Although Pulau Hantu lies just across the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom, there are living reefs and even mangroves here.
The last 3 surveys here, we were hit by fierce storms and rain. Today, we saw a Burrowing giant clam, lots of healthy corals and other interesting marine life on a sunny day!
This is the first time since
Apr 2021 that I could get to the reef edge in clear weather! So glad that there remains lots of mushroom corals of all kinds here.
I was particularly glad to see 7
Sunflower mushroom corals (rarely seen on our shores), up from 3 in
Apr 2021. On the reef edge, the large colonies of
Anemone corals are still there, although there appears to be many dead patches in the field of
Galaxy corals. I also saw healthy colonies of
Anchor corals and other special corals that were seen in here in the past such as
Branching horn corals. The tide was not very low, so I couldn't reach the very edge of the reef. In the northern lagoon, I even saw some
Acropora corals. Most of the corals I saw seemed healthy.
There were many
leathery soft coral various kinds, although the colonies seemed smaller than in the past, and I saw some forming a 'skin' that was peeling off - perhaps nothing unusual and just a way for the animals to get rid of sediments? Also many
Asparagus flowery soft corals. I didn't see any that were bleaching, though some were a rather odd pastel colour. I did come across several patches of pale
zoanthids.
Che Cheng spotted a
Burrowing giant clam!
It was nice to see a
Haeckel's anemone again on this shore, although I've never seen one this colour before. There was also a green
Magnificent anemone with a shrimp in it and Marcus found a
Fire anemone. I was glad to see
Common sea stars, which are no longer that common on our shores. There were many
Giant carpet anemones. The rest of the team also saw other interesting marine life.
There wasn't much seagrass in the northern lagoon and the
Tape seagrass there were still cropped very short to medium length. Near the mouth of the lagoon, there was widespread growth of scummy epiphytes, even on bare sand. I didn't check up on the mangroves growing on the seawall today as I already had a close look at them in
May 2023.
Unfortunately, we came across a series of traps on the richest reefiest part of the shore.
What is the fate of Pulau Hantu?Pulau Hantu and all the terumbus west of it are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the
Long-Term Plan Review. Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten.
The Singapore Blue Plan 2018Pulau 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 surveyChe Cheng NeoMarcus NgFiora Li
