Horseshoe crab breeding and seahorse study in Singapore

Timed with the Chinese zodiac’s Year of the Horse, The Straits Times features two native animals with equine-linked names: the horseshoe crab and the seahorse.

Pulau Jong, Jul 2012

YES! Singapore got wild peaceful sharks.

YES! We have wild sharks. 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.

Small Sisters Island Oct 2025 by Ria Tan

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.

This post was done in preparation for interview with Zaobao, who's interested was piqued by Mathias' video of our most recent survey at Semakau East in Feb 2026. Their article is here.

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!

Pulau Sudong reclamation to relocate noisy RSAF training away from mainland?

An article by Alert 5, a military aviation news site, has insightful details behind the ongoing Pulau Sudong reclamation.

From Port Marine Notice No. 133 of 2025, dated 08 Oct 2025

The article suggests extending the existing Pulau Sudong runway to 3 km, will enable the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to conduct noisy F-35B landing training at the offshore location. Noise from F-35B short take-off and vertical-landing fighter aircraft has already prompted Japan to relocate training to remote sites. The first of Singapore's F-35s will arrive in Tengah airbase in 2029. The Sudong reclamation is scheduled for completion by 2028.

The Sudong extention will also allow other RSAF fixed-wing aircraft to conduct practice landings that are presently carried out at Tengah and Paya Lebar airbases, both surrounded by residential neighborhoods which have increasingly complained about jet noise. 

The current 2km runway at Pulau Sudong functions primarily as an emergency landing point for fighter aircraft. However, the limited runway length means that fighter aircraft landing there in an emergency may require the use of Mobile Aircraft Arrestor Systems installed on both ends of the runway to stop the aircraft in time. The extended 3km runway will provide emergency landing capability for fighters and larger aircraft types with a longer distance for aircraft to decelerate safely, negating the need to deploy the arrestor systems in most situations.

It also provides operational flexibility as the RSAF manages the transition associated with Paya Lebar’s eventual decommissioning after 2030 and Tengah’s expansion.

Giant clams at Pulau Semakau (East)

One of the reefiest shores lies next to Singapore's only landfill and near petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. A team surveys even though the tide was not as low as we expected.

The corals seemed alright and we find 6 Giant clams! There were also lots of large sea anemones, colourful crabs, nudibranchs and other interesting marine life.

Mass injury of Knobbly sea stars at Cyrene

Although Cyrene lies in the middle of an industrial triangle, it still has some of Singapore's most amazing shores. A very large team surveys today.

Alarmingly, we found most of the Knobbly sea stars had mysterious injuries. Seagrass cover was very thin, but dugong feeding trails were still seen. The rest of the team as usual make all the special finds. From Giant clams to interesting sea stars and sand dollars. I will update when they have uploaded their photos.

Other intertidal surveys in Jan 2026

Rui Quan Oh checked up on other shores during the month. From Sembawang, Pasir Ris to Changi. A canal at Pasir Panjang.  And separate trips to Sisters Islands and Marina East. Also to check up on the Sungei Pang Sua site which is along the route for MRT tunneling. Marcus Ng also checked up on Changi shores. 

Collage of photos by Rui Quan Oh and Marcus Ng

Thank you for keeping an eye on our shores!