Cyrene in the dark

Although Cyrene lies in the middle of an industrial triangle, it still has some of Singapore's most amazing shores. A very large team surveys on a predawn low tide.

It was a relief to see that the Knobbly sea stars seem to have recovered from the mysterious injuries we saw in Feb 2026. The corals seem to be alright. Although most of the centre was bare sand, there is still lush seagrasses near the beacon area. But we sense the shore remains rather quiet. The rest of the team saw giant clams and other interesting marine life.  I will update when they have uploaded their photos.

Beting Bemban Besar after the storm

A small team head through the storm to survey this humungous submerged reef near the ongoing reclamation at Pulau Sudong. 

Photo by Richard Kuah

They make all kinds of special finds including Knobbly sea stars and many colourful marinelife commonly seen on our reefs. The corals and seagrasses seem alright. I had to skip this survey to attend another advocacy event. So much thanks to Richard for making sure the team was safe.

St John's Island still alive

Just minutes from the Central Business District, lies one of Singapore's last natural cliffs at St John's Island. The rocky shore and reef edge has corals. There are also seagrasses throughout, as well as rare mangrove trees on the untouched western shore, which is part of the Sisters Islands Marine Park.

A large team checks out the shores well before dawn. The corals seemed fine, seagrasses still doing well. As usual, the team make all the special finds: 'Nemo's and reef fishes, octopuses and Magnificent anemones. And slugs of all kinds.

Ubin rocks still alive

A small team surveys the living rocks and seagrass meadows next to Ubin Jetty. 

We started at Thomson's Rock which was sparsely 'painted' with colourful encrusting animals. And ended up at the shore opposite the old Civil Service Chalets, where the sea fans were much reduced. The rest of the team make all the special finds: flatworms of all kinds, lots of crabs.

Less starry at a Changi shore

I made a quick solo survey of sliver of Changi shore that is seldom done by the whole team. I surveyed in Jul 2025 following a break in May 2021. 

The seagrasses seem to be doing well in the less disturbed parts of the shore. But I saw fewer and smaller sea stars. The shore was affected by seawall works all of 2024. It doesn't seem to have recovered fully from this yet.

Pulau Tekukor is alive!

Just minutes from Sentosa Cove, lies the natural reefy rocky shores of Pulau Tekukor. Including last longest natural coastal cliff in Singapore.

The corals seems fine, and coastal forest looks good. As usual, the rest of the team make all the special finds: giant clams and more! I will update later.

Pulau Semakau (North) with 3 giant clams

Pulau Semakau (North) is close to the petrochemical plants of Pulau Bukom and yet has some great reefs. A full team survey today and find 3 giant clams, a seahorse, special sea anemones and more. 

The corals seem mostly alright although there are signs of stress in some colonies. The seagrasses remain sparse.

Mangroves growing on Pulau Hantu seawall still doing well

Today, I focused almost entirely on the mangroves growing on the artificial seawalls of Pulau Hantu. Such a joy to do this with another mangrove enthusiast - thanks Kwan Siong! Amazing to see the mangroves, reefs and all kinds of marine life just opposite the huge petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom.

We visited the large Nyireh laut growing on the seawall, and may have found another small treelet in the Southern lagoon. But sadly, someone had chopped all the saplings that settled on the Southern lagoon. My brief look suggest the corals are mostly alright. The rest of the team make all the special finds, I will update later.

Terumbu Hantu in the face of Sudong reclamation

Despite being next to petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom and surrounded by heavy vessel parking, this little gem with rich reefs is one of our favourite sites.

Today we survey within sight of the ongoing massive reclamation on Pulau Sudong. We are relieved to see the corals are still doing well. The rest of the team make all the special finds, I will update later.

Kusu Island still reefy, with Giant clams!

This rich reefs of Kusu Island lies just opposite the Central Business District, less than half an hour away by fast boat. A small team surveys the rich reefs that are now part of Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef. 

The corals are slowly recovering from the 2024 mass coral bleaching and we feel haven't quite returned to their former glory. This is quite worrying as we are expecting another round of mass coral bleaching next year. We also saw 3 giant clams and other fascinating finds. I will compile the rest of the team's finds later.

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.

East Coast NSRCC seagrassy too!

A quick solo trip to check up on the shore opposite NSRCC at East Coast Park.

We usually survey this shore as the tide turns, after we spend most of the low tide at the corals garden near the PCN. Today, for the first time in a long time, I spent the entire low tide window checking on the seagrasses here. 

Return to Buran bravely

Terumbu Buran is surrounded by strong currents. The last time we surveyed was in 2010, and I was so traumatised by landing and departure that I refused to ever go again. 

16 years later, Kok Sheng persuaded a few of us to return. I was still too scared to join them - the photo of them landing today still frightens me. But they saw corals hard and soft, a lot of corallimorphs and the usual marine life common on our rocky shores. Here's a compilation of their sightings.

Long tape seagrasses at Sentosa Palawan

There is a patch of long Tape seagrass growing at Sentosa Palawan! A nice surprise to see on an artificial beach and 'islet' facing the busy port! Sentosa is indeed a precious refuge for seagrasses and rare mangrove trees.

Over the weekend, the survey team and I also checked out the Great Sentosa exhibition at Vivocity. Once completed, Greater Sentosa is projected to attract about double the current 17 million visitors a year. I do hope our marine life will be given a chance to be a part of this Greater Sentosa. So hopefully it won't come to a point where we can only see Sentosa's rare plants and animals in a glass jar. 

More of my thoughts on Greater Sentosa at the end of this post. Which I have submitted as my feedback to the Greater Sentosa masterplan. Submit your feedback too here https://form.gov.sg/6a44c40969c66ca0ff78bbc6

Giant clam overdose on Terumbu Pempang Laut

This humungous submerged reef lies next to Jurong Island and major shipping lanes. And yet, it has seagrass meadows, corals and lots and lots of Giant clams.

Today, we also saw lots of dugong feeding trails, special anemones and the usual colourful marine life. The corals seem alright, and seagrasses remain the same.

Terumbu Raya in the face of Sudong reclamation

We return to Terumbu Raya East for the first time in 4 years! Although it lies just off the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom it is still very much alive. With sprinkles of corals and seagrasses.

The rest of the team saw sharks, sea turtles, special anemones and other marine life.

A restricted East Coast Park site continues to thrive

Corals have settled on a 2.5km long seawall at East Coast Park stretching to Marina Bay! Seagrass meadows carpet the lagoon behind the seawall, while mangroves settled on the breakwaters. This shore was hit by by mass coral bleaching and the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill in 2024.

Fortunately, we already noticed recovery in Nov 2025, which seems to be continuing today. Well formed corals were seen at the seawall, lush seagrass meadows on the artificial lagoon and mangroves growing on the seawall were doing well. Thanks for permission from agencies to survey this shore.

Artificial shores at Changi Bay are alive!

Thanks for to the tiny team of our Human Climbing Crabs for taking on the challenge to survey this large artificial shore that is quite hard to get to and slippery and tricky to survey. 

On the seawall, corals have settled naturally, and on the shallow berm, it seems even seagrasses have flourished with what seems to be a dugong feeding trail. An astonishing variety of marine life has settled here from colourful slugs to fishes, crabs and echinoderms.

Beting Bronok still alive

Our annual survey to this reefy northern flat is bitter-sweet. Like visiting our favourite grandma and watching her painfully, slowly fade away. I feel privileged to have seen her at her best.

Despite the ongoing reclamation works on Pulau Tekong nearby, and flaring at Penggerang Johor, it remains alive. Seagrasses remain abundant as much of the shore has become very soft and silty. The small patch rich with delicate colourful animals is still there although faltering a bit. The rest of the team spot special sea stars, sea horses, moray eel and many other interesting marine life. 

Two East Coast sites in one super low tide

On a very early super low tide, a small team surveyed Bedok Jetty AND East Coast Park Sailing Centre. These shores were impacted by the 2024 Pasir Panjang oil spill. It was a relief to see that they remain very much alive.

I returned to a small sand bar in front of a canal for the first time since 2009! And found seagrasses and special snails. I will update with the team observations, as usual, they make all the special finds.