I make a quick survey at East Coast Park (Sailing Centre) to check for impact from the 400tonne
Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024, about two months ago.
Unlike
last month, I didn't see any oil slicks on the shore. The seagrasses are still there, and there is still life on the shore although fewer than last month. Compared to our last survey here before the oil spill in
May 2024, there were far fewer animals and many missing animals.
What a surprise to see two clumps of blue
sponge in the middle of the sand bar! Not sure what is happening here. On the sand bar, there were many
Oval moon snails and some large
sand collars, but no
Olive snails. I did see a handful of large
Cake sand dollars. I saw a few small burrowing anemones, but no
Haddon's carpet anemones. I didn't see any
Acorn worms. It was rather quiet in the seagrasses - there were still some common
hermit crabs, some
Gong gong snails, some small prawn and tiny fish. I saw one
Ghost crab but no swimming crabs. I didn't see any echinoderms today - no sea cucumbers, sea stars or brittle stars.
There is still lots of seagrass on the shore. Similar to
last month, they seem a little less dense, and the area near the pontoon is rather bare. There were still lots of seagrass growing along both sides of the long sandbar, and seagrasses still lush between the sand bar and the wall of the canal.
Needle seagrass (both narrow and broad leaf blades) and
Spoon seagrass (large leaf blades). I saw one small clumps of
Tape seagrass with long leaves and female flowers about to bloom. I didn't see other seagrass species, perhaps because the tide wasn't very low so I couldn't check out the lower shores.
There was a narrow band of oil only on the jetty leg on the highest shore. The rest of the legs appear clear of oil, and here, the usual crabs, snails, barnacles and encrusting animals were still alive on the legs.
Drills were laying egg capsules!
Unlike
last month, I didn't see any oil slicks on the shore and there wasn't a lot of dark sand in my footprints. On the high shore, only a bit of litter has been washed up. But on the low shore and further seaward, I saw more litter. I sense the patch of litter here is larger than what I saw
a month ago.
Among the litter were many single-use water cups, which commonly wash up on beaches along the ferry routes. These are not commonly used by beach goers or the local boating or fishing community. But these single-use water cups are apparently given out to passengers on ferries. It seems no facilities are provided at any of the piers/terminals under MPA's charge for vessels to responsibly dispose of trash generated during their operation. More in
this post.
High res photos of today's survey on
wildsingapore flickr.
What is the fate of this shore?East Coast shores slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the
Long-Term Plan Review. There were additional details, plans for a 'Long Island' opposite East Coast Park is now official. In addition to more reclamation along that shoreline, already unveiled in 2013.
Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were
recently announced to begin.Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the
Draft Master Plan 2013.
The Singapore Blue Plan 2018Check out the Sinapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the
Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.
See these and other East Coast shores for yourself. It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in
"East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family".
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| What the shore looks like in daylight. |
