I return to this very accessible shore for the first time in 2 years. A lot of rain worries me as there was
mass death on Chek Jawa following massive flooding in Johor due to heavy rain in Dec 2006.
I was relieved to see many common marine life that seemed to be okay. And saw possible signs of dugong as well as Ribbon seagrass for the first time here. My last survey here was in
Jul 21.
For the first time here, I saw furrows that might be
dugong feeding trails! Dugong feeding trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. We have seen similar signs at the nearby shore at
Carpark 7 in Jun 2023.
I worry when there is a lot of rain. In early 2007, there was
mass death on Chek Jawa following massive flooding in Johor due to heavy rain in Dec 2006. Large numbers of carpet anemones, sea cucumbers, sea stars, sponges and other marine life were found dead on Chek Jawa. Here's media reports and
related blog posts of the 2007 event.
Today, there were lots of
Thorny sea cucumbers and
Pink warty sea cucumbers washed up on the low water mark, and also dotting the seagrassy areas. I only saw a few that seemed sickly with white areas on their body. There were also some
Ball sea cucumbers unburied but seemingly okay. We saw one
Sea apple sea cucumber that seemed to be dying. Unlike my last survey here in
Jul 2021, I didn't see any sea stars or sea urchins. I saw only one small live
Cake sand dollar.
We saw a few small
Haddon's carpet anemones that were healthy. But also one that was uprooted and pale. But it wasn't bloated up. There were a few small
Spiky sea pens uprooted, some with the
porcelain crabs that are usually found living in these sea pens. Most seemed alright, but one medium sized one was rotting and had lost all its 'leaves'.
There's a big block of concrete on the shore which is a great place for sponges to settle. Indeed, there were many colourful sponges there. Which is great, because during the 2007 mass death at Chek Jawa, all the sponges melted. I couldn't find any nudibranchs (which eat sponges) but Jiajun found one nudibranch floating in the water. It wasn't lively and looked like it was dying.
There are nice stretches of sandy shores here. Most animals on the sandy shore are buried. There were lots of
tubeworms, we saw some
Moon snails, a
Weasel olive snail. But I didn't come across
Button snails like I did on my last survey in
Jul 21.
The tide was not very low today. But still, I saw abundant
Needle seagrass (narrow leaf blades) on the higher shores, with a lot of lush
Spoon seagrass (large leaf blades) on the lower shores. I didn't see any
Fern seagrass but came across a small patch (2m x 2m) of
Smooth ribbon seagrass.
What is the fate of these shores?
There doesn't seem to be a change in 2013 plans to reclaim all of Pasir Ris, all of Changi from Carpark 1 to Carpark 7 and beyond, and reclaim Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu. These appear to remain in place in the
Long-Term Plan Review. Including plans for a road link that starts at Pasir Ris, crosses to Pulau Ubin, right across Chek Jawa to Pulau Tekong, and back to the mainland at Changi East.
See Changi shores for yourself before it's gone!They are easy to get to, and enjoyed by many people. It remains rich in marine life. More details in
"Changi - an easy intertidal adventure for the family".
So nice to see families on the shore, and others enjoying the shores with kite surfing. Despite the gloomy weather, we avoided being rained on!
More photos by others on this surveyMuhd Nasry
