There is a small area here densely covered with hard corals. Healthy corals are usually brown. Indeed, I was relieved to see that this reefy stretch was alright, although there was one white bleaching coral on the reef edge in this photo.
It was great to see a variety of hard corals. From commonly seen ones to those which are seldom seen on our shores. They come in all kinds of shapes and textures. Most I saw were alright.
I saw one Spider conch, a common large snail on our reefs. As well as a Cushion sea star, which looks like a pincushion and looks more like a sea star on the underside, with its five radiating rows of tubefeet. I saw many pairs of Cheesecake nudibranchs (good job guys, keep on making new nudis!) and one Pimply nudibranch. Back at our boat, our skipper told us he saw several large sea turtles.
Russel spotted a large Fluted giant clam near the reef edge.
While Vincent found another much further away.
It was disturbing to see a bloom of what looks like cyanobacteria, forming a brown slimy layer over seaweeds on the reefy areas. There are sprinkles and scattered sparse patches of seagrasses on the shore. The seagrass situation seems similar to our last survey in Jun 2020 and Jun 2019. I saw a few clumps of Tape seagrass with long leaves, but most were cropped. There were also Spoon seagrasses, but I didn't come across Sickle seagrasses as I did last year.
Near the reef edge, a pool of bare sand is probably the result of a boat striking the submerged reef at higher tide.
Later during our survey, a couple zoomed up and down the channel on a jet ski, occasionally stopping to fish with lines.
Terumbu Bemban is the western most submerged reef just before the Life Firing Islands. From here, we can see Pulau Bukom. The area nearby is now also used for a lot of ship anchoring.
As usual, a huge cloud of emissions has accumulated over the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. The sunrise lights it up spectacularly.
Future of Terumbu Bemban
Although not directly slated for reclamation, large areas nearby are among the existing natural shores that may be impacted by the landuse plan by the Ministry of National Development released in Jan 2013 in response to the Populations White Paper with a 6.9 million population target. The dotted margined blue areas are "Possible Future Reclamation".
Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten. Let's hope Terumbu Bemban stays safe until we can visit again.
The Singapore Blue Plan 2018
Pulau Semakau and nearby islands and submerged reefs have been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for Immediate Conservation Priority.
The Blue Plan recommends the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Semakau and adjacent Pulau Hantu, and Pulau Jong to be designated Marine Reserve.
The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.
DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.
Photos by others on this survey
While Vincent found another much further away.
It was disturbing to see a bloom of what looks like cyanobacteria, forming a brown slimy layer over seaweeds on the reefy areas. There are sprinkles and scattered sparse patches of seagrasses on the shore. The seagrass situation seems similar to our last survey in Jun 2020 and Jun 2019. I saw a few clumps of Tape seagrass with long leaves, but most were cropped. There were also Spoon seagrasses, but I didn't come across Sickle seagrasses as I did last year.
Future of Terumbu Bemban
Although not directly slated for reclamation, large areas nearby are among the existing natural shores that may be impacted by the landuse plan by the Ministry of National Development released in Jan 2013 in response to the Populations White Paper with a 6.9 million population target. The dotted margined blue areas are "Possible Future Reclamation".
The Singapore Blue Plan 2018
Pulau Semakau and nearby islands and submerged reefs have been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for Immediate Conservation Priority.
The Blue Plan recommends the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Semakau and adjacent Pulau Hantu, and Pulau Jong to be designated Marine Reserve.
DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.
Photos by others on this survey
