we have seen feeding trails on Chek Jawa , I only saw them for first time on Pulau Sekudu on our last survey in May 2025.

As on our last survey in May 2025, seagrasses remain lush, green and clean (no epiphytes)! Lots of Spoon seagrass (both small and large leaf blades) and Needle seagrass (narrow and broad leaf blades). There were sprinkles of Fern seagrass at the eastern most edge of the island. The Serrated ribbon seagrass are still growing in sparse patches from the mid-water mark to the low tide line. On the arm of the lagoon, I saw several clumps of Tape seagrass with leaves cropped to about 30cm. None were flowering.

Fortunately, today we didn't come across any fish traps or nets.

What is the fate of Pulau Sekudu?

Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu is slated for reclamation in the Long-Term Plan Review. The plan includes a road link (black line) from the mainland jumping off at Punggol, crossing to Pulau Ubin through Chek Jawa to jump off to Pulau Tekong before circling back to the mainland on Changi East. Proposed reclamation (in yellow) will bury Pasir Ris shores, Pulau Sekudu and Chek Jawa as well as a large stretches of Changi Beach.

Dugong feeding trails in the dark.

The proposed area would include Tanjung Chek Jawa, the largest known intertidal area in northern Singapore. Considered one of the richest in Singapore, Chek Jawa comprises many adjacent ecosystems: coastal hill forest, mangrove areas, rocky shores, seagrass meadows, coral communities, and sandy areas. Chek Jawa remains an icon of celebration and hope for many Singaporeans since its reprieve from reclamation in 2001.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Others on this survey

Jason Ooi

Richard Kuah

Chay Hoon

Jonathan Tan

Marcus Ng

Rui Quan Oh

Others on this survey: Ian Mun, Anya

East Coast NSRCC seagrassy too!

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 02:44:57 +0000

A quick solo trip to check up on the shore opposite NSRCC at East Coast Park.

We usually survey this shore as the tide turns, after we spend most of the low tide at the corals garden near the PCN. Today, for the first time in a long time, I spent the entire low tide window checking on the seagrasses here.

The sand in this area moves around a fair bit. Today, the long narrow bar on the west seems to have joined up with another bar forming near the mouth of the canal, to form an arm around a shallow sandy lagoon along the shoreline opposite NSRCC - some patches of seagrass continue to be found here. There are also patches of seagrass along most of the seaward edges of the sandbars.

The most abundant was Needle seagrass (both narrow and broad leaves) and Spoon seagrass (large leaves). I saw a few broken off Tape seagrass (including the leaf sheath) and even a broken off female flower, but did not see any embedded Tape seagrass, not even inside the canal. In fact, I didn't see seagrasses inside the canal.

It was a nice surprise to see many patches of Serrated ribbon seagrass and Noodle seagrass, all growing on the seaward side of the sand bar. All the seagrasses were fresh and green and not covered in epiphytes.

Similar to our last quick survey in Jun 2025, today there were a lot of small Cake sand dollars and Weasel olive snails. I also saw many Moon snails - mostly Ball but a few Oval. Both were hunting Button snails which was plentiful in the middle of the lagoon. The Button snails leave panicky trails away from the burrowing predator as they try to leap away. Disappointed not to see any Fig snails or Bonnet snails (which eat sand dollars). Saw a few Smooth sea cucumbers, some Acorn worm poop. A few small fishes and crabs. One huddle of Lined eel-tail catfishes.

I saw many mangrove seedlings washing up. Indeed, if we leave a shore alone, a mangrove forest can eventually set down roots!

A line of litter has washed up on the high shore with the most recent high tide. This will be remove by cleaners who start working at sunrise, every day. On the low shore were smaller litter including many single-use water cups, which commonly wash up on beaches along the ferry routes. These are not commonly used by beach goers or the local boating or fishing community. But these single-use water cups are apparently given out to passengers on ferries. It seems no facilities are provided at any of the piers/terminals under MPA's charge for vessels to responsibly dispose of trash generated during their operation. More in this post. There were also large litter that smothered seagrass. And the traffic cone that I have seen for years seem to still be there.

What is the fate of this shore?

East Coast shores slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. There were additional details, plans for a 'Long Island' opposite East Coast Park is now official. In addition to more reclamation along that shoreline, already unveiled in 2013.

This shore will also be affected by plans for Long Island.

Preparatory works are starting very soon. They involve removal of seabed obstructions, construction of temporary sand bunds and sand infilling. Phase 1 will begin end-2026, while Phase 2 will take place after the end of the SEA Games 2029. See some responses to the works. Share your feedback here https://form.gov.sg/675fc8ff28a3ca9ebd83c21b

Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the Draft Master Plan 2013.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Check out the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

See East Coast shores for yourself. It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in "East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family".

Other shore surveys in Jun 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:21:33 +0000

Rui Quan Oh covered the most ground in the month, checking up on Admiralty, Sungei Buloh, Pasir Ris, Marina East and together with Zen Xuan He, Pulau Ubin. They see all the amazing wildlife that regular shore survey team miss. From owls to mousedeer, snakes and skinks, frogs and weird and beautiful insects. And extortionate cats attempting to intimidate snacks out of innocent passersby.

The rest of the team cover Changi and East Coast PCN.

Marcus, Richard and Tammy made separate trips to Changi. The shore seems to still be very much alive! On Ball flowery soft corals, they saw the Ghost brittle star and White snapping shrimps that live only in the soft coral. They also saw the Big-head seagrass octopus, some sheltering with their eggs. The stronghold of the Tiger anemone, good to know it's still on the shore. There were also sea fans and lots of nudibranchs, sea hares and slugs of all kinds.

Good to know that they saw a variety of sea stars at Changi! Many young ones too, which suggests the shores are a good nursery for baby sea stars. Seems they didn't see any Knobblies, maybe next time?

Recently, I sensed that we have been seeing much fewer Noble volutes that in the past. So we are now going to document every live Noble volute that we see. Marcus, Richard and Tammy saw some on Changi, from small ones to large ones. This large beautiful snail is restricted to our part of the world, in particular, Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. We have a duty to protect them. Hopefully, our sightings will help encourage further study into whether the populations on our shores are okay.

Richard Kuah is the only team member who regularly and faithfully checks up on Punggol shores, which remains alive! This narrow strip of rocky shore still has healthy Spoon seagrass, while the boulders nearby are still coated with colourful sponges and other encrusting animals. Which are eaten by nudibranchs. He even saw a small octopus!

Jayden Kang checked out the seagrass meadows and coral reef that have settled naturally on the artificial shore in front of the East Coast PCN. A wide variety of seagrass are still there, and seem healthy. The corals also seem to have recovered from the impact of the 2024 Pasir Panjang oil spill and mass coral bleaching. The large patch of Branching montipora looks pristine! They saw a seahorse! And some other reef life too.

Photos by the team

Richard Kuah checked up on Punggol on 4 Jun

Rui Quan Oh checked out Marina East on 6 Jun

Rui Quan Oh and Zen Xuan He visited Pulau Ubin on 13-14 Jun 2026

Zen Xuan He

Rui Quan Oh

Richard Kuah checked out Changi on 15 Jun 2026

Marcus Ng checked up on Changi Point on 16 Jun

Tammy Lim visited Changi on 19 Jun 2026

Jayden Kang checked out the corals at East Coast PCN on 19 Jun

Rui Quan Oh checked out Admiralty Park on 23 Jun

Rui Quan Oh checked out Sungei Buloh on 27 Jun

Rui Quan Oh checked out Pasir Ris on 29 Jun

Responses to preparatory work for Long Island

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 22:20:27 +0000

The Preparatory works for Long Island will involve removal of seabed obstructions, construction of temporary sand bunds and sand infilling. Phase 1 will begin end-2026, while Phase 2 will take place after the end of the SEA Games 2029. East Coast shores are alive with sea turtles, fish and corals and seagrasses have settled naturally on the artificial lagoons and sea walls.

Ang Qing reports that scientists, nature groups and anglers have raised concerns about potential blind spots. Some stakeholders shared concerns about the speed of the planning process. They were surprised by the announcement, as authorities had previously stated that technical studies for the multi-decade project would only conclude around 2029.

Ang Qing says "the four-week public feedback window on the study that ends on July 28 will be a major test of process. Time will tell how much of a difference community feedback can actually make when a mega-project’s timeline appears to be set in stone."

Share your feedback here https://form.gov.sg/675fc8ff28a3ca9ebd83c21b

Media articles and press releases on the Preparatory works for Long Island including EIA

Other responses include:

Lester Tan, chair of the Nature Society Singapore’s Marine Conservation Group, pointed out the absence of specific assessments for vulnerable coastal horseshoe crabs that nest along East Coast Park.

“Early involvement of nature groups in scoping the study and developing mitigation measures would have been highly beneficial in surfacing blind spots before a timeline for the works was set,” he said.

Echoing this, Muhammad Nasry Abdul Nasir, executive director of Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, questioned what he felt was the rushed nature of the engagement for the works, given the many unanswered questions from the community.

Why conservationists are concerned about Singapore’s Long Island mega climate project
Qing Ang Straits Times Green Pulse 7 Jul 2026

As sea levels rise, how does a land-scarce island nation protect its shores without compromising nature?

Singapore announced on June 30 that it will begin work on another massive engineering project at the end of 2026 that is designed to help the Republic weather climate change. Tentatively dubbed Long Island, the reclamation will create roughly 800ha of land off East Coast Park to shield the low-lying nation from rising sea levels while creating space for development.

The works will take place in two phases so part of the waters can still be used for recreation.

An environmental study commissioned by the Government deemed that the overall impact of the project would be minor. However, scientists, nature groups and anglers have raised concerns about potential blind spots.

Some stakeholders I spoke with after the two-phase works were revealed shared concerns about the speed of the planning process. They were surprised by the announcement, as authorities had previously stated that technical studies for the multi-decade project would only conclude around 2029.

While the East Coast sits on land reclaimed up until the 1980s, corals, seagrass and mangroves have naturally returned to its shores over the decades. This organic recovery has sparked calls from naturalists to ensure that marine life can continue to thrive alongside the Long Island development.

Today, this stretch has even become a nesting ground for globally critically endangered hawksbill turtles, which are being studied by researchers from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Given the small population of Singapore’s hawksbills, NTU research fellow Lyndsey Tanabe called for the study to assess the shallow coastal waters where female turtles rest, the exact areas where works are expected to begin.

During my visit to fishing hotspot Bedok Jetty on June 30, anglers shared their concerns about a rich diversity of local fish that the current environmental report does not appear to fully consider. While anglers will still be allowed to use nearshore fishing areas and Bedok Jetty, the report anticipated that works could impact fish and reduce catch rates.

Lin Jiayuan is a student who has fished at Bedok Jetty since 2007. He noted that the report omitted key sightings at the jetty, including a globally critically endangered shovelnose ray caught in 2022.

Lin has authored more than 25 biodiversity records published by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. He and his friends showed me 40 different species of fish they had caught in just four hours at Bedok Jetty.

“It’s a shame to let this iconic landmark of marine biodiversity go without documenting whatever it has,” shared fellow fishing hobbyist Tan Yen Yi, 32, a bird scientist at the museum.

With more coastal projects in the pipeline to protect Singapore’s shores from rising sea levels, how the Republic navigates these environmental trade-offs will set an important precedent.

The four-week public feedback window on the study that ends on July 28 will be a major test of process. Time will tell how much of a difference community feedback can actually make when a mega-project’s timeline appears to be set in stone.

Anglers, researchers race to document East Coast fish species ahead of Long Island works
As preparatory works for Singapore's Long Island coastal protection project draw closer, fishing enthusiasts are working to record species that may one day become harder to find.
Natalie Ong and Marcel Pereira Channel NewsAsia 06 Jul 2026 11:24AM

SINGAPORE: Stretching far into the waters off Singapore's East Coast, Bedok Jetty has long been a popular spot for anglers.

For some fishing enthusiasts, each visit is also an opportunity to document the country's marine biodiversity.

With preparatory works for the Long Island project set to begin in waters west of the jetty by the end of 2026, some are racing to record the fish species found there before the coastline changes.

The upcoming works are the first step in Singapore's long-term coastal protection plans against rising sea levels and will be carried out in phases. A second phase is planned for waters east of the jetty after the 2029 SEA Games, which will be held in Singapore.

A RACE AGAINST TIME

Nanyang Technological University Bioengineering undergraduate Lin Jiayuan is among a small group of anglers helping to document fish species.

He visits the jetty at least twice a month, and rather than targeting large food fish, he searches for those that are rarely recorded in Singapore's waters.

When he catches something significant, the 24-year-old shares it with researchers at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) for identification and preservation.

Over the years, Mr Lin has helped document at least 15 fish species new to Singapore's waters, of which seven were recorded at Bedok Jetty, adding to the country's biodiversity records.

With months to go before preparatory works begin, he said there is "definitely a sense of urgency" because many of the species found there inhabit murkier waters, making them difficult for divers and people exploring intertidal areas to spot.

One species Mr Lin hopes to document is the demon stinger, a rare relative of the stonefish that uses its free pectoral fin rays to "walk" along the seabed.

“This is probably the easiest place you can catch them in Singapore. Not saying they are common – they are very rare,” he added.

Even after works begin, Mr Lin intends to continue visiting the area.

"Personally, I will still fish here. I will observe what the changes are," he said.

ADDING TO SINGAPORE'S BIODIVERSITY RECORDS

Singapore has recorded about 700 to 800 fish species across its marine and freshwater habitats, according to Dr Tan Heok Hui, LKCNHM's senior collection manager of fishes.

Dr Tan described documenting Singapore's biodiversity as "a continual process".

"With proper documentation, you only realise what you've lost or what you may lose," he said.

The museum also receives records from anglers such as Mr Lin and other members of the public, which are verified by experts before being added to Singapore's biodiversity records.

Such specimens become part of the museum's collections.

NEW STUDY COULD TRACK CHANGES TO FISH COMMUNITIES

Separately, the National Parks Board (NParks) is discussing a potential study with marine fish researchers from local institutes of higher learning to better understand fish communities along reclaimed shorelines, such as along the East Coast.

Sources say the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and NUS are involved.

Replying to CNA’s queries, NParks said the study was first conceptualised in 2025 to understand how these environments change over time.

It will also help inform the design and management of future nearshore fish habitats that support both biodiversity and community use.

NParks' group director of the National Biodiversity Centre, Dr Karenne Tun, said the findings are expected to further inform the Long Island project and deepen understanding of fish communities along East Coast Park.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Kwik, a fish biologist at SIT, said no comprehensive survey has covered the entire East Coast shoreline in recent years.

"While there have been historically a lot of studies, you know, here and there, a full study of the entire stretch (along East Coast) has actually not been done enough, and definitely not in this current time, more recent times along the whole stretch."

"There'll be a lot of surveys, and these surveys will be done … over time, so that we understand any seasonal patterns in the size of the fishes, the species of fishes, and along the entire shoreline, adjacent to Bedok Jetty," he added.

He said such research would improve understanding of how fish use different coastal habitats and could contribute to environmental management and monitoring plans in the area.

The study is expected to start just before the preparatory works begin.

Govt study says Long Island works will have minor impact on environment
Ang Qing Straits Times Jun 30, 2026, 10:00 PM

SINGAPORE - Preparatory works for the reclamation of Long Island off East Coast Park are predicted to have an overall minor impact on the surrounding environment, though some nature groups and scientists worry about possible “blind spots”.

Released on June 30, the 557-page environmental impact assessment (EIA) was commissioned by the National Parks Board (NParks) on behalf of the Housing Board.

It assesses the impact of the two-phase works to prepare for the reclamation of about 800ha of land – roughly twice the size of Marina Bay – from Tanah Merah to Marina East, centring around the popular Bedok Jetty.

The works that involve removing seabed obstruction and sand infilling are slated to begin from end-2026.

The report, prepared by consultancy DHI Water and Environment based on surveys conducted between June 2025 and February 2026, found works would yield minor negative impacts on the environment.

The majority of coral and seagrass areas outside the project’s footprint, as well as mangroves, intertidal fauna and most marine fauna, are expected to remain largely unaffected, HDB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a statement.

However, the works could impede globally critically endangered hawksbill turtles from reaching nesting sites along East Coast Park, as well as disorient hatchlings, according to the report.

The report deemed this impact minor, noting that sections of the shoreline will remain available for nesting alongside ongoing egg relocation efforts by NParks.

Nanyang Technological University sea turtle biologist Lyndsey Tanabe acknowledged the need for coastal protection, but stressed that Singapore’s hawksbill turtle population is small, making every individual critical to the species’ survival.

“While the environmental study identifies disturbance to nesting beaches as a concern, it is equally important to assess impacts to inter-nesting habitat in the shallow coastal waters where female turtles rest between clutches (of eggs),” she pointed out.

The research fellow welcomed clarifications on additional protective measures, and said she looks forward to working constructively with the project team.

Angler Lin Jiayuan, a 24-year-old student who has fished at Bedok Jetty since 2007, noted the report omitted key records at the jetty, such as a 2022 sighting of the globally critically endangered shovelnose ray.

He has observed more than 150 fish species in the sediment-laden waters of the site over the past eight years.

“It’s a shame to let this iconic landmark of marine biodiversity go without documenting whatever it has,” added fellow fishing hobbyist Tan Yen Yi, 32, who is a bird scientist by training.

The pair and their friends caught 40 species within four hours on June 30. These included the imposter trevally, a species newly recorded in Singapore at Bedok Jetty in 2022.

Lester Tan, chair of the Nature Society Singapore’s Marine Conservation Group, pointed out the absence of specific assessments for vulnerable coastal horseshoe crabs that nest along East Coast Park.

Tan, who also sits on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group, said he was surprised by the scale of the preparatory works.

“Early involvement of nature groups in scoping the study and developing mitigation measures would have been highly beneficial in surfacing blind spots before a timeline for the works was set,” he said.

Echoing this, Muhammad Nasry Abdul Nasir, executive director of Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, questioned what he felt was the rushed nature of the engagement for the works, given the many unanswered questions from the community.

The environmental study report is open for public feedback at this website for four weeks from June 30.

HDB said mitigation measures will be implemented to minimise indirect impacts to surrounding habitats. These include deploying temporary containment bunds and silt screens to control sediment plumes.

A dedicated Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan will also be put in place to track conditions and manage potential effects on the surrounding marine environment, including seagrass beds.

Associate professor Peter Todd from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences lauded the monitoring efforts for spanning the duration of the preparatory works and beyond.

“Given the scale of the project, some impacts are inevitable, but it seems that substantial efforts are being made to mitigate these,” he said.

Todd, who studies the use of artificial structures to bring back marine life, added that Long Island presents opportunities to create new marine habitats for corals and mangroves.

However, he noted that combining natural elements into hard-engineered structures, also known as “hybrid shorelines”, remains a new and challenging field.

HDB and URA said they will thoroughly evaluate the feedback and incorporate suitable suggestions before finalising mitigation measures.

See East Coast shores for yourself!

It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family.

Return to Buran bravely

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 04:30:00 +0000

Terumbu Buran is surrounded by strong currents. The last time we surveyed was in 2010, and I was so traumatised by landing and departure that I refused to ever go again.

16 years later, Kok Sheng persuaded a few of us to return. I was still too scared to join them - the photo of them landing today still frightens me. But they saw corals hard and soft, a lot of corallimorphs and the usual marine life common on our rocky shores. Here's a compilation of their sightings.

This tiny C-shaped terumbu that lies just at the doorstep of Sentosa Cove. A sliver of rocks stick out above the water, with most of the shore submerged.

All our shores, no matter how barren they might look from afar, have life! The team were visited by a Great billed heron. The Marine spider which breathes air and can only forage at low tide, is suprisingly found on all the shores we survey. The team saw various fishes, the usual snails, crabs and colourful marine life seen on our southern rocky shores. They also saw a large shark cruising by, no photos unfortunately.

There were a lot of corallimorphs of various kinds. As well as Giant carpet anemones, some with 'Nemo' and anemone shrimps! There were also many Frilly anemones and a Wriggly reef anemone was also seen.

There are not a lot of hard corals on the shore. The team saw the usual boulder shaped corals commonly seen. As well as common disk-shaped and branching corals too. They also saw a small cluster of bright orange Cave corals that grow in dark places.

There were also some Leathery soft corals, zoanthids of various kinds and feathery soft corals and hydroids.

It will be a while before we revisit this rather treacherous shore. So we hope it stays safe until then.

Photos by the team

Loh Kok Sheng

Che Cheng Neo

Rui Quan Oh

Richard Kuah

Tommy Tan

Others on this survey: Ian Mun, Yan Le Su, Anya

Long tape seagrasses at Sentosa Palawan

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:16:00 +0000

There is a patch of long Tape seagrass growing at Sentosa Palawan! A nice surprise to see on an artificial beach and 'islet' facing the busy port! Sentosa is indeed a precious refuge for seagrasses and rare mangrove trees.

Over the weekend, the survey team and I also checked out the Great Sentosa exhibition at Vivocity. Once completed, Greater Sentosa is projected to attract about double the current 17 million visitors a year. I do hope our marine life will be given a chance to be a part of this Greater Sentosa. So hopefully it won't come to a point where we can only see Sentosa's rare plants and animals in a glass jar.

More of my thoughts on Greater Sentosa at the end of this post. Which I have submitted as my feedback to the Greater Sentosa masterplan. Submit your feedback too here https://form.gov.sg/6a44c40969c66ca0ff78bbc6

I saw the long Tape seagrass in the narrow channel that remained flooded at low tide, between the main island and the islet. I surveyed while the rest of the team checked out Terumbu Buran.

The patch was not extensive or very dense, but it just warms my heart to see long Tape seagrass. I couldn't see any that were flowering though.

The Sentosa Palawan seagrass is a pale shadow, but reminds me the vast beds of Tape seagrass at Pulau Semakau that grew in a kind of shallow lagoon between the high shore, and the reef edge. Since the 2010s, all the Tape seagrasses at Pulau Semakau, Cyrene and other southern shores got cropped and never recovered since.

Surprisingly, the only Tape seagrass that remain long today are mostly found on artificial shores: Seringat Kias, East Coast Park B and PCN, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Long Tape seagrass also remain at Sentosa Tg Rimau (probably the largest meadow of long Tape seagrasses that remain today), as well as at Labrador. These seem quite resilient and survived the 2024 Pasir Panjang Oil Spill!

Other than Tape seagrass, I didn't see much else at Palawan. There were some fishes swimming among the seagrasses. On the sandy shore, the usual signs of Sand bubbler crabs, Ghost crab, and lots of Bazillion snails.

What is the fate of Sentosa shores?

Sentosa Tg Rimau is among our last natural cliffs with rare trees, reefs and probably the largest meadow of long Tape seagrasses that remain today.

This shore will be impacted by efforts to stabilise the slope. And the deployment of "a few hundred" one-tonne concrete blocks (XblocPlus) “at the toe of the slope to mitigate wave erosion".

The other rich shore on Sentosa is at Serapong. The first phase of the Greater Sentosa begins with the construction of a transport hub linking Sentosa and Pulau Brani in Keppel Harbour. The timing of this phase has yet to be decided. But Brani Port Terminal currently on Pulau Brani are expected to move to Tuas in 2027. These transport hub plans are very close to the last remaining wild reefs at Serapong shores - among the best near the mainland. Wouldn't be great if the plans could allow people to see the reefs at Serapong (yellow area), and allow mangroves to settle naturally on Brani (blue area).

Here's what the team saw in the yellow area in Apr 2026. We surveyed the entire Serapong in Jun 2026.

Hopefully, the development on Brani can make the reefs on Serapong a feature and not a bug? So people using the people mover to cross from Brani to Sentosa can view the corals on Serapong the same way that people using Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal can see the corals that settled naturally on the seawall there.

On the Brani side of the seawall (blue area), perhaps mangroves can be encouraged to settle naturally on the seawall? The way they have done so at Pulau Hantu, without any planting or need to care for them. The Hantu mangroves come in a wide variety including possibly one Nyireh laut! At the exhibition, we saw a live young Nyireh laut which the talented Sentosa horticultural team have propagated. How amazing it would be to replant them on Brani as well!

Wouldn't it be great if Brani and Sentosa shores can become a mother shore to allow natural regeneration when major reclamation and coastal protection is implemented nearby. Reclamation at Keppel-Tanjong Pagar expected to start end of 2027.

And there are long terms plans such as the Greater Southern Waterfront coastal protection plan - a “continuous line of defence” at the South. Construction is slated to begin in the 2030s.

I have submitted this as my feedback to the Greater Sentosa masterplan. Submit your feedback too here https://form.gov.sg/6a44c40969c66ca0ff78bbc6

Giant clam overdose on Terumbu Pempang Laut

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 03:30:00 +0000

This humungous submerged reef lies next to Jurong Island and major shipping lanes. And yet, it has seagrass meadows, corals and lots and lots of Giant clams.

Today, we also saw lots of dugong feeding trails, special anemones and the usual colourful marine life. The corals seem alright, and seagrasses remain the same.

Today, we saw the most number of Giant clams ever in one trip: 14 Burrowing clams and 3 Fluted giant clams. Teresa Tay and her Giant clam team deconflicted our sightings (thank you!) and came up with the total number. Her team of course made the bulk of the sightings, but our team also contributed a few. Well done everyone!

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. Two anemones that might be rarely seen ones, we are still not sure. And Magnificent anemones have settled on this terumbu. Also a lively swimming file clam, special brittle star, a little pipefish. There were lots of stingrays, also colourful slugs and flatworms. As well as Marine spiders and even large octopuses even though we visited in full daylight.

With Jurong Island taking up the entire northern horizon, how amazing to see lots of dugong feeding trails on the seagrasses growing on this large submerged reef! So glad the dugongs are back. The last time we saw the trails was in Dec 2018. The first time I noticed them was in May 2012.

As in Jul 2025, I saw many dugong feeding trails here. These trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. I also noticed that the seagrass seems to grow more densely next to one of the feeding trails.

The seagrass situation seems good! Similar to our survey in Jul 2025, there is a meadow of Spoon seagrass in the sandy centre of the reef flat. Although the leaves are tiny, they are fresh and green. So much so that a band of green could be seen from a distance. There were sprinkles of seagrass on almost the entire reef flat from the reef edge to the centre. On the sand bars and among the more reefy parts. In some large parts, the seagrasses were growing more densely. Most were fresh and green. The most common were Spoon seagrass (mostly small leaves, but also some with large leaves) and small sparse patches of Sickle seagrass leaves also cropped. I saw some clumps of Tape seagrass, still cropped short.

There has never been a lot of hard corals on this shore. Most are boulder shaped corals.

I checked out the area near the beacon today. Here, there is a good variety of common corals with some forming quite large colonies. Similar to our survey in Jul 2025, I saw scattered colonies of Sandpaper corals, Cauliflower corals, Anemone corals, Disk corals. Also a few clumps of Branching montipora, sparsely distributed - not yet forming a 'field'. Most seemed healthy and were not bleaching.

Similar to our survey in Jul 2025, towards the reef edge near the Beacon, I saw a wider variety of colonies of leathery soft corals. Some of them formed quite large clusters. But not as large as those on nearby Terumbu Pempang Tengah.

Today, I saw two abandoned fish traps in the middle of the reef flat, one was more broken than the other. Richard saw what looks like a functing fish trap on the reef edge.

The ongoing Sudong reclamation is still busy with many large vessels in the water and vehicles on the land. But it seems the sand pile is no longer as tall as what we saw in May 2026 from Terumbu Pempang Tengah. Thanks to Zen Xuan He for this great shot of the reclamation site today.

Here is the location of Terumbu Pempang Laut and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

What is the fate of Terumbu Pempang Laut?

Pulau Hantu and all the terumbus west of it are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on the survey

Richard Kuah

Jaeden Lim

Zen Xuan He

Rui Quan Oh

Rachael Goh

Tommy Tan

Dylan Sng

Others on this survey: Mud Nasry, Ian Mun, Jason Ooi, Yan Le Su, the Giant Clam team

Berlayar Creek boardwalk closed 3 Jun 2026 to 31 Mar 2027

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 04:59:43 +0000

Berlayar Creek boardwalk at Labrador Nature Park will be closed for improvement works from 3 Jun 26 till 31 Mar 27.

More details from the NParks website below

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS BERLAYAR CREEK BOARDWALK CYCLICAL MAINTENANCE 3 JUNE 2026 TO 31 MARCH 2027

1. With the boardwalk currently inaccessible, what is the fastest way to get to Reflections at Keppel Bay from Labrador Park MRT Station?
You may wish to take the public transport along West Coast Highway or alight at Telok Blangah MRT Station; it is closer to Reflections at Keppel Bay in terms of walking distance.

2. Where is the next nearest shelter since the pavilion will be closed during this period?
The nearest shelter will be at Labrador Park MRT station.

3. What is this cyclical maintenance about?
We are conducting improvement works, which are in line with our cyclical maintenance cycle for boardwalks and shelters. The works include re-decking and ensuring structure stability of the boardwalk, replacement of railing and lights, and overall cleaning and painting of the boardwalk and pavilion.

4. Why does this cyclical maintenance need so long to be completed?
Berlayar Creek is one of the few unique mangrove habitats in Singapore and is part of Labrador Nature Park, a biodiversity-rich area buffering the Labrador Nature Reserve. Hence, improvement works need to be carried out sensitively and with more care and supervision to ensure minimum impact to the mangrove forest.

5. Will the mangroves along the boardwalk be affected by this cyclical maintenance?
There will be minimal disturbance to the mangroves as the works are limited to the footprint of the existing boardwalk. There will be no excavation or removal of vegetation in the mangrove. Noise will be kept to a minimum during the work duration, and all disposal of debris will be arranged to be taken off-site promptly.

6. Will there be new designs/features to the finished boardwalk?
Due to the sensitive habitat at Berlayar Creek, it will be a one-to-one replacement of the current boardwalk as the current design serves to balance between environment protection and recreational needs.

7. Is cycling allowed on the boardwalk?
Cycling is not allowed on the boardwalk as it poses a safety risk to visitors and may damage/loosen the planks.

Your feedback sought for preparatory work for Long Island

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:27:00 +0000

Preparatory works will involve removal of seabed obstructions, construction of temporary sand bunds and sand infilling. Phase 1 will begin end-2026, while Phase 2 will take place after the end of the SEA Games 2029.

An Environmental Impact Assessment indicates up to minor impact on some terrestrial and marine biodiversity. Some coral and seagrass beds found near the work site may experience short-term and localised impact from the sediment plumes. However, the majority of coral and seagrass in the vicinity, including Sisters’ Island Marine Park, are largely unaffected.

The area that is used for preparatory works is not reflective of the future land profile of ‘Long Island’.

This project will span a few decades, agencies will continue to engage Singaporeans and stakeholders to shape the plans and design for ‘Long Island’ at various stages of the planning process in the years ahead.

Share your feedback here https://form.gov.sg/675fc8ff28a3ca9ebd83c21b

Full EIA available on the HDB website here

Minister Chee Hong Tat speaks on Facebook.

Joint HDB-URA statement
Preparatory Works for 'Long Island' Project to Commence From End-2026; Measures to Be Implemented to Mitigate Impact on the Environment and Community
HDB website 30 June 2026

Preparatory works for ‘Long Island’, Singapore’s large-scale critical coastal protection strategy, will commence from end-2026. The Housing & Development Board (HDB), the appointed reclamation agent for ‘Long Island’, will implement measures to mitigate the impact of preparatory works on the environment and community, based on findings from an Environmental Study. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also reiterated the Government’s commitment to continue engaging stakeholders on the planning and design of ‘Long Island’ before finalising reclamation plans.

Preparatory works to be carried out progressively, with measures to minimise disruption

2 ‘Long Island’ is a critical coastal protection measure to safeguard lives and livelihoods, as rising sea levels increasingly affect low-lying coastal areas, including Singapore’s East Coast. Given the scale of the project, preparatory works are essential to lay the groundwork for the future land reclamation for ‘Long Island’. This is to support the timely implementation of ‘Long Island’ to respond to climate risks and meet our national needs.

3 The preparatory works will take place in the waters off the East Coast, and primarily involve the removal of seabed obstructions, followed by the construction of temporary sand bunds and sand infilling. The works will be at least 130m away from the shoreline and will be clearly demarcated by silt screens and/or floating barriers.

4 The preparatory works will be conducted in phases. The first phase will start in end-2026 and will be carried out in the waters west of Bedok Jetty. The first phase will cover an area of approximately 570 ha, and it will span around 7km in length from east to west, and up to 1km wide from north to south.

5 The second phase of preparatory works will be carried out in the waters to the east of Bedok Jetty, and will cover an area of approximately 155 ha. To facilitate the continued use of part of the sea space fronting East Coast Park for water sports and the hosting of major international sporting events, including the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2029, the second phase will only commence after the completion of these events. More details on the commencement date of the second phase will be shared when ready.

6 Members of the public can continue to access the beaches along East Coast Park throughout the preparatory works. Beaches will remain open and accessible for near-shore swimming, while all exercise paths and tracks will remain accessible for jogging and cycling. However, sea users are advised to maintain a safe distance from the marine vessels deployed for the works and the designated work area which will be cordoned off to ensure public safety. Safety advisories will be put up at East Coast Park and on agencies’ websites(1).

Mitigation measures to guide sensitive implementation of preparatory works

7 HDB commissioned an Environmental Study for the preparatory works to study the potential impact of works on the environment and the community. The Environmental Study identified mitigation measures that should be adopted to address the potential environmental impact. As part of the Environmental Study process, HDB consulted the nature groups on the scope of study.

8 The Environmental Study identified the following key findings and mitigation measures for the preparatory works:

a) No significant changes to water quality, which will continue to meet the prevailing marine water quality criteria;

b) Slight localised changes to the currents and waves near Bedok Jetty, which are expected to have minimal impact on existing water-based activities. Near-shore activities such as swimming can continue along the entire stretch of the East Coast;

c) Up to minor visual and ambient air quality impact from sand infilling operations are expected, with intermittent sediment plumes and dust. To minimise impact, silt screens will be deployed to contain the sediment plumes and dust levels will be closely monitored;

d) Up to minor impact on some terrestrial and marine biodiversity as there are some coral and seagrass beds found near the site of the preparatory works that may experience short-term and localised impact from the sediment plumes. However, the majority of coral and seagrass in the vicinity, including Sisters’ Island Marine Park, are largely unaffected.

e) Some sea sports users will be displaced, due to reduction in sea space along East Coast. The impact will be mitigated by the phasing of preparatory works, with kiteboarding being the most affected, and minor to moderate impact on other sea sport users. Agencies will continue to work closely with affected sea sport users to explore alternative sites to continue their activities within the sea space to the east of Bedok Jetty in the interim, and elsewhere in Singapore.

9 An Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan (EMMP) (2) will be put in place to closely monitor environmental conditions throughout the preparatory works, including water quality, suspended sediment levels, noise and dust.

10 The Environmental Study report is available for public feedback for four weeks from 30 June 2026. Agencies will thoroughly evaluate the feedback received and incorporate suitable suggestions, before finalising the mitigation measures that will be adopted.

Detailed plans and design for ‘Long Island’ to be further developed through subsequent technical studies and continued public engagement before the start of reclamation works

11 The area that is used for preparatory works is not reflective of the future land profile of ‘Long Island’. Agencies will continue to develop detailed plans for ‘Long Island’, including its final reclamation profile which will continue to be refined through ongoing technical studies and upcoming public engagements.

12 The main reclamation works for ‘Long Island’ will be undertaken later, and will only commence after agencies have completed the relevant technical studies, determined mitigation measures, and reviewed and incorporated feedback from further public engagements. The technical studies will cover further environmental and engineering assessments for the actual reclamation profile and works, and are expected to be completed over the next few years.

13 As this project will span a few decades, agencies will continue to engage Singaporeans and stakeholders to shape the plans and design for ‘Long Island’ at various stages of the planning process in the years ahead. Drawing on ideas gathered from more than 14,000 people to date, agencies will begin the next phase of public engagement from end-2026. This phase will build on collective aspirations for ‘Long Island’ to strengthen Singapore’s flood resilience, support sensitive and sustainable development, and preserve flexibility to meet the evolving needs of current and future generations. To shape a shared vision for ‘Long Island’, agencies will invite Singaporeans and stakeholders to explore key topics, including potential recreational activities along the new coastline and within the future reservoir.

14 More information on ‘Long Island’ and the upcoming preparatory works can be found at go.gov.sg/long-island.

(1)Safety advisories can also be found on go.gov.sg/long-island and www.nparks.gov.sg/visit/parks/park-detail/east-coast-park.

(2)The EMMP outlines the mitigation measures, monitoring requirements, roles, and responsibilities required to manage and mitigate environmental impact, ensuring that the project's environmental impact remains within the levels predicted in the environmental assessment.

Preparatory works for 'Long Island' to start from end-2026
An environmental study found that the preparatory works are predicted to have an “overall minor impact” on the surrounding environment.
Erin Liam Channel NewsAsia 30 Jun 2026 12:00PM

SINGAPORE: Preparatory works for “Long Island”, Singapore’s large-scale coastal protection strategy, will start from the end of 2026.

It follows the completion of an environmental study commissioned by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), which found that the preparatory works are predicted to have an “overall minor impact” on the surrounding environment, HDB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a joint press release on Tuesday (Jun 30).

The preparatory works, to be carried out in two phases, will primarily involve removing seabed obstructions and constructing temporary sand bunds and sand infilling.

The works will be at least 130m away from the shoreline, in the waters off East Coast, and will be demarcated by silt screens and/or floating barriers.

They will lay the groundwork for future land reclamation of the decades-long, 800 ha project – dubbed "Long Island" for now – that is aimed at protecting Singapore from sea-level rise.

As a low-lying city state, Singapore needs to “plan early and act decisively” to mitigate the impact of climate change, said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat in a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

Long Island would also strengthen water resilience with an additional reservoir and create new land for future needs, he added.

“It is a complex project that requires many years of careful planning and implementation. This is why we are starting preparatory works in the waters off East Coast later this year,” he said.

IMPACT ON BEACH, SEASPORTS COMMUNITY

The preparatory works will be conducted in phases to facilitate the continued use of part of the sea space fronting East Coast Park.

The first phase will start at the end of 2026 and be carried out in the waters west of Bedok Jetty. It will cover an area of about 570 ha – the size of about 800 football fields – and will span around 7km in length from east to west, and up to 1km wide from north to south.

Works for the second phase, which spans about 155 ha, will only start after the 2029 Southeast Asian Games.

HDB, as the appointed reclamation agent for Long Island, will implement measures to mitigate the impact of preparatory works on the environment and community, HDB and URA said.

The study, conducted by DHI Water and Environment, identified that there would be no significant changes to water quality, which will “continue to meet the prevailing marine water quality criteria”, the agencies said.

It started in February 2025. As part of the process, agencies engaged nature groups the following month and they provided input and feedback to refine the scope of the study.

While nearshore swimming conditions are expected to remain unaffected, sea users are advised to maintain a safe distance from the marine vessels deployed for the works and the designated work area, which will be cordoned off to ensure public safety, HDB and URA said.

Beaches along East Coast Park will remain open and accessible for near-shore swimming, while all exercise paths and tracks will stay accessible for jogging and cycling.

However, the preparatory works may cause “slight localised changes” to the currents and waves near Bedok Jetty, which will have a minimal impact on existing water-based activities, HDB and URA said.

Some sea sport users will be displaced due to a reduction in sea space along East Coast.

“The impact will be mitigated by the phasing of preparatory works, with kiteboarding being the most affected, and minor to moderate impact on other sea sport users,” the agencies added.

In response to queries from CNA, Sport Singapore (SportSG) said it recognises that East Coast Park is an "important recreational space with shared memories".

"Agencies have been engaging the affected groups and will continue to work closely with them to explore alternative sites to continue their activities. This includes the sea space to the east of Bedok Jetty, as well as other locations such as Changi, Pasir Ris, Sembawang and Sentosa," SportSG said.

The agency added that in the longer term, the new reservoir and Long Island coastline could potentially support a range of water-based activities and sports. This is being assessed as part of the ongoing technical studies, it said.

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT, BIODIVERSITY

The agencies said that minor visual and ambient air quality impact from sand infilling operations is expected, with intermittent sediment plumes and dust.

HDB and URA said this will be minimised through the use of silt screens to contain the sediment plumes, in addition to close monitoring of dust levels.

The agencies added that the impacts on the natural environment are “generally slight and localised”.

In response to queries from CNA, HDB said that seagrass habitats are generally resilient to periodic turbidity - the cloudiness or haziness of the waters - and are expected to recover without long-term degradation.

It added that there are no sensitive coral communities or intertidal habitats within the project footprint of the preparatory works, and mobile species such as fish are expected to move away from the area where works are conducted.

Macrobenthic communities within the infilling area, including small organisms such as worms, marine snails and clams on the seabed, will be displaced.

“However, the affected area is small relative to similar habitats in surrounding waters, and recovery is expected outside the work footprint,” HDB and URA said, adding that there are no corals and seagrasses within the work footprint.

While the majority of coral and seagrass beds found outside the preparatory work are largely unaffected, those in specific locations such as Marina East and the eastern parts of East Coast may be “slightly affected” by suspended sediments.

Mangroves, intertidal fauna and most marine fauna are “largely unaffected”, the agencies added.

Additionally, while offshore-feeding birds may temporarily be affected due to reduced water space and increased turbidity, they are able to move away from the area, HDB and URA said.

The agencies added that turtle nesting at East Coast Park may be affected, although nesting areas to the east of Bedok Jetty remain accessible during the first phase of preparatory works.

The National Parks Board (NParks) ongoing turtle egg relocation efforts to Sisters’ Island will also support hatching survival over the longer term.

HDB and URA said that no harmful algal blooms or release of heavy metals are expected, and that the risk of oil spills is low given the small number of vessels involved and the mitigation measures in place.

HDB and URA said an environmental monitoring and management plan will be put in place throughout the preparatory works to monitor environmental conditions such as water quality, suspended sediment levels, noise and dust.

This ensures that the project’s environmental impact remains within the levels predicted in the environmental assessment, HDB and URA said.

The environmental study report is available for public feedback for four weeks from Jun 30.

“Agencies will thoroughly evaluate the feedback received and incorporate suitable suggestions, before finalising the mitigation measures that will be adopted,” HDB and URA said.

FURTHER STUDIES, ENGAGEMENT

The agencies said the first stage of the environmental study assessed the potential impact of preparatory works. The second stage, which is ongoing, will assess the potential impact of reclamation and is expected to be completed over the next few years.

The area that is used for preparatory works is not reflective of the future land profile of Long Island, HDB and URA said.

The main reclamation works for Long Island will only commence after agencies have completed the relevant technical studies, determined mitigation measures, and reviewed and incorporated feedback from further public engagements.

When completed, around 20km of new waterfront parks could be added to East Coast Park, which will triple the length of waterfront parks in the area and could add waterfront living concepts, according to URA’s website.

To date, more than 14,000 people have shared ideas on the project. The next phase of engagement will start from end-2026, where the public and stakeholders will be invited to explore key topics, including potential recreational activities along the new coastline and within the future reservoir.

Further technical studies will cover environmental engineering assessments for the actual reclamation profile and works, and are expected to be completed over the next few years.

Works for Long Island to begin off East Coast Park end-2026
Ang Qing and Ng Keng Gene Straits Times Published Jun 30, 2026, 12:00 PM

SINGAPORE – Works to prepare for the reclamation of land off East Coast Park will start end-2026, after which sea sports will only be allowed east of Bedok Jetty.

Some impact on biodiversity, including the critically endangered hawksbill turtle that nests at the park, is expected from the works, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing Board (HDB).

Further details about the reclamation project, tentatively dubbed Long Island, were revealed by both agencies on June 30, when a report detailing the environmental impact of the works was released.

The preparatory works will take place in two phases around fishing hot spot Bedok Jetty, said the agencies.

The first phase to the west of the jetty will begin from end-2026, covering an area of about 570ha and spanning some 7km in length.

The second phase to the east of the jetty will start after the completion of major international sporting events hosted by Singapore, including the South-east Asian (SEA) Games in 2029, to allow for water sports off East Coast Park.

Sport Singapore (SportSG) said in a statement the waters to the east of Bedok Jetty will remain available for sea sports activities until at least 2029.

The government agencies did not reveal when the works will end.

Altogether, the sea space covered by the works amounts to about 725ha, or roughly twice the size of Marina Bay.

A HDB spokesperson told The Straits Times that these works had to be undertaken progressively near the reclamation site to ensure the timely completion of Long Island that is expected to take decades to plan, design and implement.

“We are phasing the preparatory works to reduce the impact on existing water-based activities off East Coast Park while the works are carried out,” she added.

Unveiled as part of the long-term plan for Singapore’s development in 1991, Long Island has evolved into a large-scale coastal defence against rising sea levels, which will also create an additional reservoir and land for future needs.

The preparatory works include clearing seabed obstructions, constructing temporary sand bunds, and transporting sand for infilling at the site.

The agencies said the date for the second phase, which covers about 155ha, will be shared once the timeline is firmed up.

“There are currently no plans to carry out preparatory works in a third area,” the agencies told ST.

Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said on social media that people can keep using beaches, exercise paths and tracks along East Coast Park while works are ongoing.

Some sea sports users, however, will be displaced due to the reduction in sea space along the East Coast, with kiteboarding being the most affected, according to URA and HDB.

According to the Kitesurfing Association of Singapore, the sport is allowed at East Coast Park from Bedok Jetty up to Marina South – the area that will be impacted by works during phase one – during the south-west monsoon season.

SportSG said the agencies will work with affected groups to continue their activities at alternative sites. This includes the sea space to the east of Bedok Jetty, as well as other locations like Changi, Pasir Ris, Sembawang and Sentosa.

The agency said it recognises that East Coast Park is an important recreational space with shared memories, noting that ongoing technical studies are assessing if ‘Long Island’ and the new reservoir can support a range of water-based activities and sports.

Meanwhile, anglers will still be allowed to use nearshore fishing areas and Bedok Jetty, although the works could impact fish and reduce catch rates.

Those who swim near the shore of East Coast Park will also be allowed to do so, as the works will take place at least 130m away from the shoreline.

The agencies said land-based park users will experience minimal impact, apart from the potential rise in visible wind-blown dust. This is unlikely to cause significant discomfort or require protective measures.

These findings were based on the first stage of an environmental study by consultancy DHI Water and Environment that commenced in February 2025.

Nature groups were consulted in March 2025 to refine the scope of the study, including suggestions on where and when to survey the presence of seasonal migratory birds, said the HDB and URA.

The study anticipated minor impact on some terrestrial and marine biodiversity from the works, as some coral and seagrass beds closer to the site at locations like Marina East and eastern East Coast Park could experience short-term and localised impact from suspended sediments.

However, most of coral and seagrass in the vicinity, including Sisters’ Island Marine Park, the likely source of Singapore’s coral diversity, will be largely unaffected, according to the report.

The URA and HDB said: “Infilling will be carefully monitored to contain sediment plumes within the work area and away from the shoreline.”

They added that nesting areas to the east of Bedok Jetty will remain accessible to turtles during the first phase of the preparatory works. Ongoing egg relocation efforts to Sisters’ Island will also support the survival of hatchlings.

The agencies said the area used for preparatory works is not reflective of the future land profile for Long Island, and will be clearly demarcated with silt screens or floating barriers.

They added that the second stage of the environmental study, which assesses the potential impact of reclamation works, is ongoing.

The agencies said: “Detailed plans for ‘Long Island’, including its development footprint and final reclamation profile, will continue to be refined through ongoing technical studies, including the environmental study for reclamation works, and the next phase of public engagements.”

In November 2023, then National Development Minister Desmond Lee had said that government agencies will carry out technical studies for the Long Island project over five years, starting early 2024.

The current plan is for three elongated tracts of land to be reclaimed in the area, extending from Marina East to Tanah Merah, with a large tidal gate and pumping station built between each new land mass.

Civil and environmental engineering assistant professor Chew Soon Hoe said the first phase will likely take at least three to four years, while the second phase could last for up to three years.

“These timelines are indicative and could vary depending on the final construction methodology, resource allocation, and the rate at which reclamation materials can be sourced and delivered,” added Chew, who teaches at the National University of Singapore’s College of Design and Engineering.

Actual reclamation works involve much more than the placement of sand, he said, noting that sand infilling alone does not produce land that is structurally ready for development. Reclamation works include seabed improvement, ground treatment and other measures necessary to create land that is stable and suitable for long-term development.

He added: “Given the scale and long-term nature of the Long Island project, which is expected to be implemented progressively over several decades, it is likely that further quantities of additional sand will still be required during the subsequent reclamation phases.

“The preparatory works should therefore be viewed as an enabling step that facilitates and accelerates future reclamation works.”

The URA and HDB said the next phase of public engagement for Long Island will begin from end-2026, building on ideas gathered from more than 14,000 people in the first phase.

Topics to be discussed include potential recreational activities along the new coastline and within the future reservoir.

The URA told ST that government agencies have been offering shorter tenancy extensions to businesses at East Coast Park to provide greater flexibility during the works. It did not share how many tenants took up shorter leases.

“We will continue to engage tenants closely and support their transition plans, where necessary,” it said.

How East Coast Park will be affected by Long Island works from end-2026
Ang Qing and Ng Keng Gene Straits Times Jun 30, 2026, 12:20 PM

SINGAPORE - From end-2026, preparatory works for the reclamation of Long Island will start in two phases in the waters off East Coast Park.

The works involve the clearing of seabed obstructions and movement of materials like sand.

Altogether, the sea space covered by the works amounts to about 725ha, or nearly twice the size of Marina Bay.

The Straits Times unpacks how the park’s users and businesses will be affected.

Sea sports

Sea sports are not allowed within the Phase 1 work area. These include sailing, windsurfing and kayaking.

Sport Singapore said that government agencies will work with affected groups to continue their activities at alternative sites. This includes the sea space to the east of Bedok Jetty, as well as other locations like Changi, Pasir Ris, Sembawang and Sentosa.

The statutory board said waters to the east of Bedok Jetty will remain available for sea sports activities until at least 2029.

According to the Kitesurfing Association of Singapore, the sport is allowed at East Coast Park from Bedok Jetty up to Marina South – the area that will be impacted by works during phase one – during the south-west monsoon season.

The second phase of preparatory works off the east of Bedok Jetty is slated to start after the completion of major international sporting events, including the South-east Asian (SEA) Games in 2029. More details will be shared when the agencies are ready.

Fishing

Fishing near the shore and at Bedok Jetty can continue.

However, the works could displace fish and reduce catch rates in the area.

Agencies will put up early communication and signs to keep anglers informed.
Swimming

The preparatory works will be clearly demarcated by silt screens and floating barriers.

Swimming near the shore will be allowed, as works will take place at least 130m away from the East Coast shoreline.

Users of the sea are advised to maintain a safe distance from marine vessels deployed for work. The designated work area that will be cordoned off to ensure public safety.

Land-based activities and businesses

Beaches, exercise paths and tracks will remain open and accessible.

An increase in visible wind-blown dust is anticipated near the project. This is not expected to cause significant discomfort or require protective measures.

The URA told ST it does not expect land-based activities to be affected by the works, but the government agencies have been offering shorter tenancy extensions to businesses at East Coast Park to provide greater flexibility during this period of works for Long Island.

It did not share how many tenants took up shorter leases.

“We will continue to engage tenants closely and support their transition plans, where necessary,” the agency added.

Muted mass coral spawning in 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:20:50 +0000

This year's annual mass coral spawning at Pulau Satumu was a muted affair. “While some coral colonies were observed spawning, the overall activity appeared relatively muted compared with the spawning activity previously observed in some years, where a larger number of species had spawned,” said Karenne Tun, group director of the National Parks Board’s (NParks) National Biodiversity Centre.

Scientists said this could be due to global mass coral bleaching in 2024 and a smaller-scale bleaching event at Pulau Satumu in September 2025. Coral scientists worldwide are expecting mass coral bleaching in 2026-2027.

Muted coral spawning in Singapore in 2026 may reflect lower resilience across reef
Shabana Begum Straits Times Jun 21, 2026, 12:00 PM

SINGAPORE – The annual mass-mating of corals in Singapore’s waters in April and May 2026 was a muted affair.

The reduced release of eggs and sperm at one of Singapore’s richest coral reefs off Raffles Lighthouse could reflect an overall reduced resilience across the reef, said Karenne Tun, group director of the National Parks Board’s (NParks) National Biodiversity Centre.

This needs further investigation, she added.

Scientists said the lacklustre reproduction could be an effect of the 2024 marine heatwave – which caused more than 40 per cent of corals to bleach and turn white at one point – as well as a small-scale bleaching event at Pulau Satumu, where Raffles Lighthouse is located, in September 2025.

Mass spawning events occur once a year, and are usually a spectacular underwater show in which the coral reefs appear to “snow” as they release bundles of coral eggs and sperm.

The phenomenon usually happens a few nights after the full moon following the spring equinox, which generally occurs here around late March.

The larger the “snowy blizzard”, the more likely it is that fertilisation will occur. The eggs and sperm then join to form larvae, which are carried by the water until some find a hard surface to latch on to and grow on.

NParks held its annual coral spawning surveys at the southern island of Pulau Satumu from April 4 to 6 with researchers from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory.

“While some coral colonies were observed spawning, the overall activity appeared relatively muted compared with the spawning activity previously observed in some years, where a larger number of species had spawned,” said Tun.

NParks and the researchers returned to Satumu in May to see if more spawning happened. After April’s turnout, they initially suspected that the spawning was split across two months.

But no significant activity was seen in May.

The muted reproductive event was similar to what happened in 2025, a few months after reefs were hit with mass bleaching in 2024 because of the warming El Nino climate phenomenon.

Back then, NParks and NUS said corals that had recovered from the 2024 episode may not have had enough energy to reproduce.

On the latest spawning episode, Tun said: “The reduced spawning capacity may, however, reflect an overall reef-wide reduced resilience, which requires further investigation.”

Some species continued to reproduce despite the recent environmental stressors, including the Diploastrea moon coral and the Montipora velvet corals.

Higher sea temperatures stress coral reefs, forcing them to expel the algae that give them their striking colours.

This causes corals to bleach, or turn ash-white.

The ordeal in 2024 – part of the severe fourth global mass bleaching episode – killed 5 per cent of corals in Singapore. Between early 2023 and mid-2025, 84 per cent of the world’s coral reefs were affected by the marine heatwave.

Research fellow Lionel Ng from TMSI – who was among the NUS scientists involved in the surveys in April and May – said the combined effects of the 2024 bleaching event and a smaller-scale bleaching episode at Satumu in September 2025 may have reduced reef health or modified the physiological responses of the corals.

“The reef’s reproductive ability may not have been able to fully recover in time for the mass spawning event,” he said.

While more studies need to be done, scientists suspect that the 2025 bleaching at Satumu is due to a strong south-west monsoon bringing in more water rich in river run-off from the Strait of Malacca.

The organic-laden, cloudy water may have reduced the amount of light entering the corals in deeper zones, causing them to bleach.

Ng said: “It may be useful to understand how successive (environmental) disturbances also impact reproductive capacity and the early life stages of our corals. These have long-term consequences for reef replenishment and key ecological functions.”

Coral scientists worldwide are dreading another global marine heatwave that could emerge with the upcoming El Nino, which is predicted to be stronger than the previous one from 2023 to 2024.

Back-to-back mass bleaching can further aggravate the health of coral reefs, but is an emerging pattern with climate change.

The Meteorological Service Singapore forecasts that El Nino conditions will develop from June to July. Nearly every El Nino event since 1998 has coincided with mass coral bleaching that also affected Singapore’s waters. The last super El Nino in 2015 and 2016 caused 10 per cent of local corals to die.

To boost the reproduction of local reefs, scientists here are trying to fertilise corals in the laboratory.

In April, the researchers based at St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and staff from NParks collected some of the spawn to fertilise them.

“Corals grow very slowly and juvenile corals are more vulnerable, requiring more care during the early stages,” said Ng.

Sexual reproduction increases genetic diversity among coral babies.

“This is important for improving our chances of producing corals that possess certain traits which afford resilience during environmental disturbance,” Ng added.

Sentosa Tg. Rimau: Interlocking 1-tonne blocks to be deployed

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:05:03 +0000

"A few hundred" one-tonne concrete blocks (XblocPlus) will be deployed at Sentosa Tanjung Rimau's natural cliffs. The interlocking blocks will be placed “at the toe of the slope to mitigate wave erosion". PUB said the location was identified together with Sentosa Development Corporation which is planning to do slope stabilisation works there.

"The blocks’ high porosity will also provide safe havens for marine life while effectively dissipating wave energy." This project will mark local construction firm Woh Hup Engineering’s first foray into the coastal protection industry, with the goal of ensuring the product is cost-effective enough for nationwide use.

Sentosa Tg Rimau has among our last natural cliffs with natural rocky shores. A natural coastal forest cloaks the cliff. Hardy plants grow here. Sentosa's coastal forest has some of the last of Singapore's now rare coastal plants.

Among them is Nyireh laut which is Critically Endangered in Singapore and we probably have less than 10 trees on our shores. On our last survey in Jan 2026, the mother tree looks a little less leafy, but otherwise seems okay. Her oldest Daughter no. 1 next to her is still alright with fresh green leaves. The next younger Daughter no. 2 growing near the pill box is growing tall with fresh green leaves. Daughter no. 3 which I last saw as a sapling in Apr 2014 has grown really tall with fresh green leaves. Today, I managed a look at her trunk! And Nasry pointed out what could be Daughter no. 4 nearby!

Living Lab: $14 million awarded for testing coastal defence projects in Singapore
Ang Qing Straits Times Jun 17, 2026, 01:00 PM

SINGAPORE – An eco-friendly seawall that seals its own cracks and gradually adapts to rising sea levels is among five projects slated for testing along Singapore’s coastline from 2027.

Backed by an injection of about $14 million from national water agency PUB’s Living Lab platform, these coastal protection projects could evolve from pilot projects into scalable solutions in the Republic.

The initiative was announced by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on June 17, at the Coastal and Flood Resilience Leaders Summit at Singapore International Water Week.

Developed by universities, contractors and consultants, these test-bedded solutions are designed to fortify Singapore’s coastal and flood defences, for which the Government set aside $10 billion in 2020.

Fu said: “By bringing together universities and industry players in these R&D projects, we can turn promising ideas into deployable solutions, and deployable solutions into infrastructure at scale.

“As Singapore and cities around the world confront growing coastal and flood risks, one thing is clear: None of us can do this alone. But together, we can move faster and further.”

The projects will be tested at Sentosa’s Tanjong Rimau, Changi, Yishun Dam and East Coast Park, PUB said in a statement. These sites were chosen based on technical, operational and environmental factors.

Over three years, the Living Lab’s findings will determine the solutions’ viability for long-term, large-scale coastal protection.

Off the coast of Changi, a team will trial a “living seawall” designed to incrementally respond to gradual sea level rise while ensuring that marine biodiversity thrives.

Yang Zi Qian, managing director of Delta Marine Consultants, said the approach could upend the traditional view that vertical seawalls are at odds with nature, while providing flexibility to gradually extend the wall as the sea rises.

“The concept of an incremental build is going to be one of the essential elements of our coastal protection policy,” said Yang, who leads one of the project’s six partnering entities. “We don’t build a giant seawall all at once, nor do we under-protect. We build what we need, monitor future forecasts and structurally scale it up accordingly to adapt to a changing climate.”

The consortium also includes Japanese engineering firm Kajima Corporation, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Singapore Institute of Technology, Samwoh Innovation Centre and Oung Construction.

The integrated wall will draw on Kajima’s experience building an eco-friendly seawall in Tokyo, said Hiroyuki Takasuna, strategic adviser for Kajima Technical Research Institute Singapore. The Tokyo wall was planned with local biodiversity of fish, crabs and other marine life in mind, through the design of grooves, tide pools and other features.

This will be adapted to Singapore’s tropical climate, factoring in the Republic’s humidity, temperature, tidal conditions, solar radiation and sea level projections, Takasuna added.

Samwoh Corporation director Ho Nyok Yong said the low-carbon structure will, like the human body, be able to seal itself whenever a crack surfaces, using an embedded network containing a patented sealing agent that acts like a blood coagulant.

He added: “The strength of the (sealing agent) is equal to or even better than the original concrete, allowing it to stand forever.”

On Sentosa, another project will deploy an interlocking concrete armour system of blocks that blunts the impact of waves and erosion.

Originally created to protect the Netherlands, where 75,000 such blocks are already in use, the modular defence system known as XblocPlus will be tested for its effectiveness in tropical urban waters with lower wave energy.

A few hundred blocks, each weighing about a tonne, will be placed off Tanjong Rimau, where one of Singapore’s last remaining coastal cliffs and rocky shores is located.

Because the armour requires only a single layer, it significantly reduces the material needed for coastal defence, said NUS civil and environmental engineering professor Adrian Law.

His team will use remote sensing software and other monitoring methods to assess the barrier’s strength.

The blocks’ high porosity will also provide safe havens for marine life while effectively dissipating wave energy.

This project will mark local construction firm Woh Hup Engineering’s first foray into the coastal protection industry, with the goal of ensuring the product is cost-effective enough for nationwide use.

Addressing concerns from nature experts that construction near Tanjong Rimau could disrupt wildlife habitats, PUB said the location of its project was identified by the agency and Sentosa Development Corporation for integration with planned slope stabilisation works.

The works to address slope integrity at Tanjong Rimau are aimed at protecting the area’s valuable ecological and historical features, PUB told The Straits Times.

It added: “Deployed at the toe of the slope, XblocPlus will serve as a coastal protection measure to mitigate wave-induced erosion to preserve the stability and effectiveness of the slope stabilisation works and safeguard public safety.”

These five projects bring the total number of projects under PUB’s Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme to 38.

New rulebook on how landowners can defend coast from rising seas launched, to be mandatory from 2028
Coastal landowners with more than 30 years left on their lease must plan their defences against a projected rise in sea level by 2.15m.
Ang Hwee Min Channel NewsAsia 17 Jun 2026 01:00PM(Updated: 17 Jun 2026 01:32PM)

COASTAL PROTECTION SOLUTIONS

Apart from the new code, Ms Fu said PUB has also awarded S$14 million to five projects to test coastal protection solutions.

These measures will be implemented at selected locations along Singapore’s coastline from 2027, said PUB in a factsheet.

The results from the five projects will be assessed over three years to determine if they can be used for future coastal protection works, the agency said.

For example, a team comprising individuals from the National University of Singapore (NUS), construction company Woh Hup and Delta Marine Consultants has deployed an interlocking concrete armour system to protect against waves and erosion at Sentosa, said Ms Fu.

This design achieves better protection with less concrete, which reduces costs, carbon footprint and Singapore’s reliance on imported materials, she added.

Another adaptive, eco-friendly seawall project involves Japanese construction company Kajima, and local firms Samwoh Innovation Centre and Oung Construction, as well as NUS, the Singapore Institute of Technology and Delta Marine Consultants.

Building on Kajima’s eco-friendly seawall work in Tokyo, the project will test the use of prefabricated elements, with low-carbon materials, smart sensors and self-healing mechanisms to reduce emissions and maintenance costs, Ms Fu said.

“As Singapore and cities around the world confront growing coastal and flood risks, one thing is clear. None of us can do this alone. But together, we can move faster and further.”

Source: CNA/hw(nj)

Terumbu Raya in the face of Sudong reclamation

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:23:44 +0000

We return to Terumbu Raya East for the first time in 4 years! Although it lies just off the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom it is still very much alive. With sprinkles of corals and seagrasses.

The rest of the team saw sharks, sea turtles, special anemones and other marine life.

As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds. Large colourful reef fish, groups of many squids at the reef edge, even octopus despite the daylight. There were colourful echinoderms like feather stars, large Diadema sea urchins and special brittle stars. We regularly only see a few nudibranchs in the south (a much wider variety in the north), the team saw all the common ones. Unfortunately, seem that only one small Noble volute was seen. Ian captured a lot of sharks hanging around the reef edge from his drone.

Tammy captured this rare glimpse of a sea turtle. The rest of the team also heard sea turtles during the survey. We often do encounter sea turtles on our surveys, but they are too fast to capture. We first hear the explosive sound as the animal emerges at the surface to exhale. And generally only get a few seconds glimpse of it before it inhales and dives down again.

The rest of the team also came across what seems to be two Leathery sea anemones which are quite rarely encountered. They also saw a bubble tip anemone, some Magnificent anemones (not yet forming fields it seems). Almost every member saw 'Nemos' in the Giant carpet anemones - I totally failed to see any.

The Giant clam team was with us and they found 11! The team took photos of some of the clams, including one dead clam. This is unfortunately common: we regularly find our favourite large clams dead.

There have never been a lot of corals on this shore. Some scattered medium sized boulder-shaped coral colonies. Most seemed alright.

Similar to what I saw in May 2022, the reef edge facing Pulau Semakau no longer had a lot of live corals as in the past. But there were still scattered colonies mostly boulder shaped with some less commonly seen kinds like Anchor coral, Lettuce coral, Brain coral. There were more live corals turning the corner to the shore facing Beting Bemban Besar, with even a Tongue mushroom coral.

The team also saw special corals that I missed, plus a patch of many circular mushroom corals. They also took great photos of the reef edge which is rich with corals.

There are not a lot of leathery soft corals on this shore, mostly medium to small colonies of various kinds. I saw several Giant carpet anemone (no 'Nemos') and one Fire anemone. Also one Asparagus flowery soft coral. None of them were bleaching. The Giant clam team was with us and found a lot! I happened to be nearby when they found this large one.

The seagrass situation is probably similar to what we saw in May 2022 and Aug 2021. Most of the centre of the flats are still bare sand. There were denser patches seagrasses toward the seaward edges, mostly heavily covered in epiphytes. All the Tape seagrasses I saw were cropped short.

Zen came across two abandoned net. They look quite recent (not much algae growing on them), one had a fish trapped in it. Fortunately they were not super long. It has been quite some time since we came across abandoned nets here.

The Sudong reclamation worksite looks similar to what we saw in May 2026 from Beting Bemban Besar. Tall piles of sand with lots of large heavy equipment on the sand and in the water.

The reclamation site is not yet showing up on Google Earth but an aviation news site Alert 5 has shared an image dated 13 Jun 2026 from the Copernicus system.

Here is the location of Terumbu Raya and other nearby shores in relation to the Sudong reclamation.

What is the fate of Beting Bemban Besar?

Large areas nearby are also slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Photos by others on this survey

Tammy Lim

Lon Voon Ong

Adriane Lee

Richard Kuah

Zen Xuan He

Rui Quan Oh

Dylan Sng

Tommy Tan

Others on this survey: Lester Tan, Ian Mun