Kusu still alive!

This rich reefs of Kusu Island lies just opposite the Central Business District, less than half an hour away by fast boat. The team arrives just before sunrise to check on the mass coral bleaching that we saw here in Aug 2024 and  Jun 2024.

We find the corals seem to be recovering and also encounter two Giant clams, cone snails and other interesting marine life!

St John's and Kusu Island public jetties closed from 24 Apr 2025

The public jetties at St John's Island and Kusu Island will be closed from 24 Apr 2025 possibly for a year. 

During this period, St John’s Island and Kusu Island remain accessible to the public via alternative jetties. Visitors can access St John’s Island and Kusu Island via Seringat jetty and Kusu Island main jetty, respectively.

Majority of Singapore’s corals have recovered from 2024 Mass Coral Bleaching

Peak bleaching was in July 2024, with about 44 per cent of coral colonies surveyed reported to have been bleached, according to Associate Professor Huang Danwei, deputy head of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. Extensive bleaching was observed at Pulau Hantu, Pulau Satumu, Kusu Island and Sisters’ Islands, according to Coral scientist Jani Tanzil, the facility director at St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML).

Mass Coral Bleaching at Kusu Island, Jun 2024

“Most bleached corals that survived the marine heatwave seem to also have recovered by November 2024, with its rate of recovery similar to previous bleaching events – at least for the corals we’ve been monitoring, which are mostly at Kusu Island,” added Dr Tanzil.

On whether the series of oil spills and leaks since June 2024 have affected the recovery of coral reefs around Singapore from the bleaching incident, Dr Tanzil said that the corals have likely “escaped the immediate brunt of it”. However, long-term impacts are still inconclusive.

“(The oil spills) largely occurred not during low tides when corals would be exposed in the splash zone and to the floating oil layer. Speedy clean-up efforts have also mitigated impacts,” she said.

Update on mass coral bleaching at Kusu Island

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 returns to check on the mass coral bleaching that we saw here in Jun 2024.

Today, we estimate less bleaching - 10% of hard corals, few leathery soft coral. But we estimate about 60% of hard corals are dead and there seems to be fewer and smaller leathery small colonies. However, the shore remains very much alive and the team spot special animals.

Mass coral bleaching at Kusu Island

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 do a health check specifically for mass coral bleaching which was expected and seems to have started to affect some of our shores. We estimate about 20% of hard corals were outright bleaching while about 40% of soft corals were bleaching or very stressed. Kelvin took drone views that with amazing details help assess the extent of mass coral bleaching.

Singapore's second marine park: past, present and future

Plans for Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef were announced on 9 May 2024.

Overlooking the Central Business District,
the rich reef edge of Kusu Island can be seen at the lowest tides.

Kusu Island indeed has some of the best reefs that the public can visit. While Lazarus Island has one of our largest coastal forests on natural cliffs and rocky shores. Here's a look at the islands' past, present and future.

Kusu Island with sea krait!

This rich shore lies just opposite the Central Business District, less than half an hour away by fast boat.

The reefs seem to be well and the team get a rare glimpse of a Yellow-lipped sea krait, cone snail and other interesting marine life.

Splendid Kusu Island

There is a rich reef edge on Kusu Island facing the Central Business District! It only takes a few minutes by fast boat to reach. 

A collage of photos shared by the team.
Links to their albums below.

Here, the survey team saw delicate Plate montipora corals, Acropora corals, Boulder horn coral as well as many other commonly seen corals.

Kusu Island doing well

This rich shore lies just opposite the Central Business District and only takes a few minutes by fast boat to reach. Here, I often see the delicate corals that are less commonly seen elsewhere.

The corals are looking very well! The rest of the team also saw otters, Giant clam, cone snail.

Rich reefs of Kusu Island with some dying corals

This rich shore lies just opposite the Central Business District and only takes a few minutes by fast boat to reach. Here, I often see the delicate corals that are less commonly seen elsewhere.

Today, I didn't see any mass coral bleaching, and most of the corals I saw were alright. But many Boulder pore corals seemed to be dying with rotting tissues that was probably the source of the faint smell of rotting fish at the reefs. It was nice to see a Fluted giant clam, long Tape seagrass, and other usual reef life.

Kusu Island pilgrimage 17 Oct to 19 Nov 2020

Due to COVID, only 500 people will be allowed per day during the annual Kusu Pilgrimage from 17 Oct to 19 Nov 2020.  Ferry services will continue to St John's Island during the period. But expect delays due to crowd control measures at Marine South Pier. Parking at the Pier is likely to be limited.

Check out Jerome Lim's awesome blog post for a glimpse into the history behind Kusu Island and the pilgrimage.

Rich reefs at Kusu Island with some coral bleaching

Dr Jani Tanzil alerted us that mass coral bleaching may have started on our shores since the second week of June. So we are on the look out for this during our annual survey of the rich reefs of Kusu Island.

Today, I estimate about 5% of the hard corals that I saw are bleaching, with an additional 20% showing stress (paler than usual or with bleaching portions) or with recently dead patches. Some parts of this shore have large patches of leathery soft corals. About 5% of these were outright bleaching (white), while about 40% were more yellow than usual. The situation wasn't as bad as what I saw during mass coral bleaching in 2016.

Amazing living reefs of Kusu Island

Minutes from the Central Business District are the living reefs of Kusu Island! We survey it well before dawn, with the lights of mainland Singapore on the horizon.

The corals are doing well and seagrasses too! The rest of the team had awesome sightings: Giant clam, cone snails, moray eel, special stingray, feather stars and more. Unfortunately, I came across a large fish trap laid on living corals.

All islands cleared of asbestos and open to the public

"All asbestos waste on the islands managed by SLA has been cleared safely" says the Singapore Land Authority in media articles. They are now open to the public again.

Pulau Hantu Kecil

SLA said that the asbestos "most likely" came from roof sheets, and was discovered in April 2018 by their contractors during maintenance and upgrading works on St John's Island. Since then, the following islands have been checked for and cleared of asbestos: Pulau Hantu, Kusu Island, Seringat-Kias, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Ubin.

Christmas corals at Kusu Island

Minutes from the Central Business District are the living reefs of Kusu Island!

We surveyed the amazing rich reef edge on Christmas Day! It was great to see the reefs were doing well.

Our Crazy Rich Shores: Kusu Island

Just 15 minutes from Singapore's main business district, are crazy rich reefs of Kusu Island.

At super low spring tides (which tend to happen before dawn), we get a brief glimpse of the amazing marine life found here. Kusu Island is also rich in history.

Kusu Island pilgrimage 9 Oct to 7 Nov 2018

The annual Kusu Pilgrimage is from 9 Oct to 7 Nov 2018. This year, it seems the ferries will continue to go to St John's Island during the period. But parking at Marina South Pier continues to be limited.

Check out Jerome Lim's awesome blog post for a glimpse into the history behind the island and the pilgrimage.

Kusu shores closed after asbestos found

According to media articles, traces of asbestos, a hazardous material, have been discovered on Kusu Island, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said on Friday (May 4) after a similar discovery on St John's Island over a week ago.

Dotted yellow line indicates areas still open to the public.
Photo from Channel NewsAsia

Meanwhile, survey work on Pulau Hantu is expected to be completed by next week. SLA declared Lazarus Island, Pulau Seringat and Kias Island to be free of the hazardous material thus far.

Pilgrimage to Kusu Island

Singapore's islands are rich with history and heritage too. The pilgrimage to Kusu Island is among the first 50 items identified for UNESCO listing.

Where is Kusu Island? What are the stories behind it? And how can you contribute YOUR stories?

Kusu Pilgrimage Season: 20 Oct - 17 Nov 2017

Limited parking and expect boarding delays at Marina South Pier for other Southern Island destinations during this traditional season. The regular ferry to St. John's Island will be suspended during this period.

Traditionally happening on the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, 100,000 devotees and visitors are expected to make the pilgrimage to tiny Kusu Island.