Sunday with good net and bad net

A small team is back to remove more nets at the same spot on Pulau Ubin that we did in Dec 2011. Although it was good to see that there were no new nets in the area we cleared, there are still lots of nets just a few steps further down.

Andy, Marcus and Hussain working along
the same net entwined around mangrove roots.

Earlier in the day, I had a great time at the talk on using the internet for nature outreach.

Special anemone at Labrador

My first sighting on Labrador of this pretty sea anemone! Previously only recorded for St. John's Island for a long time, we saw it at Sentosa and now Labrador!

We were at Labrador to monitor seagrasses there as part of TeamSeagrass. We explored the shore as we waited for the tide to fall.

Removing huge driftnets at Pulau Ubin

Today, a small team bravely attempt to remove a huge pile of abandoned driftnets on Pulau Ubin.

The nets are badly entangled among mangrove tree roots and draped all over the shore.

Quick driftnet removal at Pulau Semakau

It's heartbreaking to find another abandoned driftnet tied to mangrove trees at Pulau Semakau.

We came across this stretch during a Mega Marine Survey of the mudflats here.

Living corals at Big Sisters Island, and two driftnets

The Sisters Islands have among our best reefs that ordinary people can visit. Here, I saw intriguing coral behaviour such as the long tentacles put out by this Carnation coral. The tentacles seem studded with  powerful stingers!

We also saw lots of fishes and sadly, also two driftnets.

Tuas: seagrass shift and very long driftnet

There is a tiny sliver of natural shore at Tuas teeming with marine life. My last visit to this shore was in April.

Particularly abundant are Thorny sea cucumbers (Colochirus quadrangularis), as well as Orange sea cucumbers.

Southern Semakau specials

Another glorious sunrise as a small team heads to clear abandoned driftnets at Pulau Semakau.

We arrive much earlier so we could also do a quick check of the shores.

Driftnet at Changi Beach

Several large fishes and many crabs were caught in a driftnet that we saw at Changi this morning.

We quickly got to work to document the animals trapped in the net and release the ones that were still alive.

Abandoned driftnet check at Mandai mangroves

A small team check Mandai mangroves for abandoned nets as part of Project Driftnet.

It was a lovely blue sky day but scorching hot! Turned out it was about 35degC! We baked in our full-length anti-mozzie gear!

Pulau Semakau checkup: corals, driftnets and more

A small team check Pulau Semakau for abandoned driftnets and traps this morning for Project Driftnet. It was also a chance for me to check up on the health of the reefs here.

We saw lots of interesting fishes, plants and also removed nets. It was a long but exciting day!

All-girl net removal at Pulau Semakau

Four females finally remove the abandoned driftnet that we have been seeing here.

The team was very small, the tide was higher than expected, the net was very long. But as things turned out, we managed to get the job done almost effortlessly!

Abandoned net at Kranji Nature Trail removed!

About 30 metres of thick abandoned nets entangle and choke the mangroves at Kranji Nature Trail.

Yesterday, a small team headed out to try to remove them.

Abandoned driftnet on Pulau Semakau

There is a very long abandoned driftnet on Pulau Semakau. After we finished doing our TeamSeagrass monitoring, Andy and I had a closer look at it.

Part of it was draped across a hard coral colony, the rope rubbing and killing the coral.

Driftnet removal at Sisters Island

Before I began exploring Sisters Island, I set to work on the driftnet that I came across while guiding there a few days ago.

The rather large clump of abandoned driftnets on Sisters Island.

Removing an abandoned driftnet takes time and is not something that can easily be done during a guided walk. So usually, a separate trip needs to be dedicated to retrieval.