Recovering East Coast shore with youth advocates

An entirely artificial shore at East Coast Park has one of the best seagrass meadows on the mainland and an amazing variety of corals. The regular volunteers are delighted to share it with the amazing advocates from Lepak In SG and Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity this morning.

For the first time we come on a rare super low tide in daylight! So we are able take a closer look at the corals that are growing in the 'corner' of the long seawall that forms the lagoon opposite the canal at the PCN. We arrive at sunrise!

Singapore to study measures to protect 8 offshore islands against rising seas

PUB has launched a tender for a study on rising sea levels impact on 8 offshore islands. The study will gather data through field surveys, will explore coastal protection measures and timelines for implementation. The study is expected to start by 2026. 

Reef outside the seawall at Kusu Island

The islands are Pulau Tekong, St John's Island and Lazarus Island, Kusu Island, Sisters' Islands, Pulau Bukom, Pulau Hantu, Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang. Pulau Ubin and Pulau Ketam will be included as part of PUB's future site-specific study for the north-eastern coast, consisting of Punggol and Pasir Ris.

Recovery on Beting Bronok!

Our annual survey to this reefy northern flat is bitter-sweet. Like visiting our favourite grandma and watching her painfully, slowly fade away. I feel privileged to have seen her at her best.

Despite the ongoing reclamation works on Pulau Tekong nearby, and flaring at Penggerang Johor, it remains alive. Seagrasses remain abundant as much of the shore has become very soft and silty. The small patch rich with delicate colourful animals seems to have recovered from the mass dying we saw last year. 

Today, the team saw lots of interesting marine life including an explosion of tiny sea anemones. I will update with their observation later on.

Ubin rocks are still alive!

Next to Pulau Ubin jetty there are living rocks and seagrass meadows. We started at Thomson's Rock and was rather disappointed that it was rather bare of sponges, and the sea fans around it were mostly half dead. This is similar to our last survey here in Jul 2024.

Could the huge fish farm located just off the shore have something to do with this? The oil leak from Langsat, Johor about 2 months ago probably didn't help - Changi and other shores in the East Johor Straits were impacted. Fortunately, sea fans and sponges were doing much better closer to the jetty. And we didn't see any coral bleaching. 

Mangroves of Pulau Hantu with a possible special find!

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 Muhd Nasry!

In the process, we think we might have come across a rare Nyireh laut! The rest of the team saw a Burrowing giant clam, colourful fish and marine life. Corals seemed mostly okay.

Oiled East Coast shore: Corals recovering!

A small team surveys the lagoon on the other side of Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal next to the East Coast PCN. This shore was clearly impacted by 2024 mass coral bleaching that affected all our shores, plus the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. It was also probably impacted by the 5tonne Changi East oil overspill 28 Oct 2024. 

Today, it was a relief to see much signs of corals recovering on the shore. Seagrasses continue to do well. We also checked out the shore opposite NSRCC briefly and encounter a very friendly otter!

Update: On the same day, Adriane Lee also checked up on Changi Carpark 6. He shares: Changi carpark 6 has been traditionally an area rich in biodiversity. Based on records of past visits dating back to 2021, today’s visit saw a drop in what are normally common. Missing Sea stars, warty sea cucumbers etc, and even the Hardon anemones are smaller in size than usual. Wonder what is the reason for this change?