A rare survey of the whole of Pulau Hantu as a large team heads out on a lovely evening low tide. Most covered the usual survey area of Hantu West, while a few checked out Hantu East which we seldom visit.
I saw a large patch of Branching montipora corals! Through the massive annual Sargassum bloom, I got glimpses of common corals, saw a patch of Sickle seagrass for the first time, and the usual reef life common on our Southern shores.
The rest of the team did our usual survey route of Hantu West which has a rich reefy area. Here's a glimpse of what Lon and Richard saw: special corals like mushroom corals, a wide variety of leathery soft corals, large sea urchins and clown anemonefish aka 'Nemo'! I will update on sightings again once the rest of the team have uploaded their photos.
Jianlin and I surveyed Hantu East, an area I haven't surveyed for many years. I started at the shallow sandy lagoon between Hantu Kecil and Hantu Besar, created through reclamation. Then headed south and east.
The original Hantu Besar is tiny (where the toilet currently is), and Hantu Kecil was a submerged reef. Massive reclamation in the late 1970s resulted in the seawalls and artificial lagoons that we see today. By 2010, more massive reclamation of submerged reefs nearby created the current huge Pulau Bukom complex. Screen shots from the
NUS Libraries Historical Maps of Singapore.
How delightful to come across a long stretch of
Branching montipora corals in the shallow lagoon. The patch was about 6m x 2m, with healthy corals. Among them clumps of sponges of all kinds.
In the shallow lagoon, I saw a Giant carpet anemone with 'Nemos'. There were also many Common sea stars, some in mating position. Elsewhere along my survey route I saw the usual common marine life. Spider conch, colourful crabs, lots of nerites on the seawall, a flatworm. There were also usual cnidarians like zoanthids of all kinds, frilly anemones - none of those I saw were bleaching.
Jianlin also surveyed Hantu East and saw special things that I missed. A large octopus, feather star on Barrel sponge, Bubble tip anemone, Cave corals, Very hairy hermit crab and Sally lightfoot crab.
Much of the reef edge was covered by a dense growth of Sargassum. It is normal for this brown seaweed to bloom during this time of the year.
Trying my best despite the Sargassum, from what I could see, there were mostly boulder shaped corals from large to small ones. Many of the large ones where flattened with mostly dead portions on the upper side and live portions only on the narrow edge. But I didn't see any that were bleaching.
I saw only sparse growths of seagrasses. For the first time for this location, I saw a tiny patch of
Sickle seagrass which looked fine. There were sparse sprinkles of
Spoon seagrass (tiny leaves) and some clusters of
Tape seagrass cropped very short.
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 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 of others on the survey
Richard KuahJianlin LiuLon Voon Ong
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