There is a secret lagoon just across from the Central Business District on mainland Singapore.
I explored it for the first time and discovered mangroves!
Seringat-Kias was created by reclaiming the submerged reefs of Seringat and Kias. Here's more about
what was done to create Seringat-Kias. There is a large artificial C-shaped lagoon which we usually explore. Yesterday, I checked out the longer more land-bound lagoon to the west of the C-shaped lagoon.
The pretty lagoon was calm and quiet in the sunset.
The sandy shore was covered in
Bazillion snails! And many signs of
Sand bubbler crabs.
There were also some
Common sea stars in the lagoon.
There were sprinkles of
Spoon seagrasses, and many clumps of
Bubble green seaweed.
The rocks were covered with
Oysters and little
Planaxis snails and
Bazillion snails.
Just as I was thinking we should be planting mangroves along this lagoon, I started to see small mangrove trees that have settled naturally here. There were many small
Bakau putih as well as other
Bakau trees.
A lot of
Merambong and a few small
Nyireh bunga trees.
A few small and this one larger
Api-api bulu.
There was also a large
Teruntum putih (Endangered) and
Chengam. There were also many small Chengam shrubs. How nice to see that mangroves have naturally settled in this artificial lagoon.
Sadly, there were several clumps of abandoned fishing nets.
There is a great deal of erosion along the shores of this artificial lagoon.
On the outside of the seawall is a shallow berm which reminds me of the same structure at
Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal where an amazing coral reef has settled naturally.
Could the same thing have happened here? We need to go have a closer look during a lower tide!
Sadly, people have left a lot of litter here.
I also checked out the northern end of the C-shaped lagoon. My last visit here was in
Apr 2012. On the sandy bottom, there were lots of small
Flower crabs and
Spotted moon crabs, including this pair of what seems to be mating Moon crabs. Along the higher shore, I got glimpses of
Ghost crabs.
There was a small
Olive flatworm that I first mistook for a dead leaf.
There was a
Fire anemone! I only saw a few small corals growing on the seawall. They were not bleaching.
There was also one small
Haddon's carpet anemone with a pair of
anemone shrimps in it.
Sadly, the entire lagoon seems strewn with mostly styrofoam and plastic cups.
Most of the trash look like small cups, containers, drink cans, small food packets.
As well as other kinds of litter.
Where did all this litter come from. In the middle of the lagoon were three large yachts with loud music blaring. Are they to blame for the litter in the lagoon?
I even saw one large bag that used to contain fish feed. There is a "fish farm" nearby. It is located between Lazarus and St. John's Island and is a floating experimental farm run by AVA.
In
Jun 2013, I noticed that the fish farm had stacked a large pile of big pieces of wood on a tree that is already struggling to stay upright. Sigh.
The fish farm also 'parks' its massive equipment on the shore.
Here's how big the equipment are.
As usual, we have a look at the marine life that have settled on the pontoon at Seringat. There are still lots of large sea fans growing in the dark parts of the pontoon.
There were several yachts parked at the pontoon blaring loud music. One party had set up their meal on the pontoon full of plates and packets and other potential litter. Hopefully, they will dispose of their trash responsibly.
Although there is a sign to ask people to bring litter back with them. There were two bags of trash left on the pontoon near the water. Hopefully a strong wind doesn't blow them over.
It's nice to see people enjoying our seashores, but I do hope they will be gentle and responsible too.
The rest of the team checked out Lazarus Island and saw all kinds of amazing marine life. Check out their posts for more photos and stories.
Posts by others on this trip
