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.

Ubin rocks are still alive!

Next to Pulau Ubin jetty there are living rocks and seagrass meadows. We started at Thomson's Rock and was rather disappointed that it was rather bare of sponges, and the sea fans around it were mostly half dead. This is similar to our last survey here in Jul 2024.

Could the huge fish farm located just off the shore have something to do with this? The oil leak from Langsat, Johor about 2 months ago probably didn't help - Changi and other shores in the East Johor Straits were impacted. Fortunately, sea fans and sponges were doing much better closer to the jetty. And we didn't see any coral bleaching. 

JTC to reclaim 49ha off Lorong Halus

No date has been set for the reclamation, as JTC is reviewing the findings and recommendations of the assessment, as well as feedback from the public about the report. The new land has been designated for industrial and special purposes in the Urban Redevelopment Authority Master Plan.

JTC said: “To enhance the biodiversity in the area, nature-based solutions will be assessed for suitable locations within the reclamation site. “Solutions being studied include creating a gentler shoreline slope or increasing its roughness and number of crevices to encourage intertidal and marine biodiversity growth.”

Expansion of aquaculture in East Johor Strait from 2026

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is planning to release farming spaces off Pasir Ris, Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. These spaces are now occupied by more than 30 open-cage fish farms. 

Little dots around P. Ubin and off Pasir Ris
are locations of current fish farms.

SFA said it would review the environmental impact assessment’s findings and feedback received from the public, and work with relevant stakeholders to minimise any potential environmental impacts of aquaculture development in the East Johor Strait.

East Johor Straits oil patch from Langsat Terminal, Johor (3 Apr 2025)

An oil patch was sighted in the eastern Johor Strait off the northeastern coast of Pulau Ubin on 3 Apr 2025 at around 7pm. Johor Port Authority confirmed an oil spill incident within Langsat Terminal, located near the mouth of the Johor River.

The Malaysian Environment department said low sulfur fuel oil was being transferred to a vessel at the Tanjung Langsat Port Terminal’s jetty when the leak occurred. Approximately 1.6m³ of oil spilled into the sea". From Free Malaysia Today 04 Apr 2025, 05:57 PM

For the latest updates, visit https://go.gov.sg/nparksnoticeboard

For daily updates on facebook, see this album on wildsingapore FB

A quarter of fish farms shut down in 2024

A quarter of fish farms shut down in 2024. They were given a year (July 2023 to June 2024) to take up an SFA support package of up to $100,000 to exit.

"Mr Wee, who had been farming for about 15 years, said he spent around $40,000 on disposing of his farm and the surveys, allowing him to pocket the remaining $60,000 as retirement savings."

Ubin living rocky shores with some bleaching

There are living rocky shores next to Pulau Ubin jetty. We started at Thomson's rock and was rather disappointed that it was rather bare of sponges, and the sea fans around it were mostly half dead.

Could the huge fish farm located just off the shore (dark blob on the right) have something to do with this? Fortunately, sea fans were doing much better closer to the jetty. Sadly, we saw coral bleaching.

Living rocky shore at Pulau Ubin

There are living rocky shores next to Pulau Ubin jetty. Today, we saw seafans, colourful sponges and other marine life here. But I sense, much fewer than on Changi shores nearby. 

Seagrasses still grow lush here, but I didn't see as many animals as I did at Changi. Could the huge fish farm located just off the shore have something to do with this?

26 Sep (Sat) is Ubin Day!

Today is  Ubin Day, the grand finale of two weeks of Pesta Ubin.

Check out the NParks YouTube channel for interesting talks throughout the day. If you missed the talk, just watch the videos.

29 Jun (Sat): Ubin Day

29 Jun (Sat) is Ubin Day, the grand finale of Pesta Ubin!

Lots of FREE activities, no registration required. Just come to Ubin and join the fun. Don't say Bo Jio! Here's what's lined up for you.

Rainbow Rocks at Pulau Ubin!

Under a rainbow on a drizzly morning we surveyed a rainbow of creatures on the rocks!

The rocks are still very much alive with colourful sponges and other critters. And there are also lush seagrasses here.

Bryozoan surveys, May 2019

Thanks to the team of Bryozoan experts for inviting me to join their survey for bryozoans in Singapore. We visited 4 shores and found lots of bryozoans.

I didn't really get a chance to survey the shores as usual, but here are some of things I observed. Thanks to Jianlin for leading the regular team on surveys of some of our shores at the same time.

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.

Pulau Ubin and northern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan

It appears the plan is for the northern coastline to remain rustic: from Sungei Buloh to Changi. It includes reassuring references to continued presence of wild mangroves at Pasir Ris and Khatib Bongsu; and Chek Jawa is mentioned as "one of Singapore's richest ecosystems".

Illustrative panel of the Greater Rustic Coast
at the Draft Master Plan exhibition. 

At Pulau Ubin, there is now no areas designated for agriculture use. But the reclamation profile on Pulau Ubin remains unchanged. And I remain worried about the Round Island Route which skirts close to the shoreline, particularly the area at the eastern tip of Pasir Ris Park and along the Changi coast.

Pollution in Pasir Gudang river north of Pulau Ubin

According to media articles, toxic fumes from chemical pollution on Sungai Kim Kim has closed two schools and sent more than 200 people to hospital. The river is just north of Pulau Ubin.

"The chemical pollution crisis at Sungai Kim Kim, which began last Thursday, worsened last night, as toxic fumes forced dozens more people to seek treatment at hospitals in the area. According to Bernama, the number of victims suffering breathing difficulties and vomiting from exposure to the chemical pollution, which had been mysteriously dumped in the river, rose to 207. 44 victims of the first incident on Thursday are still in hospital, with six still in the ICU.

Mangroves at Ah Mah's Drinkstall

The community came together to help rebuild Ah Mah's Drinkstall!

We hope to have some posters about the interesting mangroves around the Drinkstall. So Chay Hoon and I had a quick look this morning.

Pesta Ubin begins!

I had a great time as Pesta Ubin begins with a blast on Sunday!

The highlight was the Pesta Ubin WalkRunBike, with hundreds of participants. There was also a special walk by Strix Wildlife Consultancy, Kampung Games, a photobooth and more! Thanks to the many many volunteers from the Ubin community and beyond for organising these awesome activities!

Corallimorph Hunt Day 1: Pulau Ubin

Day 1 on the hunt for corallimorphs! A soggy survey at Pulau Ubin's awesome living rocky shores in the rain.

I'm so glad Ren Min is taking up the challenge of working on the corallimorphs of Singapore.

Living rocky shores of Pulau Ubin

We return to an underwater garden at Pulau Ubin on a rare daylight low tide.

It was a delight of seafans, sponges, soft corals and more!

Return of underwater garden at Pulau Ubin

The colourful underwater gardens on Pulau Ubin have returned!

Missing since 2015, it was a relief to see sea fans, feather stars and other colourful marine life on our favourite Ubin rocky shore.