For the first time in years, the rain fell somewhere else on our annual survey of Chek Jawa's vast northern sand bar!
The sand bar is still alive! Seagrasses are still doing well on the seaward side facing Johor, we saw dugong feeding trails and carpet anemones are still there. But the shores seem a little quieter than previous years. Perhaps the
pollution events at the Johor River last month had something to do with this? But our
May 2025 survey of the Southern sand bar, we also noticed it was more subdued - so perhaps it's something else? Thanks to NParks for permission to survey.
How nice to see dugong feeding trails on the seagrasses facing Johor on the northern sandbar. Kok Sheng also saw some in the middle seagrass lagoon. Dugong feeding trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. We saw a few during our
Dec 2024 and
Dec 2023 survey and many more during our survey in
Feb 2023.
The northern sand bar remains vast! It very much alive, but seems more quiet than on our last survey in
Dec 2024.
Straw tube worms were still abundant, although
Acorn worm signs less so. There were lots of small
Cake sand dollars. The most abundant snail were
Ball moon snails: in mating pairs, their egg masses (aka sand collars) and many tiny ones too; but I didn't see other kinds of moon snails. There were also many
Weasel olive snails and some signs of
Sand bubbler crabs. Unfortunately, we didn't come across large patches of
Button snails, and I didn't see any sea stars.
It's the shorebird migratory season and we saw small flocks of them on the shore. Studies have shown that
shorebird poop helps seagrasses to grow, and in the process heal damaged seagrass meadows. It was a relief to see some
Haddon's carpet anemones on the seaward facing part of the northern sand bar. They used to be common here, we did not see them in
Dec 2021 until they reappeared in
Dec 2024. There were also many Noble volutes laying eggs, many large Orange striped hermit crabs. A dead fish attracted hordes of lively whelks. But the
Pink warty and
Thorny sea cucumbers I saw were tiny. The rest of the team make all the special finds, I will update later with their sightings.
On the northern sand bar, there were good growths of seagrasses on the seaward side facing Johor. It was nice to see dense patches of
Fern seagrass here, covering about 500m. This seagrass is only common in the North and not seen on our Southern shores. As usual, the rest were mostly
Spoon seagrass (small and large leaves) and
Needle seagrass with narrow leaves. There was also a bloom of
Cotton candy red seaweed in some parts of the seagrass - sometimes seen on many other shores. As well as a bloom of
Scalpel green seaweeds - which we also saw at Changi last month.
As on our last survey in
Dec 2024 and
Dec 2023, there were lots of
Smooth ribbon seagrass in the the inner lagoon, almost reaching the northen sand bar. It continues to flourish and have taken over large parts of the southern area.
Indeed, the seagrass area remains smaller than in the past as the northern sand bar has expanded. A comparison of Google Earth screenshots from Jan 2008 and Feb 2023, shows how the northern sand bar has widened into the lagoon and lengthened southward. While the southern sand bar has grow larger and moved very far east so it is much closer to the northern sand bar.
Chek Jawa has one of the last remaining natural cliffs and rocky shores in the North. Today there seems to have been a recently landslide. Regardless, the coastal forest seems lush and the Endangered
Delek Air are still abundant here. Today, they were blooming and fruiting!
On the way to Pulau Ubin, we noticed coastal works going on at Changi just after the Ferry Terminal. Not really sure what is going on, possibly part of NPark's works on the Changi Coastal Boardwalk? From the
NParks website "The section of Changi Boardwalk from Beach Walk (2) to Sailing Point Walk (3) is closed for long-term repair works till 3Q 2026."
You can visit Chek Jawa on your own from 7am to 7pm daily. No permit is required if you stay on the boardwalk and walking trails. But do note closures from Nov 2025 to Feb 2026 of the Mangrove Loop boardwalk (indicated in red) and Jejawi Tower. The Coastal Loop boardwalk remains open. Intertidal tours conducted by NParks is suspended until further notice due to maintenance works for the floating pontoon. More details on the
NParks website.
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 2018Among 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.
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 the survey
Kelvin Yong
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