Pulau Sekudu with dugong feeding trails

A small team surveys this untouched island that lies opposite Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin. We survey in the dark and end as the tide turns at sunrise. Pulau Sekudu is off limits since 2007 and requires special permission from NParks.

I saw dugong feeding trails again! The team make all the special finds including seahorse, stonefish. I will update with their sightings later.

Similar to our last survey in May 2025, colourful sponges, sea fans and some soft corals still dot the coral rubble. I still sense the sponges are not as abundant and their diversity is lower. But there were some good clumps of well formed sponges. The 'nudi rocks' were colourful with sponges too.

The team is diligently counting Knobbly sea stars - I saw 9. Will compile all their sightings soon. Sadly, Biscuit sea stars have been missing from Pulau Sekudu since Jul 2020 and today, I only saw one tiny one. But there were many Synaptid sea cucumbers, a large Garlic bread sea cucumber too. I saw a few White sea urchins, one Diadema sea urchin. When we arrived, we saw a large empty shell of what seems to be a Triton snail - we suspect it used in some shore-side religious or cultural ritual, and got lost. Jonathan also showed me a Ramose murex which we also saw on our last survey.

I saw many soft corals and other cnidarians, they seemed alright. The most abundant remains Haddon's carpet anemones. I saw one Swimming anemone. There were also a variety of small sea fans, many with large dead portions. I saw some small colonies of Flowery soft corals, and also some sea pens.

Similar to our last survey in May 2025, I saw about 15 small to medium sized Boulder pore corals, on the arm of the lagoon. None of them were bleaching but some had large dying (bluish grey) tissue and dead parts at the top. Most small colonies were perfectly well formed. I saw patches of Zebra coral on rubble and even a glass bottle. Also a Disk coral. But I didn't come across the Pock-marked coral colony and Boulder sandpaper coral colony that I had in the past.

Was glad to see many clear dugong feeding trails again today, though a bit challenging to photograph in the dark. These trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. Although we have seen feeding trails on Chek Jawa , I only saw them for first time on Pulau Sekudu on our last survey in May 2025.

As on our last survey in May 2025, seagrasses remain lush, green and clean (no epiphytes)! Lots of Spoon seagrass (both small and large leaf blades) and Needle seagrass (narrow and broad leaf blades). There were sprinkles of Fern seagrass at the eastern most edge of the island. The Serrated ribbon seagrass are still growing in sparse patches from the mid-water mark to the low tide line. On the arm of the lagoon, I saw several clumps of Tape seagrass with leaves cropped to about 30cm. None were flowering.

Fortunately, today we didn't come across any fish traps or nets.

What is the fate of Pulau Sekudu?

Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu is slated for reclamation in the Long-Term Plan Review. The plan includes a road link (black line) from the mainland jumping off at Punggol, crossing to Pulau Ubin through Chek Jawa to jump off to Pulau Tekong before circling back to the mainland on Changi East. Proposed reclamation (in yellow) will bury Pasir Ris shores, Pulau Sekudu and Chek Jawa as well as a large stretches of Changi Beach.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Among the Proposed Areas for Immediate Conservation Priority, the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 proposes that the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Ubin to be designated Marine Reserve.

Dugong feeding trails in the dark.

The proposed area would include Tanjung Chek Jawa, the largest known intertidal area in northern Singapore. Considered one of the richest in Singapore, Chek Jawa comprises many adjacent ecosystems: coastal hill forest, mangrove areas, rocky shores, seagrass meadows, coral communities, and sandy areas. Chek Jawa remains an icon of celebration and hope for many Singaporeans since its reprieve from reclamation in 2001.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.