We visit our favourite shores during the last series of predawn low tides of the year.
Just minutes from the central business district on mainland Singapore, there are awesome reefs on tiny Kusu Island. Alas, corals appear to be smothered by a seaweed bloom and we came across a large fish trap.
The edge of the reef outside the seawalls are particularly rich. While I still saw many
Blue corals, I noticed many of the large corals were half dead. And I didn't see many
leathery soft corals. But I didn't survey much as the tide wasn't very low. We saw a lot more during our last survey in
April 2017 during a much lower tide.
There are still some corals growing inside the big lagoon. Mostly blue corals and
merulind corals.
And still some small patches of
Branching montipora corals.
A look at some of the corals growing in the lagoon.
Most of the corals were Merulinid corals and
Pore corals. I also saw one
Acropora coral, one
Lettuce coral, one
Anemone coral and one
Galaxy coral.
There were still many
Magnificent anemones on the reefs, and many
Haddon's carpet anemones among the seagrassy areas. None were bleaching.
There were also many
Giant carpet anemones. I saw a tiny
Clown anemonefish in one of them.
There were many other fishes on the shore. Including large
Fringe-eyed flatheads,
Whitings, various
Damselfishes and lots of
silversides. Lisa also saw a baby
shark!
On the sandy areas, there were many
Common sea stars in 'mating' position. I also saw one
Cake sand dollar and several burrowing
moon snails and a few
sand collars.
There was a bloom of
Sea Lettuce seaweed that covered much of the big lagoon, over seagrasses and corals.
There were fewer living corals near the mouth of the lagoon. Much of them were smothered by sand or the Sea Lettuce bloom.
There are still sprinkles of
Spoons seagrass (tiny leaf blades) and
Needle seagrass (narrow leaf blades) in the big lagoon. Lisa found a baby
Knobbly sea star!
Alas, we came across a large fish trap laid on the reef edge.
The trap is quite large and appears new.
Large living coral colonies have been rearranged to wedge the trap in place.-
There were a few fishes inside the trap, still alive. We released the fishes and got rid of the trap. And replaced the coral colonies so they were no longer upside down.
It is heartbreaking to see such stress on a living reef. Unfortunately, we are unable to visit each shore more than once or twice a year. I hope Kusu Island's reefs stay safe until we are able to return.
Photos by others on this trip
Others on this trip: Lisa Lim
