Plunging headlong into a
Sumatras storm, a small team emerges on the other side of the storm front to survey this special submerged reef. It lies right next to Singapore's only landfill and near the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom, less than an hour away from the Central Business District.
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| Photo by Liz Lim |
It was a relief to see that the reefs seem to have pulled through the
Fourth Global mass coral bleaching event last year. We were last here in
Aug 2024 when we estimate about 10% of hard and soft corals were bleaching. Today, there were no widespread signs of bleaching.
The reef edge facing Pulau Semakau (East) remains rich with healthy corals. Although they were not easy to spot in the wind-rippled water and overcast sky - ironically, bleaching corals are easier to spot.
There were still many medium to large colonies of
leathery soft corals of various kinds. Today, I didn't see any that were bleaching. On our last survey in
Aug 2024, about 10% were outright bleaching or showing signs of stress (melting, more yellowish than usual).
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 and white body colours. We only saw one which was purple.
There were also still a lot of
Asparagus flowery soft corals - I didn't see any that were bleaching or stressed. I saw some Giant carpet anemones, and one that might be a Merten's carpet anemone. Also Frilly anemone, Fire anemone and one Leathery sea fan and Spiky flowery soft coral. All were fine.
The seagrass situation seems similar to the situation in
Aug 2024 and
Apr 2024, as well as
May 2023 and every annual survey since
May 2019. Although heavily covered with epiphytes, there was good cover of
Spoon seagrasses in many of the pools. Today, they also formed good cover outside the pools.
There were many clumps of
Tape seagrass with longish leaf blades (about 40-50cm) especially those growing nearer the reef edge. But most elsewhere were still short (about 10-20cm). There were a few small clumps of other kinds of seagrasses.
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. 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 Singapore Blue Plan 2018Pulau 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.
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 surveyLiz LimKelvin YongChe Cheng NeoJianlin LiuTommy TanOthers on this survey: Ian Mun
