wild shores of singapore

"Condos for Fish" at Pulau Hantu

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 23:33:00 +0000

To encourage the return of fish life, artificial structures made of concrete blocks, called fish houses, were deployed at the base of sea walls at five different sites at Pulau Hantu.

“This study provides more technical information on how fish houses deployed near sea walls can be designed to support higher fish diversity, which can be incorporated into future coastal defence construction,” said Dr Daisuke Taira.

Said NUS Associate Professor Peter Todd, who conceived the study on the fish houses: “As coastlines around the world are increasingly modified by urbanisation and the need to defend against sea level rise, it is vital that we find ways to mitigate some of the worst effects.”

Singapore researchers are bringing life back to urban areas
Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 6 Jan 2025

SINGAPORE - Decades of development have turned Singapore from a lush island and fishing village into a thriving metropolis, although it lost much of its nature along the way.

But various research groups are now embarking on studies to coax wildlife back to Singapore’s urbanised land and coastal areas, through vertical greenery or underwater structures known as “fish houses”, which can provide a habitat for these animals.

Such work comes amid a global push for countries to halt the rapid decline of nature.

Under the Global Biodiversity Framework – an international treaty under the UN that aims to stop, even reverse, nature’s decline – countries have pledged to restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people by 2030.

The findings by researchers here could not only help to make urban Singapore a conducive home for both humans and animals, but also offer solutions for other areas grappling with the loss of biodiversity due to development.

Said NUS Associate Professor Peter Todd, who conceived the study on the fish houses: “As coastlines around the world are increasingly modified by urbanisation and the need to defend against sea level rise, it is vital that we find ways to mitigate some of the worst effects.”

Condos for fish

About 70 per cent of Singapore’s coastline is currently guarded by hard structures, including sea walls, which help to protect land and infrastructure from erosion caused by waves and tides.

This has resulted in the loss of fish habitats such as coral reefs and mangrove forests, said the researchers from the NUS’ Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, whose study was published in April 2024 in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

To encourage the return of fish life, the researchers in October 2019 deployed artificial structures made of concrete blocks, called fish houses, at the base of sea walls at five different sites at Pulau Hantu, one of Singapore’s southern islands.

“Sea walls and other concrete coastal infrastructure are usually designed in a very uniform way and are structurally very simple, but marine animals need places to hide, find shelter, rest and more,” said Dr Daisuke Taira, a research fellow at NUS involved in the study.

“Such grey infrastructure destroyed their habitats, so with the fish houses, we are trying to do something to mitigate the impacts for the fish to come back and utilise these habitats.”

Mother Nature is an unconventional architect, and natural ecosystems, such as coral reefs and mangroves, have a dizzying array of nooks and crannies for the animals that depend on them to hide in or find food.

Having a wider variety of sizes, shapes, types and arrangements of such features provide unique opportunities for different fishes to utilise these habitats. This is known among ecologists as “habitat complexity”.

In a coral reef, for example, hard corals and their different growth forms – some have branches, others look like plates, while others grow big and massive – provide a highly complex environment that can support fish, sea slugs, crustaceans and many other creatures.

Mangrove forests also have tangled webs of roots that provide little pockets of space for fish to rest or hide in.

But degraded habitats and man-made coastal defences typically lack the variety of features found in natural shores, said the researchers, who said that creating microhabitats is important to enhance biodiversity.

To investigate what types of artificial structures are most effective at attracting the return of fish life, the research team tested three different fish house designs of varying complexity – in terms of their shapes and the size of holes within each block.

The most simple fish house design involved 27 concrete blocks stacked up in the shape of a cube, and had 100 holes measuring 6.25cm by 6.25cm.

The more complex design was still cube-shaped, but had 100 holes of 25 different dimensions.

The most complex “freestyle” design was non-cuboid in nature, with the concrete blocks stacked in different shapes. It has holes of different dimensions and other habitat features to mimic little tunnels or crevices in a coral reef or rock.

All three designs were deployed at each of the five sites at Pulau Hantu, and were monitored with underwater cameras and through visual surveys.

The researchers found that of the three design types, the most complex fish house helped to accommodate greater fish diversity.

Study co-author Rachel Mark, who was an NUS undergraduate at the time of study, said the aim of the study was to find out what types of spaces fishes need, so they can be deployed to the sea wall area to attract fish diversity.

The researchers found that the two cube-shaped fish house designs attracted about 27 fish species, while the most complex freestyle fish house design drew in more species of fishes, and in greater numbers.

For example, the freestyle houses attracted more piscivorous fish, or fish that feed on other fish, such as the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus). This could be due to the presence of microhabitats with large openings which could have attracted large fishes by providing them space to find food and ambush their prey, said the researchers.

Detritivorous fish, which refer to fish that feed on dead or decaying plants or animals, such as the blue-barred parrotfish (Scarus ghobban), were also found in higher numbers in the freestyle houses.

The most complex houses also attracted uniquely shaped fishes, including the elongated green wolf eel (Congrogadus subducens), deep-bodied copperband butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus), and the vermiculated angelfish (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus) – possibly due to the bigger holes in the structure, the researchers said.

The study also showed that fishes use the fish houses for different reasons in the day and at night.

During the day, they typically enter the fish houses to find food and sometimes rest or ambush other fish. The time spent in the fish houses is also short – about a few seconds to 30 minutes, and they prefer spaces larger than them as they search for food.

At night, they primarily use it for resting, which largely explains why they spend a longer time in there and in smaller spaces with less visual exposure where they can snugly fit their body to avoid predators.

Dr Taira and Ms Mark said the findings showed that the effectiveness of fish houses depended on their design.

“This study provides more technical information on how fish houses deployed near sea walls can be designed to support higher fish diversity, which can be incorporated into future coastal defence construction,” said Dr Taira.

'A few tonnes' oil leak at Pulau Bukom on 27 Dec 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:59:00 +0000

"A few tonnes of the refined oil products were leaked" from Pulau Bukom's refinery.

Shell has laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants. No oil patches are currently observed in the vicinity of Pulau Bukom. MPA and Shell have deployed cleaning boats to clean up light oil sheens observed off Bukom Island, using both dispersants and absorbent booms.

The agencies are closely monitoring the situation, and have deployed satellites and drones for surveillance.

“As a precaution, oil absorbent booms will be laid at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa,” they added.

Shell Shuts Down an Oil Processing Unit at Pulau Bukom to Investigate Leak
Media Release 27 Dec 2024

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) were informed by Shell that they have shut down one of its oil processing units at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park at Pulau Bukom, to facilitate investigation into a suspected leak in the system.

2. The oil processing unit is used to produce refined oil products such as diesel. Water drawn from the sea is used as part of the process to cool the refined oil products in the unit.

3. Shell estimated that a few tonnes[1] of the refined oil products were leaked, together with the cooling water discharge.

4. Shell has laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is being discharged. The in-built oil skimmer system in the channel has also been activated. Containment and absorbent booms have been laid at the mouth of the channel, to prevent residual oil leaked from spreading into the sea. No oil patches are currently observed in the vicinity of Pulau Bukom.

5. MPA and Shell have deployed boats to clean up light oil sheens observed off Pulau Bukom using both dispersants and absorbent booms.

6. Agencies are closely monitoring the situation and have deployed satellites and drones for surveillance. As a precaution, oil absorbent booms will be laid at Sisters' Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa.

7. Navigational traffic in the area is not affected. There is no impact to bunkering operations in the Port of Singapore.

8. Further updates will be provided if there are significant developments. NEA is investigating the incident with MPA and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered.
<End>
[1] The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) categorises oil spills of less than 7 tonnes as small.

Suspected oil leak at Shell's refinery at Pulau Bukom; containment measures taken to prevent spread
Shell estimates that a few tonnes of oil were leaked from its refinery at Pulau Bukom.
ChannelNewsAsia 27 Dec 2024

SINGAPORE: Shell has shut down an oil processing unit at Pulau Bukom to facilitate investigations into a suspected leak in the system, government agencies said in a joint statement on Friday (Dec 27).

The oil processing unit at the Shell Energy and Chemical Parks is used to produce refined oil products such as diesel. Water drawn from the sea is used as part of the process to cool the refined oil products in the unit.

“Shell estimated that a few tonnes of the refined oil products were leaked, together with the cooling water discharge,” said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).

Shell said in a separate statement that oil sheens were spotted alongside a wharf on Thursday at the facility on Pulau Bukom.

“This is suspected to be from one of the oil processing units, resulting in some of the refined oil products to be released into the water,” said the company, adding that “emergency response specialists” have been activated to manage the situation.

Shell has laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is being discharged. The in-built oil skimmer system in the channel has also been activated.

“Containment and absorbent booms have been laid at the mouth of the channel, to prevent residual oil leaked from spreading into the sea. No oil patches are currently observed in the vicinity of Pulau Bukom,” said the agencies.

MPA and Shell have deployed boats to clean up light oil sheens observed off Pulau Bukom using both dispersants and absorbent booms.

The agencies said they are closely monitoring the situation and have deployed satellites and drones for surveillance.

As a precaution, oil absorbent booms will be laid at Sisters' Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa.

“Navigational traffic in the area is not affected. There is no impact to bunkering operations in the Port of Singapore,” they added.

“Further updates will be provided if there are significant developments. NEA is investigating the incident with MPA and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered.”

Shell said the health and safety of its employees and the environment were its "top priority" and that it was working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

Shell shuts down oil processing unit on Bukom Island to investigate suspected leak
The suspected leak could involve an oil processing unit at the Shell Energy and Chemical Parks on Bukom Island.
Gabrielle Andres Straits Times 27 Dec 2024

SINGAPORE – British petrochemical giant Shell has shut down one of its oil processing units on Bukom Island to investigate a suspected leak, and has informed the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA), the authorities said on Dec 27.

The oil processing unit, located at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park, is used to produce refined oil products such as diesel, said MPA, NEA, the National Parks Board and Sentosa Development Corporation in a joint statement on Dec 27.

Water drawn from the sea is used to cool the refined oil products in the unit.

Shell estimated that a few tonnes of the refined oil products were leaked – together with the cooling water discharged, the agencies said.

This leak came after more than 30 tonnes of slop – a mixture of oil and water – were leaked into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kechil from a land-based Shell pipeline on Oct 20. Shell is still under probe for taking more than seven hours to notify the authorities about this incident.

Following the latest leak, Shell has laid containment and absorbent booms, as well as sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is being discharged, the agencies said. The in-built oil skimmer system in the channel was also activated.

No oil patches are currently observed in the vicinity of Bukom Island, the agencies said.

MPA and Shell have deployed cleaning boats to clean up light oil sheens observed off Bukom Island, using both dispersants and absorbent booms.

The agencies are closely monitoring the situation, and have deployed satellites and drones for surveillance.

“As a precaution, oil absorbent booms will be laid at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa,” they added.

Navigational traffic in the area is not affected, and there is no impact to bunkering operations in the Port of Singapore.

“NEA is investigating the incident with MPA and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered,” the agencies added.

In the incident on Oct 20, Shell said the oil from its land-based pipeline spilt into a holding area but some overflowed into the water channel between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.

The leak started at about 5.30am on Oct 20, with MPA alerted at about 1pm.

At about 3pm, the leak was stopped, and clean-up operations were completed on Oct 29.

Oil leak at Shell’s Pulau Bukom refinery stopped, clean-up of oil sheens completed
Shell is trying to locate the source of the leak at its oil processing unit.
ChannelNewsAsia 28 Dec 2024

SINGAPORE: The oil leak at Shell's refinery at Pulau Bukom has stopped and clean-up of oil sheens spotted off the island has been completed, government agencies said in a joint statement on Saturday (Dec 28).

Shell previously said that some of its refined oil products were released into the water due to a suspected leak at an oil processing unit on Pulau Bukom.

Oil sheens were spotted alongside a wharf on Thursday at the Shell Energy and Chemical Parks, prompting authorities to put containment measures in place.

It was estimated that a few tonnes of refined oil products were leaked, together with the cooling water discharge.

No more oil was observed going into the cooling water discharge channel after Shell shut down its oil processing unit on Friday, the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the National Parks Board (NParks) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said on Saturday.

"Efforts by Shell to locate the source of the leak in the oil processing unit are ongoing," they added.

CONTAINMENT MEASURES

Giving a timeline of events, the government agencies said on Saturday that the oil sheens were discovered by Shell at around 9.30am on Thursday, and were reported to MPA and NEA at 11.58am and 1.15pm respectively.

An MPA craft reached the site of the incident at 12.15pm to assess the situation and to provide support.

"Initial assessments on Dec 26 (Thursday) determined the scale of oil sheens to be minor, with no risk to public safety or environmentally sensitive areas, given the containment measures Shell had implemented," the agencies said.

Shell laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is discharged.

MPA deployed three patrol craft on Friday when Shell requested support to speed up the cleaning of the oil sheens off Pulau Bukom.

There have been no sightings of oil sheens or oil patches in the waters off Sentosa, and its beaches remain open for water activities, said the agencies.

However, as a precaution, oil-absorbent booms have been laid at Sisters' Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa.

"NEA is investigating the incident with MPA, and actions will be taken if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered," said the agencies.

In a separate statement, Shell said on Saturday that it would continue to work closely with the authorities to monitor the situation.

"We continue to cooperate with the authorities on the investigations, and learn from this incident to improve our safety performance," it said.

Shell's facility on Pulau Bukom is its only energy and chemicals park in Asia.

The affected oil processing unit is used to produce refined oil products such as diesel. Water drawn from the sea is used as part of the process to cool the refined oil products in the unit.

"The leak in Shell’s oil processing unit is a different system from Shell's earlier slop pipeline leak on Oct 20," said the agencies, referring to the incident where about 30 to 40 metric tonnes of "slop" - a mixture of oil and water - leaked from a Shell land-based pipeline into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.

Shell was being investigated for allegedly taking more than seven hours to notify the authorities about the leak on Oct 20. NEA had also directed Shell to carry out a comprehensive pipeline integrity check across their Bukom plant.

Clean-up efforts completed after oil leak off Bukom Island, MPA and NEA investigating incident
Aqil Hamzah Straits Times 28 Dec 2024

SINGAPORE – Clean-up efforts in the wake of an oil leak in the waters off Bukom Island have been completed, the authorities said.

In a joint statement, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and National Parks Board said efforts by British petrochemical giant Shell to locate the source of the leak in the oil processing unit are ongoing.

The statement said: “Additional containment and absorbent booms have been laid in the channel and at the mouth of the channel as precautionary measures... Absorbent booms at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and the beaches on Sentosa have been laid as a precautionary measure.

“There have been no sightings of oil sheens or oil patches in the waters off Sentosa, and its beaches remain open for water activities.”

It added that the oil was no longer observed entering the cooling water discharge channel.

A few tonnes of refined oil products produced at an oil processing unit at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park leaked on Dec 26, prompting Shell to shut the unit down temporarily.

On the same day, it found oil sheens off Bukom Island at about 9.30am. The incident was then reported to the MPA at 11.58am and to the NEA at 1.15pm.

An MPA craft arrived at the scene at 12.15pm to assess the situation and provide support.

The scale of the oil leak was determined to be minor on Dec 26, “with no risk” to public safety or environmentally sensitive areas, owing to the measures that Shell had implemented, the statement said.

The measures included laying absorbent and containment booms, spraying dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is being discharged and activating an inbuilt oil skimmer system.

MPA sent three patrol craft on Dec 27, as Shell had asked for help in speeding up the clean-up efforts.

NEA and MPA are jointly conducting a probe into the incident, and will take action if any wrongdoing or lapse is found, the statement said.

Earlier in 2024, Shell was involved in an oil leak when about 30 to 40 tonnes of oil and water leaked from a land-based pipeline on Oct 20 into the waters straddling Bukom Island and Bukom Kechil.

Shell alerted the authorities to the oil leak later that day at about 1pm – more than seven hours after the leak was found at 5.30am. Clean-up operations were completed on Oct 29, and the reasons for the delay in reporting the leak are still under probe.

About a week after that incident, five tonnes of oil flowed into the sea on Oct 28 during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a bunker tanker off Changi.

In June, Singapore experienced its worst oil spill in a decade after a dredging boat hit a stationary cargo tanker in Pasir Panjang Terminal, resulting in more than 400 tonnes of oil leaking into nearby waters.

Oil slicks spread to the waters near Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa, East Coast Park, the Southern Islands and Changi, requiring massive clean-up efforts that lasted about three months.

More than 800 cleaning personnel and 2,300 volunteers took to the beaches before the last dredges of the oil spill were cleared in September – marked by the reopening of Tanjong Beach in Sentosa.Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology.

from NParks facebook post

from NParks facebook post 28 Dec 2024.

Pasir Ris rare mangrove tree still okay

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 23:24:00 +0000

A tiny team surveys Pasir Ris, an accessible and well visited shore. But it remains rich in a variety of marine life and is home to the last large specimen of a rare mangrove tree on the mainland.

A small team finds the tree still standing! The seagrasses and shores are also well.

There is a small patch mangroves near the mouth of Sungei Loyang. This is home to the beautiful Bakau mata buaya, listed as 'Critically Endangered' not just in Singapore but globally too! It is now the last large Bakau mata buaya on the mainland (the one at Sungei Buloh is dead). The situation is similar to our last surveys in Jun 2023, Oct 2020 and Jan 2020. The tree is still standing. The embankment behind the tree has eroded away, but the base of the tree looks strong and healthy. I couldn't see any flowers on the tree. There some calyx on the ground. There wasn't much litter accumulated near the tree.

This tiny patch of mangroves seems to be doing well. The mud is nice and soft and smelly. There are lots of little saplings everywhere. The big trees are doing well. There seems to be less trash than usual.

After the mangroves, a stretch of sandy shores and lush seagrass meadows extend at the mouth of Sungei Loyang. Mostly Spoon seagrass with both small and large leaves, growing particularly thickly on the soft silty edges away from the shore. I saw a small patch of Needle seagrass (forgot to take a photo). Unfortunately, I saw many patches of bleaching seagrasses.

The edge of the shore is a little soft! But good to see many healthy Haddon's carpet anemones. Also small horseshoe crabs. Lots of fiddler crabs on the sandy areas. And animals that are common in seagrass meadows: Garlic bread sea cucumbers, some Pink warty sea cucumbers. But only some Sand stars - we saw many different sea stars on our last survey here in Jun 2023. There were also cerianthids and sea pens, Window pane shells, fan clams and of course, hermit crabs. The team also spot a well camouflaged nudibranch Hypselodoris nodulosa.

Unfortunately, there is still a lot of litter accumulated on the seaward edge of the mangroves and on the low shore. As well as abandoned fishing nets.

What is the fate of Pasir Ris shores?

There doesn't seem to be a change in 2013 plans to reclaim all of Pasir Ris, all of Changi from Carpark 1 to Carpark 7 and beyond, and reclaim Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu. These appear to remain in place in the Long-Term Plan Review. Including plans for a road link that starts at Pasir Ris, crosses to Pulau Ubin, right across Chek Jawa to Pulau Tekong, and back to the mainland at Changi East.

See Pasir Ris shores for yourself !

These shores are easy to get to, and enjoyed by many people. But it remains rich in a variety of marine life. More details in "Pasir Ris - Perfect intertidal getaway for the family" Today, it was heartwarming to see a family exploring the shore so early in the morning. There were also a few people cast-netting and foraging.

Photos by others on this survey

Kelvin Yong

Muhd Nasry

Others on this survey: Jayden, Mathias.

Chek Jawa North is alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 00:41:00 +0000

It seems to rain every time we survey Chek Jawa! This year, it was just a drizzle as we surveyed the vast northern sand bar.

Seagrasses are still doing well, carpet anemones are back on the seaward side. Kelvin spotted some dugong feeding trails, and we saw favourites like Button snails and Common sea stars. Thanks to NParks for permission to survey.

The northern sand bar remains vast! But very much alive. Today, an unusual sight of many many Tiger moon snails mating above the sand - perhaps it was the cool weather? I also saw many small Plain sand stars and some Ball moon snails in the sand. I saw some patches of living Button snails, buried just beneath the sand surface. These are usually only common on sandy areas - which are rare in Singapore.

It was a relief to finally see some Haddon's carpet anemones on the seaward facing part of the northern sand bar. They used to be common here and we had not seen them since Dec 2021, Despite the wet weather, I saw some small and large ones. There were also the usual cnidarians like Cerianthids and some Swimming anemones.

As usual for a northern shore, Chek Jawa is rich with echinoderms. I was relieved to see many healthy Common sea stars - these died out in the 2007 mass death and didn't reappear until 10 years later. Che Cheng also showed us what looks like a young Cake sea star. There were many Garlic bread sea cucumbers large and small - Kelvin found one that was very dark purple. Also the usual Pink warty and Thorny sea cucumbers - we normally see a much lower abundance of these compared to Changi.

Today, there were many large Hairy sea hares, some seemed to be mating, with their egg strings among the seagrasses. Other interesting encounters include a pregnant papa Seagrass pipefish, horseshoe crabs large and tiny, and many Noble volutes, some laying egg capsules. Kelvin spotted a few large dead Horse mussels, but we didn't see any patches of large ones.

The rest of the team saw animals that are only common on northern mangrovey shores like Chek Jawa - the Pimply mangrove sea anemone (not yet identified), Blue striped hermit crabs. As well as other animals - fishes like pufferfish, filefish, false scorpionfish. Also a variety of sea stars: Biscuit, Knobbly, Cake. And the Kanga nudibranch. There were lots and lots of shorebirds of various kinds. Tall long-legged herons in the lagoon and outer shore. Small little ones all over the sandbar.

Collage of photos by the team.
Links to their albums below.

On the northern sand bar, there were good growths of seagrasses on the seaward side facing Johor. Mostly Spoon seagrass (small and large leaves) and Needle seagrass with narrow leaves.

As on our last survey in Dec 2023, there were lots of Smooth ribbon seagrass in the the inner lagoon, almost reaching the northen sand bar. It continues to flourish and have taken over the southern sand bar and large parts of the southern area. I also saw some Fern seagrass. Much of the seagrasses in the inner lagoon seem to be heavily covered in epiphytes. I only saw a short furrow on the seaward side that might be a dugong feeding trail.

Kelvin saw a much clearer patch dugong trails. Dugong feeding trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. We saw a few during our Dec 2023 survey and many more during our survey in Feb 2023.

What is the fate of Chek Jawa?

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.

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.

Photos by others on this survey

Kelvin Yong

Richard Kuah

Adriane Lee

Loh Kok Sheng

Marcus Ng

Chay Hoon

Che Cheng Neo

Tammy Lim

Fiora Li

Muhd Nasry

Others on this survey: Lon, Ian Mun, Mathias, Isaac.

100k Coral Initiative plus new coral facility at St John's Island

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:14:00 +0000

100k Corals Initiative announced: to plant the corals in Singapore over the next 10 years and beyond. A new facility at the Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre, St. John's Island will grow corals for this effort. Corals will be cultivated by coral restoration experts and researchers from the National University of Singapore at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory.

A volunteer programme will also be developed by NParks, St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and Friends of Marine Park for citizen science monitoring of the transplanted corals. Volunteers will help with coral husbandry and underwater monitoring techniques. More details of volunteer training opportunities will be shared when ready.

You can visit the St John's Island facility by joining the guided tour of St John's Island held on the first Sunday of every month. Or do a self-guided tour with the Trail Guide - free for download from the NParks website.

Singapore launches most extensive coral restoration effort with planting of 100,000 corals
A new facility will also be set up at St John’s Island to cultivate corals to restore degraded reefs.
Natasha Ganesan Channel NewsAsia 10 Dec 2024.

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) on Tuesday (Dec 10) launched an initiative, dubbed as Singapore’s "most extensive coral restoration effort", to plant 100,000 corals.

Known as the 100k Corals Initiative, the aim is to plant the corals in Singapore's waters over the next 10 years and beyond.

The plan was first announced by Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee during the 5th Asia-Pacific Coral Reef Symposium last year.

NParks then said that this will scale up existing coral restoration efforts to substantially improve the resilience of coral communities and reefs.

As part of the initiative, a new coral culture facility will also be established at the Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre on St John's Island, NParks said in a media release on Tuesday.

It is targeted to be fully operational and open to the public in the second quarter of 2025.

At the facility, corals will first be cultivated by coral restoration experts and researchers from the National University of Singapore at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory.

They will then be transplanted into the marine environment to restore degraded reefs or establish new communities.

Launching the initiative at St John's Island on Tuesday, Mr Lee said that climate change and human action pose a significant threat to Singapore's coral reefs.

Coral bleaching is also happening "a lot more frequently", he said, pointing to the fourth global coral bleaching event, which is the second in the last decade.

The minister said that Singapore has taken steps to conserve its coral reefs such as monitoring them for signs of coral bleaching.

He also pointed to the enhanced Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, which has a coral habitat and research site, as well as reef enhancement units to promote coral growth.

"While much has been done to monitor and restore our corals, we can do much more to ensure the long-term survival of our reefs," he added.

Also in attendance at the launch was English zoologist Jane Goodall, who is known for her long-term research on chimpanzees. Dr Goodall shared on marine conservation during the event.

FROM LAB TO WATERS

The coral species cultivated at the new facility include those under NParks' Species Recovery Programme such as the Staghorn and Plate Acropora corals.

The recovery programme, which was introduced in 2015 as part of NParks' Nature Conservation Masterplan, aims to conserve native flora and fauna by targeting rare or threatened species.

Serving as an "ex-situ coral nursery", the facility houses six tanks that can rear up to 600 coral nubbins - small fragments produced from adult colonies - each at any one time.

The nubbins will be attached to a specially designed frame that maximises the number of corals that can be cultivated in the tanks and grown under controlled conditions.

Once the nubbins have grown large enough, they will then be transplanted to damaged reefs for restoration purposes or inserted into other areas to establish new communities.

Other sources of transplant include "corals-of-opportunity", which are naturally fragmented corals lying free on the floor that may not survive without external intervention, said NParks.

"Altogether, this will aid species recovery efforts for rarer coral species and increase coral cover and diversity in Singapore, complementing efforts under NParks' Marine Conservation Action Plan to protect the natural heritage of our City in Nature," it added.

The action plan, launched in 2015, sets out strategies to protect, restore and enhance Singapore's coastal and marine habitats.

The six tanks in the facility will also be installed with a smart coral culture aquaculture system set up by Delta Electronics. This is part of a two-year research programme between NParks and Delta established to kickstart the 100k Corals Initiative.

The system monitors water conditions using various instruments and transmits data to researchers, which enables remote monitoring and timely intervention.

For example, if the temperature of the tanks is too high, the automated system will send an alert, allowing for a quicker response that can minimise adverse impact such as coral bleaching, said NParks.

As part of the research programme, NParks will also work with experts to develop a nationwide coral

Volunteers will be trained to assist with coral husbandry - a practice of raising corals in a controlled environment to help them reproduce and grow - as well as underwater monitoring requirements.

The 100k Corals Initiative has received more than S$2 million (US$1.4 million) in support of the Garden City Fund, NParks' registered charity and Institution of a Public Character (IPC), and from donors such as Delta Electronics, GSK-EDB Trust Fund, Deutsche Bank, Takashimaya Singapore and KPI OceanConnect.

Thanking the donors, Mr Lee said Singapore will continue to press on with its coral conservation and research efforts.

"And together, let's conserve our precious marine and coral ecosystems for current and future generations to come," he added.

Singapore’s drive to restore 100,000 corals begins with growing coral fragments in HDB-style tanks
Shabana Begum Straits Times 10 Dec 2024

SINGAPORE – The Republic has launched its most ambitious coral-restoration project, growing corals from fragments in “high-rise” special tanks on St John’s Island.

Once grown to a healthy size, 100,000 of these corals will be planted on degraded reefs or empty sea spaces to create new reef habitats.

The first step of this decade-long effort began at a new facility in the island’s Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre – home to six specialised tanks that can be used for large-scale coral cultivation.

The six tanks can hold up to 3,600 coral fragments, or nubbins, at any one time. To date, more than $2 million has been raised for the restoration project.

The facility is still in the works and is targeted to fully open in the second quarter of 2025. For now, there are about 600 nubbins growing in two of the tanks.

While the initial stages of the project will be helmed by researchers, marine enthusiasts will be later invited to the lab to grow corals and monitor them, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Dec 10, as he announced the launch of the initiative on St John’s Island.

The National Parks Board (NParks), St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the Friends of Marine Park community will train members of the public to cultivate corals, monitor their growth and do weeding work to remove algae from the corals, among other things.
More details on public participation will be shared when ready.

When the coral-restoration project was announced in 2023, NParks said it would take at least 10 years to complete.

At the launch, Mr Lee was joined by world-renowned British primate expert Jane Goodall, who was on a working visit to Singapore.

Over the decades, about 60 per cent of Singapore’s coral reefs have been lost to coastal development and land reclamation. Most of its remaining intact coral reefs are found in the Southern Islands.

The Republic’s waters are home to around 250 species of hard corals, which constitute about a third of the world’s existing coral species.

The reefs here serve as habitat for more than 100 species of reef fish, about 200 species of sea sponges, and rare and endangered seahorses and clams, among other marine life.

Beyond boosting marine biodiversity, restoring corals will protect coastlines from waves and storms, which are expected to get stronger amid sea-level rise and climate change.

The corals to be grown in tanks and planted in the wild include several species under NParks’ species recovery programme, which protects threatened flora and fauna and helps them survive environmental change. These include the branching staghorn coral and the flat table acropora coral.

The acropora is not a common species here because it thrives in waters with strong currents and good visibility – conditions that are rarely found in Singapore.

Coral nubbins are fragments trimmed from a colony of adult corals. However, marine biologists usually prioritise loose corals that would otherwise tumble and die when swept by waves.

Mr Lee said cultivating corals in specialised tanks is an ambitious undertaking, with conditions such as lighting and temperature as well as water quality and flow needing to be specific to each species.

To allow hundreds of coral fragments to grow in each tank, scientists at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory are cultivating them on vertical structures, among other methods. Coral nubbins are attached to plugs that are then affixed to a vertical frame.

The scientists and NParks staff have named these set-ups “coral HDBs”, said the minister.

Dr Lionel Ng, a research fellow at the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute who is involved in the coral-restoration work, noted that the survival rate of transplanted corals is about 80 per cent to 90 per cent, which is on a par with the 80 per cent survival rate of corals found in the wild here.

The tanks are paired with a smart system that will send data on water quality to researchers. This allows them to monitor tank conditions remotely and be alerted if they need to intervene.

The system is a technology of Delta Electronics, a firm that specialises in industrial and building automation solutions. Delta is also one of several donors of the more than $2 million raised so far. The other donors include GSK-EDB Trust Fund, Deutsche Bank, Takashimaya Singapore and marine fuel firm KPI OceanConnect.

The launch of the restoration effort comes as existing corals are slowly recovering from the largest recorded global bleaching event caused by a marine heatwave.

Announced in mid-April by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the global bleaching event was the fourth of its kind.

In July, areas such as St John’s, Lazarus and Kusu Islands were found to have 30 per cent to 55 per cent of coral colonies bleached and white.

With water temperatures dropping in recent months, bleached corals have started to regain colour, said Mr Lee.

NParks and NUS have been monitoring Singapore’s reefs for bleaching since July.

The findings will help identify which species are under threat and which ones are climate-resilient, and will also narrow down suitable planting sites for future coral-restoration efforts, said Mr Lee.

On whether restored corals will be able to survive future marine heatwaves, Dr Ng pointed to a research project that aims to enhance the ecological resilience of coral reefs against climate change.

“Information from that (study) will feed into this. We’ll refine our final strategies to see which species are suitable for which areas. It’s a matter of tweaking what we know of the environment and what we know of the corals to find the best match,” he added.

In her address to NParks, scientists and groups involved in the restoration project, Dr Goodall said: “We know that oceans and forests are the two great capturers of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet... In the oceans, we have the kelp forests and the seagrass which absorb as much CO2 as a small inland forest.

“It’s no good just protecting corals if we don’t protect kelp forests and seagrass, if we don’t protect forests and peatlands. It’s all interconnected.”

NParks launches Singapore’s most extensive coral restoration effort, tapping on technology and research to plant 100,000 corals in Singapore’s waters
NPARKS MEDIA RELEASE 10 Dec 2024

NParks launches Singapore’s most extensive coral restoration effort, tapping on technology and research to plant 100,000 corals in Singapore’s waters
- Transplanted corals will help restore degraded reefs or establish new coral communities
- Smart technology will be deployed to optimise large-scale, ex-situ coral cultivation
- Programme partners and donors include St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, Delta Electronics, GSK-EDB Trust Fund, Deutsche Bank, Takashimaya Singapore and KPI OceanConnect

Singapore, 10 December 2024 – The National Parks Board (NParks) today launched the 100k Corals Initiative, which aims to plant 100,000 corals in Singapore’s waters over the next 10 years and beyond. Corals will be cultivated at a new coral culture facility at NParks’ Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre on St John’s Island, before being transplanted into our marine environment to restore degraded reefs or establish new coral communities. This will be the most extensive coral restoration effort in Singapore to date. Given Singapore’s limited coral cover, the programme will also scale up NParks’ existing coral restoration efforts to substantially improve the resilience of local coral communities and reefs.

NParks is working with the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML) to roll out the 100k Corals Initiative, which has received over S$2 million in support to date through the Garden City Fund, NParks’ registered charity and IPC, from the following donors:
· Delta Electronics (approximately S$1.7 million)
· GSK-EDB Trust Fund (S$1 million)
· Deutsche Bank (S$100,000)
· Takashimaya Singapore
· KPI OceanConnect

To mark the launch of the 100k Corals Initiative, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee took part in a coral planting activity at the coral culture facility today.

New coral culture facility for ex-situ coral cultivation

As part of the 100k Corals Initiative, NParks is establishing a new coral culture facility at the Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre on St John’s Island. The cultivation of corals at the facility will be carried out by coral restoration experts and researchers from the National University of Singapore at SJINML. The coral species cultivated include several that are under NParks’ Species Recovery Programme[1], such as the Staghorn coral (Acropora digitifera) and Plate Acropora coral (Acropora millepora).

Serving as an ex-situ coral nursery, the coral culture facility will house six tanks that can rear up to 600 coral nubbins each. The nubbins, which are small coral fragments produced from adult colonies, will be attached to a specially designed frame that maximises the number of corals that can be grown in the tanks, and grown under controlled conditions. Once the nubbins have grown large enough, they will be transplanted onto degraded reefs for restoration purposes, or inserted into other areas to establish new coral communities. Corals-of-opportunity, which are naturally fragmented corals lying free on the floor that may not survive without external intervention, could potentially be used as a source of transplant as well. The coral culture facility is targeted to be fully operational and open to the public in the second quarter of 2025.

During the launch event, special guest Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, also did a sharing on marine conservation at the new coral culture facility.

Altogether, this will aid species recovery efforts for rarer coral species, and increase coral cover and diversity in Singapore, complementing efforts under NParks’ Marine Conservation Action Plan[2] to protect the natural heritage of our City in Nature.

NParks-Delta Corals Research Programme

Established to kickstart the 100k Corals Initiative, the NParks-Delta Corals Research Programme is a collaborative project between NParks and Delta Electronics that integrates smart technology into NParks’ coral cultivation efforts.

As part of the two-year research programme, NParks will leverage Delta’s expertise in industrial and building automation to optimise large-scale coral cultivation at the coral culture facility. As the healthy growth of corals is dependent on several parameters, including lighting, temperature, water quality and water flow, smart technology will be deployed to cultivate corals under controlled conditions in the tanks, enabling them to thrive without being subject to environmental stressors such as ocean warming and acidification.

The tanks will be installed with a smart coral culture aquaculture system set up by Delta that integrates intelligent aquaculture and environment management. Designed to detect abnormalities that can affect coral growth, the system monitors water conditions using various instruments and transmits the data to researchers, enabling real-time, remote monitoring and timely intervention. For instance, if the temperature of the tanks is too high, the automated system will send an alert, allowing for a quicker response that can minimise adverse impact such as coral bleaching.

As part of the research programme, NParks will work with experts to develop a nationwide coral reef restoration plan for resilience as well. A training programme will also be developed by NParks, SJINML and Friends of Marine Park for citizen science monitoring of the transplanted corals, and volunteers will be trained to assist with coral husbandry and underwater monitoring techniques. More details of volunteer training opportunities will be shared when ready.

In all, the NParks-Delta Research Programme will provide the 100k Corals Initiative with a sustainable source of corals to be transplanted, and enable further cross-sector collaborations and research opportunities. Furthermore, it will build capacity and technical know-how in large-scale coral restoration for future conservation efforts.

Importance of coral conservation

Corals are keystone reef-building animals that support a marine ecosystem, and an estimated one-quarter of marine species depend on coral reefs to survive. They are also a potential nature-based solution to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, serving as a natural defence against shoreline erosion while providing habitats for a rich array of marine biodiversity. Hence, to safeguard this valuable ecosystem, it is imperative to scale up coral restoration efforts locally, which will contribute towards a high-quality living environment in our City in Nature.

To support the 100k Corals Initiative, interested parties can donate online to the Garden City Fund via go.gov.sg/donate100kcorals or email garden_city_fund@nparks.gov.sg.

- End -

[1] The Species Recovery Programme was introduced in 2015 as part of NParks’ Nature Conservation Masterplan. It aims to conserve native flora and fauna by targeting endemic, rare or threatened native species in Singapore through reintroduction, habitat enhancement and protection efforts.
[2] Launched in 2015, the Marine Conservation Action Plan sets out strategies to protect, restore and enhance Singapore’s coastal and marine habitats.

Singapore-Malaysia joint effort to protect Johor Strait marine ecology

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 23:39:00 +0000

Singapore and Malaysia agreed to continue sharing information to conserve the Johor Straits marine biodiversity, and continue joint efforts in water quality monitoring there.

The annual meeting between the environment ministries this year, focused on pressure on the Johor Strait ecosystem from aquaculture farms and land reclamation.

Malaysia, Singapore reaffirm joint efforts to protect marine life in Johor Strait

Shabana Begum Straits Times 28 Nov 2024

SINGAPORE - The Johor Strait, the narrow body of water between Singapore and Malaysia, is under growing pressure from many sources, including aquaculture farms and land reclamation.

In the face of these threats, both countries on Nov 27 agreed to continue sharing information on the ecology of the area to conserve the marine biodiversity there, as well as to continue joint efforts in water quality monitoring in the strait.

Along the strait, the flushing of water is limited, and the water is rich in nutrients and lower in oxygen.

This comes as Singapore on Nov 19 announced a sweeping plan to overhaul its flagging aquaculture sector with the aim of boosting fish production while safeguarding the marine environment.

Under the new plan, the environmental impact of a farm will be assessed based on the amount of nutrients such as nitrates and sulphates it releases into the water to prevent algae blooms, for instance.

Both countries have fish farms along the Johor Strait. Unsustainable farming practices such as overfeeding or the release of too many nutrients into the sea can harm the strait’s water quality and sea life.

At the invitation of Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Mr Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, visited Singapore on Nov 26 and 27 for the Malaysia-Singapore Annual Exchange of Visits between the environment ministries.

Since 1979, this annual meeting has facilitated closer ties and cooperation between the two ministries in environment-related matters, said both ministries in a joint statement.

Ms Fu and Mr Nik Nazmi noted that both countries had exchanged information on and discussed land reclamation works affecting the environment in the Johor Strait and the works’ potential adverse transboundary impact.

Over the years, there have been concerns about cross-border impacts on both countries caused by reclamation.

In 2014, the Singapore Government raised concerns about a project that involved extending the Johor Bahru shoreline closer to Singapore. This was for the Princess Cove high-rise luxury home project, which involved two land reclamations on both sides of the Causeway.

In 2015, Malaysia gave its go-ahead for the project. The following year, Singapore said that reclamation work for some Malaysian projects in the Johor Strait had begun without the needed studies on potential environmental impact.

On Nov 27, both ministers agreed that it is important for Singapore and Malaysia to continue to fulfil their respective obligations under international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2005 Settlement Agreement.

This Settlement Agreement served as a resolution on a 2003 dispute regarding land reclamation projects by Singapore, namely at Pulau Tekong and Tuas View Extension. The projects were alleged to be infringing Malaysia’s rights in the area, and Malaysia initiated international arbitration against the Republic.

Under the Agreement, both countries must monitor their environments in the Johor Strait, share information and address any adverse impacts.

Both ministers also pointed out that the two countries have good collaboration in responding to oil spills, minimising the impact on the environment and biodiversity.

The Pasir Panjang oil spill in June, which caused 400 tonnes of oil to leak into the sea, is a recent example. The incident was Singapore’s largest oil spill in over a decade, and it reached Johor’s shorelines.

On June 18, four days after the spill, the National Environment Agency alerted the Johor Environment Department about the spill and sent across information.

In July, more than 43 tonnes of oil-contaminated waste were collected by Malaysian agencies from the Johor coastline, with some sludge left at the mangrove and rocky areas.

At the Nov 27 meeting, Ms Fu and Mr Nik Nazmi noted the efforts by both countries to enhance policies to reduce vehicular emissions and improve fuel standards to minimise air pollution. They agreed to continue to exchange information on such policies regularly.

They also welcomed a chemical spill exercise conducted in July 2023 at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, and highlighted that such joint exercises were important for both sides to have swift and efficient responses to chemical spill incidents. Singapore will be hosting the next exercise in 2025, the 14th of its kind.

Both ministers commended the collaboration between the Singapore Environment Institute and the Environment Institute of Malaysia in training opportunities and exchanging resources. They urged the institutes to work together in areas such as the circular economy and climate resilience.

Exporting fish still a key component of local fish production?

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

A sweeping plan was announced to boost Singapore's fish production while safeguarding the marine environment. While it is good that authorities acknowledge: “The higher the nutrient load in the water, the less the amount of fish (that) can be farmed in the water. So for fish farmers, protecting the environment is akin to looking after their rice bowl.” And that a new metric will additionally assess the environmental impact of fish farms from nutrients (nitrates, sulphates and phosphorus) released into the water.

Unfortunately, exporting locally produced fish appear to remain a key component of this plan: the new initiatives include "facilitating the export of six species of locally farmed fish to China: fourfinger threadfin, red snapper, golden snapper, pompano, golden trevally and Asian seabass."

Which leads to my long standing question: Why is Singapore producing fish to export? Basically, if these plans to expand fish production is meant to improve Singapore's food security: Wouldn't it make more sense to first ensure all the fish currently produced are actually eaten by Singapore residents? Before we risk our marine biodiversity to produce MORE fish just for export?

Exporting the bulk of their fish production didn't appear to help keep Baramundi Asia afloat: Video taken on 16 Nov 2024 - Singapore's largest fish farm now lies abandoned with decaying equipment off Pulau Semakau.

New plan unveiled to increase local aquaculture production
Ariel Yu Straits Times 20 Nov 2024

SINGAPORE – A sweeping plan to overhaul Singapore’s flagging aquaculture sector was announced on Nov 19, with the aim of boosting fish production while safeguarding the marine environment, and providing farmers with an avenue to sell their products.

The Singapore Aquaculture Plan (SAP), introduced in 2022, includes new initiatives that will provide farmers with greater access to high-quality fish eggs and the ability to sell their produce to the Chinese market.

Under the plan, fleshed out by Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon during the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit on Nov 19, farmers will also be able to, for a period, tap the intellectual property of new solutions or research developed under the existing agri-food AquaPolis research initiative for free.

According to the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) 2023 food statistics, there were a total of 131 local aquaculture farms – including 98 sea-based seafood farms and 33 land-based seafood farms – which produced 7.3 per cent of seafood consumed in 2023.

News of this plan comes on the back of multiple reports on Singapore’s flagging farming sector. In October, The Straits Times reported that the number of sea-based fish farms had dropped to 74 that month.

“For a small nation like Singapore that imports more than 90 per cent of our food we consume here, we are particularly vulnerable to global food supply disruptions,” said Dr Koh.

He added: “This highlights the need for a local production buffer against global food supply disruptions, a form of insurance to grow some of our own food locally.”

Having high-quality eggs and fingerlings, or baby fish, is crucial to the aquaculture production value chain, according to the new plan.

Currently, Singapore’s fish farms depend on overseas sources, leading to inconsistent quality and higher mortality rates.

To fill these gaps, the SFA said it will introduce the National Broodstock Centre and the Hatchery Development and Recognition Programme under the plan.

These initiatives will help to increase the supply of locally produced, genetically superior eggs and fingerlings, while upgrading local hatchery capabilities.

Mr Mak Wah Weng, 60, director of local fish farm Millenia Farm, said that if the fingerlings developed by the facility are of good quality, it will be of great help to fish farmers like him because the current fingerlings supplied by the local industry cannot survive for long.

Another issue faced by farmers here is the lack of a market to supply their produce to.

To address this, SFA will, under the new plan, help to facilitate the export of six species of locally farmed fish to China. The six species of fish are, namely, the fourfinger threadfin, red snapper, golden snapper, pompano, golden trevally and Asian seabass.

SFA also said it will continue to collaborate with the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (Safef) – which is an organisation focused on improving productivity and farming standards of coastal fish farms – to consolidate demand for local fish and secure longer-term contracts with retailers.

Mr Ken Cheong, chief executive of Safef, told ST that the federation will be signing two memorandums of understanding on Nov 20 with two organisations to boost the Singapore aquaculture sector.

One of the collaborations is with the Guangzhou-based Panyu Fisheries Association, which supports aquaculture farms there, to promote and collaborate in knowledge sharing of farming practices and how to use new technologies in the aquaculture industry.

The other MOU is with local caterer Hewtop Catering to supply it with locally farmed produce such as vegetables and fish.

Another key aspect of the new plan is the effort to balance increased productivity with environmental considerations.

Safef’s Mr Cheong said: “The higher the nutrient load in the water, the less the amount of fish (that) can be farmed in the water. So for fish farmers, protecting the environment is akin to looking after their rice bowl.”

Under the new plan, the environmental impact of fish farms will also be assessed according to a new metric.

The current approach – the carrying capacity model – calculates the number of animals that can be farmed within a defined area, to meet environmental quality targets, protecting sensitive habitats like coral reefs and maintaining water quality.

However, under the new plan, the environmental impact of a farm will be assessed based on the amount of nutrients – such as nitrates, sulphates and phosphorus – it releases into the water.

A high level of such nutrients, which come from fish waste and excess fish feed, can cause algae blooms, which can result in fish deaths.

Dr Toh Tai Chong, senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s College of Alice and Peter Tan, said: “The nutrient budget approach measures the amount of nutrients that enter and exit the area that the fish are being cultured in. These nutrients include phosphorus, sulphates and nitrates which are found in fish waste produced from the breakdown of proteins and excess fish feed.”

According to the new plan, some data such as water temperature, levels of chlorophyll, salinity and dissolved oxygen are measured in real time.

Dr Toh emphasised the significance of having such an approach in place to address potential issues swiftly. For instance, if a farm releases more nutrients than allowed, the approach allows for rapid intervention or enforcement measures to be implemented as necessary.

In fish farms, fish feed and waste materials released into the sea are forms of additional nutrients. This influx of nutrients may lead to algal blooms, depleting oxygen levels in the water and suffocating marine life.

In addition, algal blooms can be toxic and seafood that are affected are not fit for human consumption. Such blooms are mainly caused by changing water and environmental conditions, such as rainfall patterns and climate change.

Dr Toh and Mr Cheong are both members of sub-committees that worked on the SAP. The sub-committees are made up of various stakeholders such as industry partners, nature groups, research institutions and government agencies.

Mr Alvin Yeo, 35, co-owner of Heng Heng Fish Farm, said that this approach is good since it can “take care of the environment and help the fish farms”.

“One thing SFA needs to consider is whether this measure will be accepted by older fish farmers who may be set in their ways of rearing fish because it may increase the cost of farming,” he added.

Mr Cheong said that aquaculture, like all farming businesses, is sensitive to costs and productivity.

“So when a farmer wants to bring in more technology, he needs to be assured that his increased productivity can commensurate the costs. At the same time, he will also need to abide closely to production limits to ensure environmental sustainability.”

He added that with the nutrient budget approach, farmers can strive to increase production, while ensuring that the nutrient discharge from their farms does not exceed the budget.

Farmers can then better identify technologies such as water filtration and waste treatment technologies that help them improve production without exceeding the nutrient discharge limits.

Oiled East Coast Park (Sailing Centre): life remains

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 23:41:00 +0000

A small team surveyed East Coast Park (Sailing Centre) to check for impact from the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. This shore was cleaned of that oil spill. It was also probably impacted by the recent 5tonne Changi East oil overspill 28 Oct 2024.

The tide was not super low but low enough that we could see the seagrasses seemed well. The team found many animals commonly seen here. Hopefully, this means life is returning.

Among the seagrasses and sandy area, there were lots of hermit crabs as well as many swimming crabs, shrimps and snapping shrimps. A variety of sea anemones were also seen. Many small fishes too: including a pipefish and a worm eel. There was one Garlic bread sea cucumber, a few live Cake sand dollars. In the sand bar, there were many Olive snails as well as Moon snails. On the rocky areas, lots of Nerites and other common snails. This is very similar to what we saw last month. We are still 'missing' animals we used to see here. Hopefully they will return soon.

Photos mostly by Richard Kuah, link to his album below.

There is still lots of seagrass on the shore. They were mostly fresh and green and grew in dense patches. The tide wasn't low enough to properly see the whole shore. But there was still dense clumps of Needle seagrass (both narrow and broad leaf blades) and Spoon seagrass (large leaf blades). I saw one small clumps of Tape seagrass with long leaves, no flowers seen today but last month, it had female flowers.

On the high tide line I saw some dead Jania red seaweeds or Halimeda seaweeds. But I didn't see large clusters of these as I did on previous surveys. This is similar to the situation observed yesterday at East Coast PCN. We did not see any signs of oil on the shore.

On the low shore and further seaward, the patch of litter is still here. Among the litter were many single-use water cups, which commonly wash up on beaches along the ferry routes. These are not commonly used by beach goers or the local boating or fishing community. But these single-use water cups are apparently given out to passengers on ferries. It seems no facilities are provided at any of the piers/terminals under MPA's charge for vessels to responsibly dispose of trash generated during their operation. More in this post.

What is the fate of this shore?

East Coast shores slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. There were additional details, plans for a 'Long Island' opposite East Coast Park is now official. In addition to more reclamation along that shoreline, already unveiled in 2013.

Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were recently announced to begin.

Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the Draft Master Plan 2013.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Check out the Sinapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

See these and other East Coast shores for yourself. It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in "East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family".

Photos by others on this survey

Richard Kuah

Marcus Ng

Fiora Li

James Dvc

Oiled East Coast shore: seagrasses still there, corals mostly dead

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 00:21:00 +0000

A tiny team do the monthly check on this shore which was not cleaned after it was impacted by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. It was also probably impacted by the recent 5 tonnes Changi East oil overspill 28 Oct 2024.

Oil is still present in the canal, seagrasses are still growing lush, corals remain mostly dead. But there are still signs of life everywhere on the shore.

Oil under the bridge in the canal is still seen on the walls and bridge legs, as well as the blue drum security barrier. Although they no longer glisten. And blackish sand still seen on the high shore and inside the canal. We saw a few tar balls on the sand and some floating creating sheen. Oil also seen in footprints. The trash at the high and low shore are gone. For the first time, there was enough daylight to see to the other side of the bridge, there seems to be oiled litter stuck to the security grating there.

Still there, the long stripes of thick oil pancakes on the sand which we first observed in Oct 2024. Kelvin pointed out that these probably came from the stretch of canal wall that is stripped clean of oil - opposite where the stripes are location. Signs of an abandoned attempt to clear the canal wall of oil?

I noticed orange stuff is starting to grow under the oil drips on the canal wall under the bridge! I didn't see much of these in June just after the oil spill.

A closer look at the orange stuff - some kind of encrusting organism, maybe sponges? There were still plenty of signs of life on the oiled wall. Above the oil zone, many tiny periwinkles. Below the oiled zone, drills and their eggs. Also many small Onch slugs, small crabs, several small Blue-striped hermit crabs and many limpets.

One of the nicest patch of seagrasses in Singapore is at the mouth of this canal. Almost all the seagrass species for Singapore can be found here. They are still growing lush at the mouth of the canal. The seagrasses still seemed healthy, leaves long and not cropped. Most seemed fresh and green, I didn't see any bleaching seagrasses and there was no sign of oil anywhere among the seagrasses. I also didn't see piles of dead Jania red seaweeds or Halimeda seaweeds as was seen on our previous surveys.

Seagrasses still grow well inside the canal to the bridge. And also at the mouth of the canal. There were still Tape seagrass with long leaves - I saw 3 with male flowersa nd 1 with female flowers. As in the past, there was lots of Spoon seagrass (large and small leaves); Needle seagrass (broad and narrow leaves). There was also lots of Smooth ribbon seagrass at the mouth of the canal. The water was rather murky and tide not really low so couldn't get for other species.

Today, the tide wasn't really low enough to have a good look at the corals. The situation seems similar to our last survey in Oct 2024. Most of the corals I saw were stone cold dead, I didn't see any that were bleaching or recently dying. Some colonies had a thin layer of live corals at the bottom-most portion, with the bulk of the upper colony dead. In July 2024 we estimated 90% were bleaching or highly stressed, and about 50% already have dying/dead portions. This was the period of peak mass coral bleaching on all our shores.

There is still life on the shores. Signs of crabs in the sand, and lots of Bazillion snails on the sand and among the seagrass. I saw one small Haddon's carpet anemone, many small hermit crabs. There were a few people cast netting in the water, and we came across a small group of Silversides that were probably caught by them. I spoke to one of them and he said there was still fish, but fewer in number and variety and smaller.

Kelvin and CQ did a more thorough check of the life on the seawall and found cowries and other interesting marine life. Here is a collage of their photos. Links to their albums below.

What is the fate of these shores?

These shores lie west of Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were recently announced to begin.

Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the Draft Master Plan 2013.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Check out the Sinapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

See these and other East Coast shores for yourself!

It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family.

Photos by others on this survey

CQ

Kelvin Yong

Cyrene still alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:23:00 +0000

Although Cyrene lies in the middle of an industrial triangle, it still has some of Singapore's most amazing shores.

Today, we saw a lot of dugong feeding trails, many Knobbly sea stars, 2 Giant clams and more. It was a relief to see that most of the corals seem to have survived the mass coral bleaching. Kelvin also flew the drone for a more comprehensive view of the reef flat.

The star of Cyrene are Knobbly sea stars! I was relieved to see about 40 near the beacon similar to what I saw in Apr 2024, which is about twice the number I saw in the past. The rest of the team also saw clusters on the Eastern end facing Pasir Panjang Container Terminal.

Today, we saw two Fluted giant clams! Che Cheng spotted a huge one (more than 40cm) that appears to be new to us. Although large, these clams are often hard to see especially during a Sargassum bloom. He also spotted the smaller one (about 30cm) that we had seen before. What a relief to know it looks okay today. I last saw it on our Jun 2024 survey at peak mass coral bleaching. It it had fallen over and its flesh had white patches. Giant clams also harbour symbiotic algae and can also bleach.

Photos by Che Cheng Neo.
Link to his album below.

Kok Sheng and Marcus checked out the western sandbar and found all our favourites that we used to see - special snails and MORE Knobbly sea stars. Cyrene is one of the few shores where these can be commonly seen. Special finds include a large Pentaceraster sea star and many large Keyhole sand dollars. There were also octopuses, a sign of a healthy shore. The rest of the team also saw many other animals too.

Collage of photos by Kok Sheng and Marcus.
Links to their albums below.

Today I saw many dugong feeding trails from our landing point north across the meadows to the south facing Pulau Bukom. In Jun 2024, I only saw them nearer the meadows facing Pasir Panjang Container Terminals. These trails are formed when dugongs chomp up seagrasses including their roots, leaving a shallow meandering furrow of about equal width and depth. It seems every survey since 2021, we see dugong feeding trails on Cyrene. Yay!

There's never been a lot of hard corals on Cyrene since we first started surveying it. Most of them are boulder shaped and there are some large colonies. In Jun 2024, we estimate about 50% of the hard corals were impacted by mass coral bleaching mostly the smaller hard coral colonies were outright bright white bleaching. While larger ones seemed alright.

Today, most of the corals I saw were alright, with only a few pale ones or with small pale patches. Most of the large colonies were alright although some tissue was still dying (greyish) along the upper edges.

Near the beacon and around the eastern tip of Cyrene, there are a lot of large Leathery soft corals. In Jun 2024, an estimated 70% of colonies were outright bleaching or showing signs of stress (pale patches), and 'melting' into smaller fragments. Today, I didn't see any bleaching leathery soft corals, although many colonies were 'C-shaped', lost some 'centre' portions of the colony during the bleaching event? Other cnidarians can also bleach, so I looked out for those too. All the sea anemones I saw were alright, as were the Asparagus flowery soft corals.

Thanks to Kelvin's drone survey, there are still many large leathery soft corals doing well in the area where in Jun 2024, I saw an estimated 70% of colonies outright bleaching or showing signs of stress (pale patches), and 'melting' into smaller fragments. The drone is certainly an effective and safer way to survey the reefy area during a Sargassum bloom!

It seems our shores are past the peak for mass coral bleaching. According to the NOAA prediction for the Singapore Strait, the bleaching situation for Singapore is at "Watch" now and we are expected to be in the 'blue' in the months ahead.

There was still good seagrass cover on the Eastern end of Cyrene facing the container terminal. Mostly Spoon seagrass and other shorter seagrasses. Tape seagrasses were few and far between, with short leaf blades. The seagrasses I saw were mostly fresh and green and I didn't mat-like epiphytes on them.

The deep pool in the middle of Cyrene is becoming more shallow. It used to be thick with long Tape seagrass. These disappeared about 10 years ago. Today, there is even less seagrass in the pool which was mostly bare sand. In Jun 2024, I saw thin cover of a variety of short seagrasses. Most of what appears to be bare sand in the middle of the flats were actually thinly covered in Needle seagrass.

Although it lies in the middle of an industrial triangle and major shipping lanes, Cyrene has some of Singapore's most amazing shores. We had surveyed in Jun 2024 for impact of the Pasir Panjang oil spill a few weeks prior and did not see any signs of oil. Today, Cyrene seems clear of oil. Let's hope it stays safe until we return!

Kelvin's awesome drone view shows Cyrene in the industrial triangle.

Photos by others on the survey

Kelvin Yong's drone footage

Kelvin Yong

Che Cheng Neo

Adriane Lee

Liz Lim

Kelvin Yong drone footage

Marcus Ng

Loh Kok Sheng

Low Liong Leong

James Cabatbat

Pulau Semakau (South) returns to life?

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 00:55:00 +0000

After a heavy downpour, we survey the living shores next to the Landfill at Pulau Semakau South.

The seagrasses seem more lush - with signs of dugong feeding trails! A patch of healthy branching corals are forming, corals seemed to have survived mass coral bleaching. And the field of Horse mussels that infested the area seem to have totally disappeared. Perhaps the closure of the fish farm had something to do with this?

Every time we survey this shore, we check out the Barramundi Group's fish farm that is located very close to natural mangroves, reefs and seagrass meadows there.

Today, the farm seems totally abandoned. The big barge with equipment and supplies, and floating dorm for workers were gone. And cages were falling apart with derelict small boats nearby. During our last survey in Oct 2023, the farm was not yet in this state of decay. In Jul 2023, it was reported that Barramundi Group will stop stocking its sites off Pulau Semakau, Pulau Senang and St John’s Island until “an efficacious vaccine is available” against the scale drop disease virus (SDDV). SDDV was first formally described in Singapore farmed fish in 2011 and can kill more than half of the barramundi raised in a cage. The virus has caused “significant mortalities and financial losses” for Barramundi Group's Singapore operations, which recorded a loss of $31.9 million for FY2022.

The rest of the team saw special fishes including a juvenile Batfish and not one but two Frogfish! One appeared to have just swallowed a very large prey. There were also lots of babies (tiny horseshoe crabs, a hermit crab brooding eggs in a shell, many crabs brooding eggs too) and baby making (Noble volute laying egg capsule, sea stars in mating position). As well as many colourful nudibranchs and flatworms. The blue Giant carpet anemone was seen again, and some special corals also spotted.

Collage of photos by the team.
Links to their albums at the end of this post.

The seasonal bloom of Sargassum that explodes over the reef edge can make it challenging to survey. But the team find lots of animals among them, many very well camouflaged! Lots of squid, cuttlefish large and tiny. The seaweed is also a great place for their egg capsules. Also animals that look like the seaweed: nudibranchs, fish, flatworms!

Collage of photos by the team.
Links to their albums at the end of this post.

On the sand bar near the mouth of the stream, there were signs of the usual sand dwellers - Olive snails, Eggwhite moon snails. I saw one Orange sandstar. Hidden among the Sargassum were Bigfin reef squid. Sprinkled on the shores were the usual colourful sponges. And the large fields of Horse mussel clams near the landfill seawall and mouth of the mangrove stream seemed to have disappeared without a trace! During our last survey in Oct 2023, the field seemed to be expanding. I was also glad to see no nets. Perhaps the closure of the fish farm had something to do with this?

There has never been a lot of hard corals on this shore. We did not have enough low spring tides to check this shore at the height of mass coral bleaching earlier this year. It was a relief to see that the situation seem similar to our last survey in Oct 2023. Most of the corals here are boulder shaped corals, including a few large colonies. The ongoing seasonal Sargassum bloom (normal for this time of the year) made it impossible to check the reef edge, but I still saw the usual limited variety of hard corals: Pore corals, Anemone corals, Cauliflower corals and various Merulinid corals. Most were alright, a few had large recently dead patches.

Today, I noticed a small 'field' of Branching montipora coral (about 6m x 6m). We first saw small clumps during our last survey in Oct 2023. Most of the corals in the 'field' were alive and well, with only a few clumps of dead ones. How nice to see them thrive despite the recent mass coral bleaching. Perhaps the closure of the fish farm reduced some of the pressures on corals on this shore?

Other cnidarians can also bleach, so I looked out for those too. It was alarming to come across a clearly distressed Giant carpet anemone and another that was not very normal, but the many others that I saw were alright. The rest of the team also saw the blue one that we saw on our last survey in Oct 2023. The few Leathery soft corals that I saw were alright. As were other anemones, soft corals and corallimorphs.

It seems our shores are past the peak for mass coral bleaching. According to the NOAA prediction for the Singapore Strait, the bleaching situation for Singapore is at "Watch" now and we are expected to be in the 'blue' in the months ahead.

The seagrass coverage seems denser than what I saw in Oct 2023. With dense cover of Spoon seagrass near the Landfill seawall and in the mouth of the stream from the mangroves. Sprinkled with Needle seagrass and other seagrasses. But the Tape seagrass I saw remained cropped, with only a few clumps with long leaves towards the reef edge.

I missed them, but Kok Sheng saw some dugong feeding trails in the seagrasses near the Landfill wall! It seems like the last time this was observed was in 2011.

Photos by Loh Kok Sheng.

More about Pulau Semakau

It is NOT true that the construction of the Landfill created the marine life found on Pulau Semakau. The marine life was there long before the Landfill was built.

Just as Changi Airport and Changi Beach are not the same even though they are near one another and share a name, Pulau Semakau is NOT the same as the Semakau Landfill. The Landfill was created by destroying all of Pulau Saking, and about half of the original Pulau Semakau by building a very long seawall. Fortunately, the landfill was constructed and is managed in such a way that the original mangroves, seagrass meadows and reefs on Pulau Semakau were allowed to remain.

What is the fate of Pulau Semakau South?

These shores slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Pulau Semakau and nearby islands and submerged reefs have been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for Immediate Conservation Priority. The Blue Plan recommends the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Semakau and adjacent Pulau Hantu, and Pulau Jong to be designated Marine Reserve.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

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

Photos by others on this survey

Loh Kok Sheng

Che Cheng Neo

Kelvin Yong

Marcus Ng

Loh Kok Sheng

Vincent Choo

Adriane Lee

Eugene Tan

Lon

Fiora Li

Recent oil spills discussed in Parliament, 11 Nov 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 22:50:00 +0000

Recent oil spills were discussed in Parliament.

Second Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 22:02:00 +0000

The second Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey: One of the objectives is to establish a biodiversity baseline of local key marine areas that may be impacted by future developments, such as land reclamation and coastal protection against sea-level rise.

To study the coral’s “cryptobiome”- cryptic life living inside a coral reef, 42 units have been anchored to the seafloor with stakes at Raffles Lighthouse, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, St John’s and Kusu islands, Pulau Semakau, and two sites near Pulau Hantu.

42 ‘mini-hotels’ installed in Singapore waters to study lesser-known coral reef creatures
Audrey Tan Straits Times 4 Nov 2024

SINGAPORE - Forty-two “mini hotels” have been installed across seven underwater locations in Singapore, as part of a new research effort announced on Oct 28 that aims to help scientists better understand the different types of marine life here.

The structures, known as Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (Arms), are stacks of plastic plates that mimic the structure of a coral reef, providing nooks and crannies for sea creatures, including crustaceans, burrowing worms, sponges and encrusting algae, to find homes in.

The units have been anchored to the seafloor with stakes at Raffles Lighthouse, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, St John’s and Kusu islands, Pulau Semakau, and two sites near Pulau Hantu.

The locations were selected as they represented a range of habitat quality, said NUS marine biologist Huang Danwei, who is deputy head of the university’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and the principal investigator for the study.

For example, the coral reef habitats at Raffles Lighthouse and the marine park are some of the most diverse in the country, while Pulau Semakau has coral reefs that are comparatively more degraded.

Of the 42 Arms that were deployed, half will be left underwater for a year, while the rest will remain there for two years.

After each of those times, researchers will retrieve the structures and take the plates apart in the laboratory to scrutinise the life that had colonised the structures during different periods.
Researchers here want to learn more about the coral’s “cryptobiome” – referring to the cryptic life living inside a coral reef that tends to escape attention – as part of the second Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey announced by the National Parks Board (NParks) on Oct 28.

The first survey was a five-year effort undertaken from 2010 to take stock of Singapore’s marine biodiversity in different habitats.

Now, the second phase, also expected to take about five years, will cover new areas – such as inside a coral reef – and make use of novel techniques, such as Arms, as well as mobile DNA labs that enable scientists to perform genetic analyses on the go.

More than $2 million has been channelled to the second survey, with funds coming from organisations including Dalio Philanthropies, HSBC, the GSK-EDB Trust Fund and ExxonMobil Asia Pacific.

A coral reef’s internal structure, also known as reef matrix – a complex, three-dimensional structure that can provide habitats for animals – is made of calcium carbonate, which is secreted by hard corals as they grow.

NParks and NUS, the organisers of both surveys, said the first one led to several achievements, including the discovery of over 37 species new to science and more than 300 species new to Singapore.

But additional information is needed to better inform how marine spaces here are managed, they added.

“One of the (second survey’s) objectives is to establish a biodiversity baseline of local key marine areas that may be impacted by future developments, such as land reclamation and coastal protection against sea-level rise,” the organisers added.

Establishing a biodiversity baseline refers to the creation of a “checklist” of different types of marine organisms and their abundance within a specific area.

NParks and NUS added that this baseline will enable planners and policymakers to make better informed and scientifically sound decisions on the critical areas to safeguard and prioritise, and phase development plans.

It will also enable them to scope environmental impact studies and develop necessary mitigating measures.

During an Arms installation dive on Oct 9, Associate Professor Huang told The Straits Times that while past studies have indicated that South-east Asia is a hot spot for coral diversity – the popular Coral Triangle region encompasses Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste – there could be many other hot spots in the region for these cryptic reef organisms that are yet to be discovered.

Prof Huang, who also heads the Reef Ecology Laboratory at NUS, said his lab had deployed 12 Arms units in Singapore waters between 2016 and 2018.

The aim of that trial was to look for encrusting species growing on the reef skeleton, and models showed there were plenty more species constituting the cryptobiome that had not yet been discovered.

“As we are deploying 42 more units and at more sites, we should be able to find close to all the species for a comprehensive understanding of what is living on and within our reefs,” he said.

Prof Huang said he is also keen to see if there is any correlation between the health of a coral reef and its cryptobiome community, such as if a healthier reef had greater cryptobiome diversity and vice versa.

He said that without the units, the study of a coral’s cryptobiome would require scientists to chisel off parts of a natural coral reef to take back to the lab, which can be extremely damaging to the habitat.

The units prevent the need for such destructive sampling, he added.

The Arms programme is a global initiative by the US-based Smithsonian Institution – which has a protocol that standardises the size of plates, the procedures involved in dismantling the units and sampling methods.

“This standard census allows researchers to compare one place to another or how one place changes over time, based on these Arms communities,” said the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on its website.

Singapore has lost over 60 per cent of its coral reefs over the decades due to early developmental work, with the nation’s murky waters today still bearing testament to the coastal reclamation work in the 1960s. Today, most of the country’s remaining coral reefs are found in its southern waters.

“The collected data would also hold insights on how over 50 years of development have affected the marine environment,” said Prof Huang.

“As countries in the region continue to urbanise, the Singapore case study could offer a good perspective of what happens to the cryptobiome when the marine environment is degraded, and lay the groundwork for us to understand the cryptobiome’s role in the marine food web.”

Singapore corals showing signs of recovery amid global coral bleaching event

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:10:00 +0000

Amid the largest recorded global bleaching event, Singapore’s corals are showing signs of recovery as sea surface temperatures begin to fall, with about 20 per cent to 30 per cent of them still showing signs of bleaching.

But the marine heatwave has taken its toll on some corals here, with 30 per cent to 55 per cent observed to be bleached in July, the National Parks Board (NParks) and National University of Singapore (NUS) told The Straits Times.

Singapore corals showing signs of recovery amid global coral bleaching event
Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 1 Nov 2014

SINGAPORE - Amid the largest recorded global bleaching event, Singapore’s corals are showing signs of recovery as sea surface temperatures begin to fall, with about 20 per cent to 30 per cent of them still showing signs of bleaching.

But the marine heatwave has taken its toll on some corals here, with 30 per cent to 55 per cent observed to be bleached in July, the National Parks Board (NParks) and National University of Singapore (NUS) told The Straits Times.

This comes amid the most extensive global coral bleaching event, which saw 77 per cent of the world’s coral reef areas subjected to bleaching-level heat stress, Reuters reported on Oct 18.

In mid-April, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared the global bleaching event, making it the fourth of its kind.

Global coral bleaching also took place in 1998, 2010 and 2016, and Singapore experienced mass coral bleaching then. Those years and 2024 have been El Nino years – referring to a climate phenomenon that causes sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific to heat up and elevate global temperatures.

Corals get their vibrant colours from microscopic algae that live in their tissues. When they get stressed from rising sea temperatures, the corals expel the algae and turn ashen white.

The first sign of mild bleaching was reported by NUS and NParks researchers in early May at Pulau Satumu and Pulau Hantu. This was around the time when sea surface temperatures were above monthly mean temperatures and annualised monthly means for extended periods, which is not normal.

In May, the sea surface temperatures around Singapore ranged between 30.84 deg C and 31.84 deg C, according to the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory’s (SJINML) Marine Environment Sensing Network. The highest average monthly temperature here is usually 30.5 deg C.

The corals at other sites – Kusu Island, Lazarus Island and Sisters’ Islands – were also mildly bleached. Most of Singapore’s intact coral reefs are found in the southern waters.

The situation worsened in mid-July as more extensive bleaching was observed at all five sites, with 30 per cent to 55 per cent of bleached corals reported at Pulau Hantu, Pulau Satumu, Kusu Island and Sisters’ Islands.

As sea surface temperatures began to drop by the third week of July, some early signs of recovery – where bleached corals begin to regain their colours – were observed. There was also no further bleaching observed.

In September, the corals were showing signs of recovery, although about 20 per cent to 30 per cent were still bleached or partially bleached.

Ms Sue Ye, founder of marine conservation non-governmental organisation Marine Stewards, said her team observed about 30 per cent of hard corals showing signs of being stressed or bleaching during a dive survey on Sept 24.

Although temperatures have dropped, the remnant effects of bleached corals remain, she said.

In June, ST reported that researchers from SJINML observed the extent of bleaching to be about 40 per cent, at the same time that an oil spill spread to the beaches and waters of St John’s, Lazarus and Kusu islands.

The June 14 oil spill – the largest experienced by the country in over a decade – was the result of a Netherlands-flagged dredger hitting a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal, causing 400 tonnes of fuel to leak into the sea.

But Dr Jani Tanzil, SJINML’s facility director, told ST that the oil spill had unlikely worsened bleaching, and there was no difference in coral bleaching levels found in areas where oil was seen floating compared with sites farther out.

She added that this was during neap tide – where the difference between high and low tides is smallest. This means the waters do not recede as far back as they do during spring tide, which occurs at full moon and new moon.

Studies have shown that exposure to oil can stunt corals’ growth and reproduction, and affect other biological processes and feeding behaviour.

With signs of recovery observed in September, Dr Tanzil said more recovery can be expected in the months to come, provided the corals are not exposed to stressors or disturbance events like oil spills.

“If the recovery trajectory is similar to that of past mass bleaching events, we can expect corals that have survived till now to fully recover by early 2025,” she said.

To document the extent of mortality and the health of corals, NUS scientists have tagged 100 coral colonies and are tracking their status in the coming months for research on ecological resilience under the Marine Climate Change Science Programme managed by NParks.

Corals can recover if environmental and water temperature conditions return to normal, with the ideal water temperature for corals to thrive lying between 23 deg C and 29 deg C.

Coral bleaching events usually last from a few weeks to several months, with the duration depending on external stressors such as anomalies of sea surface temperatures, the susceptibility of species to bleaching, severity of environmental conditions, and the geographical location.

Different corals have different tolerances to temperature changes and some species may be more adaptable to differing conditions and stressors, said Ms Ye, adding that those that can withstand high temperatures have a higher chance of recovering.

“Corals in Singapore have evolved to tolerate higher water temperatures, but 31 deg C is already very close to their upper tolerance limit,” she said.

One critical factor determining corals’ recovery is their ability to re-establish their symbiotic relationship with algae, she added.

It was noted that coral reefs did not bleach in 2023 – despite showing signs of stress – as sea surface temperatures did not exceed the bleaching threshold. But in 2024, the threshold was exceeded and extensive coral bleaching in the region was observed.

Dr Karenne Tun, director at NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre, said NParks is in discussion with scientists from the Centre for Climate Research Singapore under the National Environment Agency to develop a bleaching assessment tool based on on-site sea surface temperatures to determine bleaching stress levels of corals in Singapore waters.

“The team will take reference from NOAA’s bleaching watch products to develop this monitoring tool, which will help us optimise resources for response planning and monitoring,” said Dr Tun.

NParks has also reached out to marine enthusiasts who survey intertidal reefs and dive operators to submit reports on the Bleach Watch Singapore Facebook page to consolidate local observations.

Over the next 10 years, starting in 2024, 100,000 corals will be progressively planted and grown in Singapore’s waters to beef up its reef cover.

The Republic’s waters are home to around 250 species of hard corals of various colours and shapes – about one-third of the more than 800 species in the world. They serve as habitats for more than 100 species of reef fish, about 200 species of sea sponges, and rare and endangered seahorses and clams, among other creatures.

Correction note: An earlier version of the story said 90 per cent of the corals off Kusu Island were bleached. NUS and NParks have since clarified that it should be 30 per cent to 55 per cent.

5 tonnes of oil spilled at Changi on 28 Oct 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 08:17:00 +0000

About 5 tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed during bunkering operation at Changi from the receiving Bahamas-flagged Bulk Carrier, INES CORRADO.

Screen shot from reel on Lifein_Sea

The incident was reported to occur at about 5.40pm on 28 October and the bunkering operations ceased immediately. As at 8am 29 Oct 2024, MPA reports there is no oil sighted at sea in the vicinity of the incident and ashore.

From Lifein_Sea

No oil sightings arising from oil-releated incidents; Precautionary measures to stand down from today
MPA Joint Media Statement 30 Oct 2024

The clean-up of Shell’s leaked slop in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil, including the cleaning of the oil-stained rock bunds and infrastructure, has been completed.

2. There have been no other oil sightings at sea and ashore since 20 October 2024 when Shell first reported the leak.

3. There are also no oil sightings arising from the separate oil overflow bunkering incident on 28 October off Changi.

4. All the seaward oil response assets deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) for both incidents will stand down today.

5. The containment and absorbent booms that were installed by government agencies at various locations as a precautionary measure since 20 October, will be removed progressively.

MPA media release 29 Oct 2024

1. In response to media queries, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) confirms that oil which overflowed during a bunkering operation from the receiving Bahamas-flagged Bulk Carrier, INES CORRADO, had stopped. An estimated 5 tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed. MPA patrol craft had sprayed dispersants.

2. As at 8.00 am this morning, there is no oil sighted at sea in the vicinity of the incident and ashore.

3. As a precautionary measure, a Current Buster has been deployed off Changi to recover oil on water, if sighted.

4. The Malaysian authorities have been alerted to keep a lookout for oil sightings.

5. MPA will be investigating the incident.

MPA media release 29 Oct 2024

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has been informed of an oil spill off Changi during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker. The incident was reported to occur at about 5.40pm on 28 October and the bunkering operations ceased immediately.

2. MPA craft arrived at about 5.50pm and sprayed dispersants. Relevant government agencies have been alerted to keep a lookout for any oil sighting along the shores.

3. There is no impact to navigational traffic. Further updates will be provided when available.

Photo from the MPA media release.

Ines Corrado location as at 29 Oct 2024 4.30pm.

From Vessel Finder

Related blog post

Recent oil spills discussed in Parliament, 11 Nov 2024

Big Sisters' Island reopens to the public

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 22:32:00 +0000

Big Sisters' Island reopens with new features for visitors. You can now snorkel or swim in the lagoon. Or if you prefer to stay dry, view marine life from the floating boardwalk, or climb to the hilltop view deck through coastal forest.

To visit Big Sisters' Island, take a ferry from Marina South Pier via Singapore Island Cruise or Marina South Ferries from 29 Oct 2024. The Island is open to the public 7am to 7pm every day.

More details from media articles.

Revamped Big Sister's Island reopens after 3 years, with floating boardwalk and tidal pools
Visitors to the island can view various species of fish and coral, and even swim or snorkel in the tidal pool.
Charmaine Jacob Channel NewsAsia 28 Oct 2024.

A view of the neighbouring Small Sister's Island from the viewing tower on the island's highest point. (Photo:CNA/Wallace Woon)

SINGAPORE: Big Sister’s Island reopened to the public on Monday (Oct 28) after three years of enhancement works.

The revamped island has several new features such as a floating boardwalk, a coastal forest trail and a lagoon tidal pool where visitors can swim or snorkel.

The island’s new features give visitors more opportunities to get close to Singapore’s rich array of marine and terrestrial biodiversity such as coral reefs and mangroves, the National Parks Board (NParks) said.

Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, the country's first marine park, plays an important role in conservation, research, outreach and education.

The blacktip reef shark, copperband butterflyfish and giant carpet anemone are some of the aquatic creatures that can be found in waters surrounding the marine park.

Although the park spans across 40 hectares, only Big Sister’s Island is accessible to the public. Small Sisters’ Island, which is earmarked for marine conservation, continues to be off-limits.

Singapore announced in May that the southern islands - Kusu and Lazarus - have been picked as the proposed site for the country's second marine park. The reefs of Lazarus Island and Kusu Island are home to 97 and 141 coral species respectively, including certain rare ones, said NParks.

Opening the park on Monday, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said Singapore's rich array of marine biodiversity is constantly being threatened by climate change and environmental pollution.

"Singapore’s waterways are one of the busiest in the world, serving one of the busiest ports internationally. There are many demands on our waters. For example, commerce, shipping, industry, food and aquaculture, as well as recreation, to name a few," Mr Lee said.

He also briefly spoke about an oil spill from a pipeline belonging to major energy company Shell that occurred on Oct 20, saying that no oil was observed at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.

"Events such as oil spills and coral bleaching are a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable our marine ecosystems are".

Visitors to Sisters’ Islands Marine Park can catch a ferry from Marina South Pier. Singapore Island Cruise and Ferry Services will commence ferry services to the marine park from Tuesday.

These are the new features visitors can look out for.

FLOATING BOARDWALK

The 220m long floating boardwalk is the first of its kind in Singapore and also functions as a coral habitat for researchers. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

Visitors to Big Sister’s Island will spot Singapore’s first floating boardwalk once they disembark from the ferry.

Spanning across 220m, the boardwalk doubles as a coral habitat and research site.

Regardless of tide level, members of the public will be able to view corals and different species of fish swimming in and around the coral panels.

There are 63 coral panels on the lower sides of the boardwalk that will provide a suitable substrate for corals to grow.

Moon pools placed along the boardwalk for researchers to carry our their experiments. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

NParks said that it is currently working to install a camera there to observe the corals during daytime. The camera will be deployed into the water during day time, but will be brought up at night for cleaning and maintenance.

There are also five square pools of water - known as moon pools - along the boardwalk that will allow for various marine experiments to be carried out. This will help researchers study both the naturally established and transplanted corals in a field setting.

LAGOON TIDAL POOL

The lagoon turns into an intertidal zone where visitors can get up close with marine life. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

The smaller of two existing lagoons at Big Sister’s Island has been restructured into a tidal pool that will retain seawater during low tides, creating a sheltered water body that will boost growth of mangrove propagules and seagrass inside the lagoon.

Visitors will hence be able to partake in intertidal walks to get up close to marine plants and animals such as the Haddon's Carpet Anemone, Sandfish and Flowercrab, and even swim and snorkel during low tide. Lucky ones might even spot otters and turtles in the water.

Over time, the tidal pool will grow into a multi-habitat ecosystem that can support a wide range of marine biodiversity, such as the Spoon seagrass, Api-api Jambu and the Common sea star.

The development of the tidal pool and its programmes are supported by a S$1 million (US$760,000) donation from Singtel through the Garden City Fund.

Part of that donation also involves Singtel’s IT services arm designing an underwater video system to increase marine research and community engagement programmes. This will enable the tidal pool to double up as a “marine classroom,” the telecommunications company said.

COASTAL FOREST TRAIL

The Ocean Network Express Coastal Forest Trail runs through the centre of Big Sister's Island. (Photo: NParks)

Visitors who want a bird’s eye view of Big Sister’s Island can trek up the new Ocean Network Express Coastal Forest Trail.

They will be able to see critically endangered coastal species around the trail, such as the Putat Laut and Penaga Laut plants.

The 230m long trail will bring visitors through a coastal forest that will lead to a two-storey high hilltop view deck - the highest point of the island.

This will be a prime spot for birdwatchers who can keep an eye out for the critically endangered great-billed heron, spotted wood owl, and white-bellied sea eagle.

The coastal trail is supported by a S$1 million donation from Ocean Network Express through NParks’ Garden City Fund.

NET-ZERO ENERGY ISLAND

Sisters’ Islands is now a net-zero energy marine park that is fully powered by solar energy.

Located at the northern side of Big Sister’s Island, a solar farm with 88 solar panels will provide all the island’s electricity needs and power the desalination plant.

Placed at the brightest area of the island, this will meet the marine park’s estimated annual electricity consumption of 19,000 kWh. This is equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of a four-room HDB flat.

The new solar-powered desalination plant will convert seawater into clean water, providing the marine park with clean water. There is also a water tower that can store 8,000 litres of clean water, so no power source is required to distribute water.

Solar tubes will be used in the toilets instead of artificial lighting. Although there are open showers outside the toilet, there are currently no water coolers on the island.

OTHER CONSERVATION FEATURES

Home to a large variety of biodiversity, different types of reef enhancement units have also been placed on Sisters’ Islands Marine Park to give corals and other marine life habitat.

NParks is also testing out the use of mineral accretion technology to enhance growth of hard corals by subjecting them to low-voltage electricity - a first in Singapore. Around 250 species of hard corals have been documented in Singapore’s waters out of over 800 species found worldwide.

Apart from aquatic creatures, NParks has also built kingfisher burrows, bee hotels, bat boxes and wildlife piles around Big Sister’s Island, providing more nesting sites to the wildlife.

Benches around the marine park are also made from recycled casuarina timber from the island, while rope barriers have been made from decommissioned hoses from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

NParks will also look into using recycled hoses for hammocks and bench tops around the marine park.

Mr Lee also announced on Monday that NParks and the National University of Singapore have launched the second phase of the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey.

The survey aims to build on the information collected from the first phase in 2010 and provide a more complete picture of Singapore’s marine biodiversity. This will help NParks plan and strategise how to better conserve natural capital and enhance Singapore's climate and ecological resilience.

"Our efforts to meaningfully conserve and steward our marine biodiversity depend on having a good understanding of the environment, and of course, good data", Mr Lee said.

Sisters’ Islands Marine Park reopens; visitors can hike a coastal trail and see corals up close
Shabana Begum and Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 28 Oct 2024.

SINGAPORE – After three years of rejuvenation works, the biodiversity-rich Sisters’ Islands Marine Park reopened to the public on Oct 28, beckoning visitors with lagoons to swim in, corals to see up close, and a coastal forest trail that offers panoramic views of Singapore’s southern islands.

The jewel of the 40ha Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Big Sister’s Island, is the only place in the marine park that is open to visitors. Small Sister’s Island is zoned for research and conservation, while the western reefs of both St John’s Island and Pulau Tekukor are submerged.

In 2021, Big Sister’s Island underwent upgrading works to make it more visitor-friendly and to serve as a place for people to learn more about Singapore’s marine life, which is often invisible to the city dweller.

Now, the spruced-up island, located about a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland, has features that allow visitors to get closer to underwater marvels.

To the right of the jetty is a new floating boardwalk that rises and falls with the tides. Visitors would not even need to get wet to see corals. They just have to look over either side of the boardwalk to see clusters of corals growing on submerged panels.

Most of the corals were transplanted to the panels, which are attached to the boardwalk, while some naturally colonised.

The boardwalk also has five openings carved into it to create pools for researchers to conduct marine experiments.

At the heart of Big Sister’s Island is a coastal forest. A new 230m trail runs through it, allowing visitors to take a quick hike while looking out for the lesser dog-faced fruit bat and paradise tree snake that dwell in the woods.

The trail culminates in a two-storey-high viewing deck where visitors can enjoy views of the marine park and other nearby islands such as Pulau Semakau and Pulau Jong.

Visitors to the marine park will also catch glimpses of man-made habitats scattered across the island. They include burrows for kingfishers to nest in, wooden refuges for bats and a “bee hotel”, which provides shelter for solitary bees.

Log piles from felled trees serve as shelter for insects, spiders, reptiles and small mammals.

The reopening of Big Sister’s Island on Oct 28 was attended by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee.

Big Sister’s Island also has two lagoons for families and children to swim in and go on intertidal walks when tides are low.

Marine creatures such as Haddon’s carpet anemone, sea cucumbers, flower crabs, sea stars and even reef sharks – which do not pose a threat to humans – can be spotted.

The smaller lagoon in the south of the island is enclosed by a low seawall, allowing seawater to remain even during low tides. This pool allows mangrove seeds and seagrass to take root in the lagoon.

Over time, the National Parks Board (NParks) hopes that the lagoon will mature into an ecosystem that can sustain seagrass meadows, corals, mangroves and coastal trees.

The forest trail was developed with a $1 million donation from shipping company Ocean Network Express. Telecommunications company Singtel channelled $1 million into enhancing the small lagoon and adding educational elements.

The year 2024 marks a decade since the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Singapore’s first marine park, opened.

Its islands and reefs were gazetted for protection because of its variety of habitats, including intact coral reefs, sandy shores and seagrass meadows. The reef that runs alongside the entire marine park is known as Singapore’s “mother reef” that seeds coral larvae to other marine habitats.

In May 2024, Mr Lee announced plans to designate the southern part of Lazarus Island and the reef off Kusu Island as the Republic’s second marine park.

In 2017, he had told Parliament that NParks will make new rules specific to marine parks in due course, such as imposing restrictions on diving, the movement of vessels and the dropping of anchors.

Giving an update on this on Oct 28, Mr Lee said Singapore’s Parks and Trees Regulations will be strengthened to better regulate activity in the waters, and protect the reefs and biodiversity of the marine park. The strengthened rules will also protect the planned second marine park.

Visitors should bring plenty of water and pack some food for a day trip to Big Sister’s Island, as it has no food outlets.

The island is fully powered by solar energy, with a solar farm on-site providing 19,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to the yearly electricity usage of four four-room HDB flats.

Much of the electricity is used to run a desalination plant on the island, which converts seawater into clean water, mainly for the toilets and shower facilities. This takes away the need to have water shipped to the island from mainland Singapore.

Open to the public from 7am to 7pm each day, Big Sister’s Island is accessible by ferry from St John’s Island from Oct 29.

From St John’s, the Singapore Island Cruise ferries depart for Big Sister’s Island at 10am, 12pm and 2pm each day. The last ferry will leave Big Sister’s Island at 3pm.

Marina South Ferries also provides transport, and one other option for visitors is to take chartered vessels from Marina South Pier.

Before Big Sister’s Island was closed in 2021, the southern destination received about 800 visitors every month, said NParks.

Asked how designating the area as a marine park had helped to improve biodiversity, NParks told The Straits Times that its staff have observed an increase in the fish population, with fairly frequent sightings of juvenile and adult blacktip reef sharks, which are locally endangered.

“The frequent sightings of these sharks indicate that the fish population at the marine park is in a sufficiently healthy state to be able to support a healthy reproducing population of reef predators,” NParks added.

Other reef fish spotted include the butterflyfish, pufferfish, angelfish and the elusive dartfish.

Sisters’ Islands Marine Park is protected under law as a public park, which means it is an offence to fish, collect corals or moor boats within the 40ha zone without the authorities’ approval.

Since 2018, there have been around 10 incidents involving people who broke rules at the marine park, with most of them related to fishing, added NParks.

Over the years, the Friends of Marine Park community has provided feedback on how Big Sister’s Island can be enhanced.

Mr Stephen Beng, chairman of the voluntary network, said: “The island is a place for people to appreciate what our reefs are like when given the time and space to flourish. I also want visitors to see the protected area as a place for learning how to coexist with nature.”

Marketing executive Cornelius Tang, 28, looks forward to visiting the island.

“This is a good opportunity for us to see the local biodiversity like fishes and corals in their natural habitat while learning about them,” added Mr Tang, who is a fan of marine animals.

What to expect at Big Sister’s Island

1. Floating boardwalk

Singapore’s first floating boardwalk doubles as a coral habitat and research site.

The 220m boardwalk rises and falls with the tides, allowing visitors to observe marine life such as corals and fish. It also provides a scenic view of both Sisters’ Islands.

Submerged panels act as a nursery for corals to establish and grow, and five moon pools open to the sea below, so marine experiments can be carried out in a field setting.

2. Ocean Network Express Coastal Forest Trail

The 230m trail winds through Big Sister’s Island’s coastal forest.

On the trail, visitors can observe coastal flora and fauna such as the mangrove fan palm and paradise tree snake. Critically endangered coastal species of trees such as putat laut and penaga laut were planted around the trail, as part of habitat enhancement.

3. Hilltop view deck

The forest trail leads to the hilltop view deck, the highest point on the island. From this two-storey-high vantage point, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the sea and surrounding offshore islands like Pulau Jong and Pulau Semakau.

The deck also serves as a prime birdwatching spot where visitors can look out for spotted wood owls, white-bellied sea eagles and the critically endangered great-billed heron.

4. Lagoon tidal pool

A low seawall built across the entrance of an existing lagoon has transformed it into a tidal pool that retains seawater during low tide.

The sheltered water allows seagrass and mangrove saplings to take root. Over time, the tidal pool will mature into an ecosystem with seagrass, corals, mangrove and coastal habitats.

On intertidal walks at low tide, visitors can observe marine life, including the Haddon’s carpet anemone, sandfish and flower crab. Visitors can snorkel in the tidal pool even at low tide.

5. Net zero-energy facilities

The island hosts a solar farm with 88 photovoltaic, emission-free solar panels. The electricity generated by these solar panels is enough to meet the marine park’s energy needs, such as lighting and running of the desalination plant.

The desalination plant uses solar energy to turn seawater into clean water, making imports from the mainland unnecessary. A water tower stores up to 8,000 litres of clean water that is distributed using gravity instead of a pump.

ST Explains: How Sisters’ Islands Marine Park is bringing marine science from lab to life
Shabana Begum and Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 28 Oct 2024.

SINGAPORE - The Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, which reopened to the public on Oct 28, is not just a place to bring people closer to Singapore’s underwater life.

It is also a living laboratory for marine scientists in Singapore to study corals, fish and other marine creatures that adorn the country’s coastal areas – and where people can get up close with the research.

By allowing people to peer into the carved openings on the new floating boardwalk to see coral experiments or wade in the lagoons to see how seagrass and mangroves can be restored, the revamped Big Sister’s Island will help bring marine science from lab to life.

But the marine science scene in Singapore extends beyond the marine park. As part of a region thronging with islands and coastal seas, many research groups in Singapore are embarking on research to better understand marine biodiversity.

On Oct 28, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee gave an update on some of these research programmes, including the launch of Singapore’s second comprehensive marine biodiversity survey. The Straits Times highlights a few of them.

1. What is the aim of the second comprehensive marine biodiversity survey?

The first survey that was completed almost a decade ago had mapped out the types of marine life found across three habitats in Singapore’s waters – intertidal mudflats, coral reefs, as well as the soft, submerged parts of the seafloor.

“While (the first phase) was a huge step forward in revealing Singapore’s marine biodiversity, not everything could be covered,” said Associate Professor Darren Yeo, head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at NUS.

The museum is one of three organisations helming the new, roughly five-year survey, alongside the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute and the National Parks Board (NParks).

“To address such knowledge gaps, in (the second phase), NUS will employ new and different approaches… to uncover poorly studied hidden biodiversity in and around Singapore reefs,” added Prof Yeo.

This initiative will focus on unearthing tiny organisms thriving in seafloors and inside the crevices of corals. These include tiny crustaceans, marine worms and foraminifera – single-celled creatures with shells smaller than a grain of sand. Many of these organisms are between 0.5mm and 2mm in size.

Scientists will use seabed corers to collect and sieve out the tiny creatures at different depths of the sand and seabed.

Knowing what lives in different depths can help scientists intervene better when an area is damaged. For example, if an oil spill smothers the top layer of an intertidal area, the organisms deep below could be unscathed.

“If biodiversity is surviving at lower depths, we can rehabilitate the top layer... if the oil only impacted the first layer, it means intervention is simpler,” said Dr Karenne Tun, director at NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre.

LKCNHM’s deputy head Huang Danwei also expects new species to be discovered from the five-year survey.

Mr Lee added: “(The survey) will help us make more well-informed decisions regarding marine conservation, including how to better plan the use of our very limited sea space.”

More than $2 million has been channelled to the second survey, with funds coming from organisations such as Dalio Philanthropies and HSBC Bank.

2. How will the marine surveys be conducted?

Instead of dissecting a coral to see what lives inside it, researchers have deployed a layered device that mimics the structure of a coral, with gaps and nooks for worms and encrusting algae to settle on.

More than 40 of these autonomous reef monitoring structures have been anchored at seven sites around Singapore. After one to two years, the scientists will retrieve the devices to see what kinds of organisms have moved into these faux corals.

In this second phase of the marine biodiversity survey, scientists want to study lesser-known ecosystems by trying not to disturb fragile habitats.

And to do that, they are harnessing new technologies, such as the reef monitoring device and portable DNA sequencing tools, to quickly identify species.
3. How can electricity help coral growth?

To speed up growth, hard corals will be stimulated by low-voltage electricity to help make a type of calcium carbonate – similar to those naturally secreted by themselves – to build their skeletons, which are key building blocks of reef structures.

This is done through a chemical reaction called electrolysis.

These corals will be attached to underwater steel structures that will be connected to CoralAID Mineral Accretion (Cama) units that produce the electricity. These units are made of titanium and are powered by solar energy.

This electrical boost can also help strengthen the hard corals’ resilience to threats such as ocean warming and acidification.

Studies in Thailand have shown that corals growing on similar structures were less susceptible to coral bleaching compared with wild corals. This is something NParks wanted to test here.

Amid the fourth global coral bleaching event on record, due to warming seas, Singapore’s reefs have not been spared. In June, about 40 per cent of reefs in the shallow waters of the Southern Islands were bleaching.

Acknowledging that there are varying levels of coral bleaching across marine areas in Singapore currently, Mr Lee said NParks and research partners are closely monitoring the situation while studying coral bleaching responses and resilience.

This is the first time Singapore is trialling the Cama technology to stimulate the growth of hard corals by subjecting them to low-voltage electricity. The trials are being done at Bendera Bay at St John’s Island and in a research pool at Big Sister’s Island’s boardwalk.

The growth rate of these corals will be monitored over a period of 12 months to assess whether the use of Cama units should be expanded to other parts of Singapore.

4. Why are corals important and what are we doing to save them?

Coral reefs, which are built by hard corals over time, serve as habitat for more than 100 species of reef fish, about 200 species of sea sponges, and rare and endangered seahorses and clams, among other marine life.

They also play a pivotal role in providing coastal protection and serve as natural barriers against coastal erosion.

About 60 per cent of Singapore’s reef area has been lost to land reclamation. Most of Singapore’s intact coral reefs are found in the Southern Islands.

In 2018, man-made reef structures were installed in the waters off Small Sister’s Island and were expected to contribute some 1,000 sq m of additional reef substrate to the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park by 2030.

Over the next 10 years, 100,000 corals will be progressively planted and grown in Singapore’s waters to beef up its reef cover.

The 100,000 corals initiative will scale up the country’s existing coral restoration efforts, such as the Plant-A-Coral, Seed-A-Reef programme, which began in 2016.

The programme had helped to expand the reefs of Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, with more than 700 corals planted and 16 artificial reef structures installed underwater.

A quarter of fish farms shut down in 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 00:30:00 +0000

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."

A quarter of fish farms shut down in past year, some of which took up $100,000 SFA support package
Cheryl Tan and Ng Keng Gene, Straits Times 26 Oct 2024

SINGAPORE – About a quarter of Singapore’s sea-based fish farms have exited the industry over the past year, with some farm operators saying they had accepted a financial support package from the authorities to wind up operations.

Singapore Food Agency (SFA) figures showed that there were 74 sea-based fish farms in October 2024, down from 98 in 2023, according to its 2023 food statistics report. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of sea-based fish farms held steady at about 110.

At least five fish farm operators that The Straits Times spoke to said they were offered a support package from SFA to ease the financial burden of winding up their operations.

Farmers said they had a year – between July 2023 and June 2024 – to take up the package to help them reinstate the sea space their farms occupied.

ST has asked SFA how many farmers accepted this package, which amounted to up to $100,000.

The support package comes as sea-based fish farms in Singapore are being transitioned to a new sea space management model by the SFA, which the agency announced in 2022.

Farms will have to pay for the use of sea spaces under the new scheme, which took effect in 2024. They did not have to previously.

For fish farm operators, this means that the cost of maintaining a farm is expected to increase, with farms set to pay $3,600 per year to use half a hectare of sea space from 2026, in addition to a $145 annual farm licence fee.

Farmers are currently paying 20 per cent of the $3,600 fee in 2024, and will pay 50 per cent in 2025, to mitigate the impact of the increase.

Those who opted for the support package cited factors such as higher costs and changing environmental conditions that could impact yield. Some also decided to retire.

Mr Joseph Wee, owner of Aquablue, a farm that reared grouper and lobster, told ST that he shut down his farm in the East Johor Strait in June 2024, after taking up a $100,000 support package from SFA.

Mr Wee, 63, said about 30 per cent of the entire sum was disbursed before the reinstatement of his farm’s space – which refers to demolishing existing structures there – while the remainder was given after the demolition was completed.

Farmers said they were required to engage marine scanning services to ensure no infrastructural debris had been left on the seabed.

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.

He said he decided to retire when the offer came along because of high labour costs and the significant level of investments needed to maintain the farming structures over the years.

“As the farming structures are made from wood, these would slowly deteriorate over the years, after being exposed to the seawater and rain, and need constant repair and maintenance,” said Mr Wee.

He had initially planned to sell his farm and transfer the licence to the buyer, but said SFA did not allow this.

“This leaves us with no choice but to either bite the bullet and continue farming, or shut down our farm and exit the industry,” he added.

SFA had told ST that the Government provided farmers who chose to exit the industry with support to reinstate their farm space, as well as job-matching and training for those who opted for a career switch.

Some farmers said it has been difficult to profitably meet SFA’s annual minimum productivity levels of 17 tonnes per half hectare of sea space they occupy.

SFA said such requirements have been part of the licensing conditions since the 1990s, and are in place due to space constraints.

The agency added that it will support farmers who are keen to increase productivity, by providing account managers to assist and advise them, as well as through funding support for technology adoption.

All of the sea-based fish farms currently in operation in Singapore are located in the Johor Strait – the narrow body of water between Singapore and Malaysia.

But farmers have expressed concern about deteriorating water quality, due to surrounding industrial activity, port operations, and nutrient build-up over the years, causing harmful algae blooms that can kill hundreds of fish at one go.

ST had reported in 2020 that an SFA-commissioned study found that the Johor Strait is nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels. Any production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones, impacting productivity.

Mr Wee recalled enduring two significant “red tides” over the years, caused by algae blooms which brought about widespread fish deaths, costing him significant financial losses.

But at least two fish farmers are opting to stay put.

Heng Heng Fish Farm co-owner Alvin Yeo, 35, said he intends to continue the family business by farming tilapia, a more sustainable food fish than the milkfish the farm used to grow. This is because milkfish are often fed expired bread and other confectionery, which pollute the waters.

“We don’t know if the lease will end up becoming way too expensive compared with the amount that we currently pay on a yearly basis, and if it does, it will end up being unsustainable for us to continue farming,” he said.

Farming tilapia has also allowed the farm to tap an existing initiative that helps to connect farmers to large retailers like FairPrice and wet markets, said Mr Yeo, providing more impetus for him to stay.

The Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (Safef) aggregates marine tilapia – of at least 400g in weight – from some nine local fish farms and hatcheries so far, and sells the fish under the brand name of The Straits Fish.

Mr Joe Ng from Century Aquaculture, who breeds tilapia fingerlings, or baby fish, said that he has seen demand increase for his fish in recent months because of the Safef initiative.

The hatchery currently breeds its own marine tilapia species and produces some 100,000 to 150,000 fingerlings a month, which are supplied to around five or six farms, mostly in the waters off Lim Chu Kang.

Mr Ng expects demand to grow further in the coming months, and will be scaling up operations to produce some 500,000 fingerlings monthly.

Mr Daniel Tay from Straits Seafood said the Safef initiative has given him a lifeline. Instead of taking up the $100,000 support package, he is revamping operations to produce tilapia at the scale needed.

For instance, the farm now regularly tracks fish growth and monitors the prevalence of disease, with the help of aquaculture consultant AquaFarms Advisors.

“We used to farm species like the Asian sea bass and red snapper, but production was not consistent due to the lack of sufficient demand,” he added.

The farm had also suffered a dip in sales every time fish prices in Malaysia dropped, he said.

“Now, with a guaranteed buyer as long as we adhere to good aquaculture practices, there’s a future for fish farming,” he added.

Existing fish farms will have to pay for use of sea spaces
a space. Farmers pay only for the yearly renewal of their fish culture farm licences. PHOTO: ST FILE
Audrey Tan and Shabana Begum Straits Times 31 May 2022

SINGAPORE - From next year, fish farms operating in Singapore's coastal waters will have to pay for the use of sea spaces, which are becoming increasingly sought after for various purposes such as for solar panel deployment or other maritime, industrial or recreational activities.

Currently, sea-based farms do not pay for the use of sea space. Farmers pay only for the yearly renewal of their fish culture farm licences, which is currently $850 per half-hectare per year.

This means that unlike land-based farms, coastal fish farms do not have leases that provide certainty on their use of sea spaces.

Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan said on Monday (March 7) during the debate on his ministry's budget that this lack of lease mechanism for sea-based farms is causing uncertainty for farmers.

This uncertainty can hinder farmers from making investments in high-technology farming solutions that could boost yields, as Singapore moves to increase local food production to secure food security.

"We will offer leases to all sea-based farms in the longer term," Mr Tan said.

Existing farms will be eased into this arrangement starting with yearly renewable temporary occupation licences from Jan 1 next year.

By then, the fish farm license fees will be reduced from the current $850 per half-hectare to $145.

New farm applications and farms with major changes to their farming activities will be subject to a one-off assessment fee, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment is the parent ministry of SFA.

The temporary occupation licence, which must also be renewed annually, will cost $3,600 per half-hectare in the Johor Strait - the narrow body of water to the north of Singapore where most of the Republic's 110 licensed fish farms are located.

In the southern waters, where the Barramundi Group now operates across two sites, the temporary occupation licence will be $6,000 per half-hectare.

SFA said the valuation of sea-based farms takes into account factors such as "locational attributes".

The Straits Times had earlier reported that an SFA-commissioned study had found that the Johor Strait is nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels. Production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones and impact productivity.

SFA said in a separate statement to ST that the temporary occupation licence for existing farmers will be renewed annually within a 10-year transition period, as long as the Government does not have plans for the space and farms meet the requirements of this license.

To mitigate this cost, however, the Government will adopt a phased approach to ease the farms towards a lease instrument, said the SFA.

"Farms will only start paying 20 per cent (of the temporary occupation licence fees) in 2024, 50 per cent in 2025, and 100 per cent from 2026," the spokesman added.

In Parliament on Monday, Mr Tan also said new land and sea parcels will benefit from longer-term leases of 20 plus 10 years.

"This means that future tenders will offer farmers the option of extending their lease beyond the initial 20-year period for an additional 10 years, subject to farms meeting SFA's production output conditions," he added.

This will apply to new land parcels in Sungei Tengah and Lim Chu Kang, as well as new sea space tenders that will be launched from the end of this year.

More details will be announced by SFA when the tenders are launched, Mr Tan added.

In 2019, Singapore set itself a target of meeting 30 per cent of the country's food needs locally by 2030.

To help it achieve this target, the Republic is broadening its focus beyond leafy vegetables, eggs and food fish to other food types, such as fruited crops like tomatoes, as well as mushrooms and shrimp.

Mr Tan said the Government will expand the scope of the Agri-food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund - which farmers can tap to deploy yield-improving innovations and technologies - to allow more food types that are commonly consumed in Singapore to benefit from higher co-funding.

From April 1, farms producing shrimp, mushrooms and fruited vegetables can tap a higher co-funding quantum of 70 per cent, or up to $6 million, under the ACT.

This is an increase from 50 per cent of the co-funding for those food types, when the $60 million ACT Fund was launched last year.

This means that the three food types will have similar co-funding caps as leafy vegetables, fish and eggs, which already had a 70 per cent co-funding since the ACT started.

The five-year ACT Fund comprises three co-funding components for local agri-food companies to transform their farming systems and increase productivity and yields. The three components are technology upscaling, innovation and test bedding, and capability upgrading.

New ACT Fund applications received from April 1 will be reviewed using the new co-funding criteria, said SFA.

There are currently 29 licensed crop farms here that can grow fruited vegetables such as cherry tomatoes. Among those, four of them are indoor or rooftop farms.

There are six mushroom and shrimp farms here, of which four are located indoors or on rooftops.

Mr Tan added that food supply resilience is crucial during this time as the pandemic and war in Ukraine is leading to volatility in food supply and prices globally.

"We can expect to feel the impact in the coming months," he said.

He encouraged the public to support and buy local produce.

"Without strong local demand, our farmers would find it hard to sustain a high level of production."

As some fish farms in Johor Strait near maximum production levels, authorities eye southern expansion
Audrey Tan Straits Times 3 Apr 2020

SINGAPORE - The fish-rearing capacity of the narrow body of water to Singapore's north, where almost all the nation's off-shore fish farms are located, could soon reach maximum production levels as the country scales up local food production.

So to further boost the Republic's resilience against disruptions to global supply chains, as what is currently happening amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the authorities have now set their sights on the nation's southern waters for aquaculture.

A spokesman for the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said: "SFA has conducted a broad scan of the southern waters for potential aquaculture sites and is targeting for sustainable farming systems to be adopted at those sites. Various spatial, production and environmental constraints were taken into consideration to determine potential sites."

There is only one deep-sea fish farm in the southern Singapore Strait, Barramundi Asia, which occupies two sites. Over in the Johor Strait are 108 coastal fish farms that make up the bulk of Singapore's 110 licensed sea-based fish farm sites.

Last year, local farms produced some 4,700 tonnes of fish - amounting to 10 per cent of total consumption.

The Straits Times has learnt that a study commissioned by the SFA has shown that certain sites north of the mainland are nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels.

Production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones and impact farm productivity, the SFA spokesman said.

But the study also found that overall, implementing management measures would support higher production levels of the aquaculture zones there, an SFA spokesman said. She did not elaborate on what these measures would entail, but said the agency would be engaging stakeholders such as nature groups and farmers as part of the agency's planning and assessment for the development of the aquaculture zones in the Strait of Johor.

Science-based strategies

Professor Dean Jerry, an aquaculture expert, said expanding aquaculture zones could dramatically increase home-grown aquaculture products, especially as companies move towards a high-volume, industrial-scale production model.

"Marine aquaculture, if done on an industrial-scale, is one of the most efficient animal protein producing sectors available," said Prof Jerry, director of the Tropical Futures Institute at James Cook University Singapore.

"Opening up new areas for aquaculture and encouraging innovative and industrial-scale operators to take up sites could double current production volumes very quickly once farms are established."

But industrial aquaculture also comes with its challenges, he said, pointing to factors such as the need for good disease control and tailoring fish feed to the species being reared in order to achieve maximum productivity.

The marine environment the fish is reared in is also important, he said. Unlike land-based fish farms, where fish are reared in enclosed tanks, many off-shore fish farms keep their fish in netted pens in the sea, which means the fish are exposed to the surrounding environmental conditions.

Prof Jerry said that in Singapore, the carrying capacity of a body of water for aquaculture depends on how the marine environment copes with additional pressure.

Considerations include whether there is enough dissolved oxygen in the water to accommodate more fish, or if the ecosystem can process fish waste or uneaten food in a way that does not cause any imbalance to the water's nutrient level.

An imbalance in the amount of nutrients such as nitrogen, which is present in fish waste, could cause harmful algae blooms. These blooms have in the past resulted in mass fish deaths in Singapore.

Other considerations

But beyond the ecological considerations, observers and industry players say other factors could also determine Singapore's aquaculture output levels.

Demand for local produce is one factor.

A spokesman for Barramundi Asia said the company produces about 700 tonnes of fish annually, with about 60 tonnes harvested on a monthly basis.

But due to the decline in sales to restaurants and hotels in the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the company has been harvesting lower volumes of fish over the past two months, he said.

"During this crisis, we hope consumers will choose to support local produce and purchase our Kuhlbarra barramundi from our online store," he added.

Over the longer term, Barramundi Asia has a plan to farm over 5,000 tonnes of fish in Singapore between 2026 and 2030 in support of the Singapore Government's target of meeting 30 per cent of nutritional needs with locally grown or reared produce by 2030.

But the spokesman added: "Our biggest challenges to ramping up production includes not having access to additional marine sea leases to scale-up production and lack of growth financing to support our expansion plans in a sustainable way."

So the news that there were plans to increase aquaculture zones in the south was welcome news indeed, he said.

Another consideration in space-constrained Singapore is the competing use for marine space, noted Prof Jerry.

"Other challenges to expanding aquaculture in the southern waters could relate to safe shipping, recreational use, and building up the infrastructure for energy supply for farming operations," he added.

Singapore's southern waters are more open than the Johor Strait, which is sheltered from oceanic currents due to the Causeway and land masses sandwiching the narrow body of water.

As a result, the Republic's southern waters are home to unique habitats not found in the north, such as coral reefs. These habitats can support marine life ranging from dolphins to reef sharks and sea turtles. The Sisters' Islands Marine Park, Singapore's one and only marine park, is also located off the southern coast.

Mr Stephen Beng, chair of the Friends of Marine Park community said the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak has showed that planning for Singapore's food security over the long-term is crucial for the nation's survival.

But the impact of aquaculture on the natural marine environment must be a key consideration, he said.

"It's not as easy to control the negative impacts of sea farms than it is with land ones. We can't put fences or drains in the sea to stop pollution and disease," said Mr Beng, who is also chair of the Nature Society's (Singapore) marine conservation group.

"Efforts must focus first on northern farms to be as productive as they can be, with control measures in place before considerations for more in the south," he added, pointing to the need for rigorous environmental impact assessments ahead of any operations that could potentially cause pollution.

The SFA said it will be engaging the nature groups to ensure that measures are put in place so aquaculture activities do not adversely impact the marine environment.

Its spokesman added: "We will also conduct a detailed study of the potential environmental impact for each potential site."

Oiled East Coast Park (Sailing Centre): life returning?

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 23:37:00 +0000

A lively team surveyed East Coast Park (Sailing Centre) to check for impact from the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. This shore was cleaned of oil.

The tide took a while to fall, finally revealing that seagrasses seemed well. The team found many animals commonly seen here. Hopefully, this means life is returning.

The tide took a long time to fall! And wasn't as low as I would have preferred. But thanks to the lively team, we saw lots of hermit crabs, crabs and small fish of all kinds, small sea anemones, some Tiny red sea cucumbers and a Garlic bread sea cucumber, Bonnet snail, moon snail sand collars and more. I will compile their photos soon.

Among the seagrasses and sandy area, Marcus and Fiori saw lots of hermit crabs - including a gathering lining up to exchange shells! There were many Moon crabs, small swimming crabs and a Sally lightfoot crab. Also shrimps and snapping shrimps. Many small fishes too: small whitings, mullets and a small flathead. There was one Garlic bread sea cucumber, one Cake sand dollar. Special snails seen include a Pink moon snail, a Grey bonnet snail and a Spiral melongena laying egg capsules. There were many shells of horseshoe crabs, most were moults while a few were dead.

Collage of photos by Marcus and Fiora

There is still lots of seagrass on the shore. The tide wasn't low enough to properly see the whole shore. But there was still dense clumps of Needle seagrass (both narrow and broad leaf blades) and Spoon seagrass (large leaf blades). I saw one small clumps of Tape seagrass with long leaves and female flowers. I also saw tiny patches of Noodle seagrass.

As in the past surveys, there were still many clumps of washed up 'bleached' Halimeda seaweed. They were not attached to the ground and were washed up all along the sandbar and low shore. Maybe they were growing in deeper water and just recently died and washed up? We saw the same thing here on our last survey in Sep 2024, and also at East Coast PCN area H yesterday.

The narrow band of oil on the jetty leg on the highest shore is still there. I didn't get a closer look at life on the legs, but Marcus reported it was a little quiet. Will update with his photos soon.

In the jetty area among the legs and rocks, Marcus and Fiora saw many snails. One Nerite snail had traces of oil on its shell and was still alive! There were also Drills and their eggs, periwinkles and limpets. As well as tiny Onch snails, small crabs and even a Ribbon worm.

Collage of photos by Marcus and Fiora

We only saw one tiny patch of oil slick on the shore and there wasn't a lot of dark sand in our footprints. On the low shore and further seaward, the patch of litter here has grown larger. Among the litter were many single-use water cups, which commonly wash up on beaches along the ferry routes. These are not commonly used by beach goers or the local boating or fishing community. But these single-use water cups are apparently given out to passengers on ferries. It seems no facilities are provided at any of the piers/terminals under MPA's charge for vessels to responsibly dispose of trash generated during their operation. More in

this post.

Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were recently announced to begin.

What the shore looks like in daylight.

Photos by others on this survey

Marcus Ng

Fiori Li

Low Liong Leong

Myra Khoo

James Dvc

Mathias Luk

Amy Woon

Isaac Ong

Oiled East Coast shore: seagrasses still there, corals mostly dead

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 23:32:00 +0000

A tiny team do the monthly check on this shore which was not cleaned after it was impacted by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. Today, the tide was low enough to get a glimpse of the corals.

The 'House of Horrors' under the bridge in the canal is still there. 'Oil pancakes' are emerging from the sand and was encountered in soft areas in the canal. Seagrasses are still growing lush, but corals unfortunately are mostly dead.

There is still life on the shore, though as in the past before the oil spill, not a wide variety. In the small sand bar, I saw one Fig snail and many Weasel olive snails. Among the corals, Samuel pointed out Long black sea cucumbers and a Carpet eel-blenny, and egg capsules of a squid. A man was diligently cast netting in the lagoon and he showed us the small fishes he caught - he says they are usually larger.

Updating on life seen on the shore. Thanks to photos and sightings by Isaac Ong and Samuel Loh! There were fishes: halfbeak, emperor fish, carpet eel-blenny. There were lots of little hermit crabs! Also purple climbing crab and moon crab as well as stone crab. Good to know the Arabian cowrie is still there. As well as Giant carpet anemone and Frilly anemones. Sand dollar too and encrusting animals on seagrass. Most of the animals were small though.

Collage of photos by the team.

Today, the tide was low enough for a brief but not totally exposed look at the corals. The last time we saw them was in Aug 2024 when I estimated 90% were dead. In July 2024 we estimated 90% were bleaching or highly stressed, and about 50% already have dying/dead portions. Today, 90% were stone cold dead, I didn't see any that were bleaching or recently dying. Some colonies had a thin layer of live corals at the bottom-most portion, with the bulk of the upper colony dead. But there were a few boulder shaped corals and some Branching pore corals that were totally fine. All plate-forming corals appear to be dead.

One of the nicest patch of seagrasses in Singapore is at the mouth of this canal. Almost all the seagrass species for Singapore can be found here. Today is the first time I'm seeing the seagrasses in some daylight. They are still growing lush at the mouth of the canal. The seagrasses still seemed healthy, leaves long and not cropped. Most seemed fresh and green, I didn't see any bleaching seagrasses and there was no sign of oil anywhere among the seagrasses.

Seagrasses still grow well inside the canal to the bridge. There were still Tape seagrass with long leaves - I saw 3 with male flowers. As in the past, there was lots of Spoon seagrass (large and small leaves); Needle seagrass (broad and narrow leaves). There was also lots of Smooth ribbon seagrass at the mouth of the canal. Across the canal among the corals, I saw some Noodle seagrass and Serrated ribbon seagrass.

There was a very large pile of recently dead Jania red seaweeds washed up into the canal - still red, not yet bleached white. We saw this too during our survey of Jul 2024, though not in such a large amount. But did see many dead broken off Halimeda seaweeds washed up, which we observed since the Jun 2024. There were also small patches of red hairy stuff probably Cyanobacteria growing on seagrasses on the other side of the canal.

Oil under the bridge in the canal is still seen on the walls and bridge legs. Although they no longer glisten.

But for the first time, I saw long narrow strips of 'oil pancakes' that seem to be emerging from the sand. There was also a thick layer of oil when we stepped into the soft areas in the middle of the canal. And blackish sand still seen on the high shore and inside the canal. But I didn't see any oil slicks or sheen. The trash at the high shore was gone, but there was still a lot on the low shore.

I saw more life on the oiled canal walls than during the last survey in Sep 2024 - probably because today, I had a look after sunset, animals are more active in the dark. Today I saw larger crabs, even a small Blue hermit crab. There were the usual limpets and periwinkle snails, many Drills and many tiny Onch slugs.

What is the fate of these shores?

These shores lie west of Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were recently announced to begin.

Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the Draft Master Plan 2013.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Check out the Sinapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

See these and other East Coast shores for yourself!

It's fun and easy to explore these shores. More details in East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family.

Others on this survey: Issac Ong, Samuel Loh

Pulau Hantu after Bukom spill and mass coral bleaching

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:57:00 +0000

There was an oil spill at Bukom about 12 hours before we arrived for our survey.

We didn't smell any oil at Hantu, although the water seemed particularly murkier than usual - effect of dispersants? Fortunately, we didn't see any mass coral bleaching and most of the corals seemed to have survived. Today was also the maiden 'flight' of our brand new underwater drone!

Today, the water at the northern side of Pulau Hantu did seem particularly murkier than usual. Earlier today before dawn, there was a leak from a pipeline between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil. In response, Shell and MPA sprayed dispersants - did these result in increased suspension of particles in the water at Pulau Hantu?

Our skipper told us to expect this and on the way to Pulau Hantu at about 5pm, we did cut through a small patch of sheen and thin brown slick (which looked like this photo by MPA in media articles on the spill - compiled here). This was just before crossing the Jong Fairway, we didn't see any MPA vessels nearby. We could smell the oil before we saw it. I didn't smell any oil on Pulau Hantu.

The rest of the team saw much colourful marine life: 'Nemo', nudibranchs and flatworms. Colourful crabs, busy octopus and pygmy squid, many small fishes of all kinds and the Magnificent anemone is still there. The corals they saw were mostly healthy, with only a few signs of bleaching and recent death.

Collage of photos by the team.
Links to their albums below.

We return so soon to this shore mainly to check for impact of mass coral bleaching. During our Jun 2024 survey, we estimated about 20% of hard corals were full on bleaching and another 20% of hard corals were stressed (pale, odd colours). Today, I didn't widespread bleaching. Although it was challenging to get to the reef edge due to the massive Sargassum bloom (normal for this time of the year). I did manage to see some special corals like Circular mushroom corals, Sunflower mushroom co rals, Anchor corals. The large colonies of Goniopora corals and Galaxy corals at the reef edge were mostly okay. Some had many dead portions towards the high shore, but okay towards deeper water.

There have always been many medium-sized leathery soft coral various kinds here. On our Jun 2024 survey, most were alright, although about 10% were full on bleaching and another 20% slightly stressed (pale, more yellowish than usual or 'melting' with holes in the middle). Today, I saw many large healthy colonies and didn't see any bleaching. But I didn't see any Asparagus flowery soft corals.

Other cnidarians can also bleach, so I looked out for those too. I saw some large colonies of Sea mat zoanthids that were brown - some were pale Jun 2024. I saw a few Giant carpet anemone all okay, some were pale Jun 2024. I saw two Fire anemones and some Frilly anemones, all were fine.

On the seawalls facing the petrochemical plants, mangroves have settled naturally (without planting)! On the east seawall nearer Hantu Kecil jetty, the mangroves are still small shrubs. On the west seawall, they have grown into tall trees. There are also many little saplings settling all around the edges of the lagoons.

There remains hardly any sighs of seagrasses. Where long lush Tape seagrass used to grow, I saw only a few clumps with very short cropped leaves. Even Spoon seagrasses are sparse and tiny.

What is the fate of Pulau Hantu?

Pulau Hantu and all the terumbus west of it are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review. Singapore's submerged reefs are often out of sight under the high tide and thus forgotten.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

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

Photos by others on this survey

Che Cheng Neo

Tammy Lim

Vincent Choo

James Koh

Others on this survey: Lon

Oil spill from Bukom refinery, 20 Oct 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 23:06:00 +0000

Oil slick and sheen is seen in surrounding waters due to leakage from a land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil which happened early morning 20 Oct 2024.

Shell stopped the leak at source, placed containment booms off the site of the leak and deployed craft equipped with dispersants to clean up the oil sighted in the vicinity of the leak.

MPA deployed 7 MPA craft to spray dispersants. As at 6pm 20 Oct 2024, no new oil sightings were reported. From media reports as below.

No oil sightings arising from oil-releated incidents; Precautionary measures to stand down from today
MPA Joint Media Statement 30 Oct 2024

The clean-up of Shell’s leaked slop in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil, including the cleaning of the oil-stained rock bunds and infrastructure, has been completed.

2. There have been no other oil sightings at sea and ashore since 20 October 2024 when Shell first reported the leak.

3. There are also no oil sightings arising from the separate oil overflow bunkering incident on 28 October off Changi.

4. All the seaward oil response assets deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) for both incidents will stand down today.

5. The containment and absorbent booms that were installed by government agencies at various locations as a precautionary measure since 20 October, will be removed progressively.

6. Investigations by the National Environment Agency and MPA into the leaked slop incident at Pulau Bukom are ongoing. MPA will also be investigating the Changi oil overflow bunkering incident.

Oil leak from Shell pipeline
SG Press Centre 20 Oct 2024

At about 1.00pm (SGT) today, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted to an oil leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil, which occurred at around 5.30am (SGT) on 20 October 2024. The leak was reported to have stopped at source.

2. Shell has placed containment booms off the site of the leak and has also deployed craft equipped with dispersants to clean up the oil sighted in the vicinity of the leak.

3. MPA has deployed 7 MPA craft equipped with dispersants together with craft from its contractor Singapore Salvage Engineers. MPA has also activated its drones and satellite capabilities to assist with the sighting of the oil spill. Relevant government agencies have been alerted and to report any oil sightings. There are no new oil sightings as at 6.00pm (SGT).

4. MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has issued navigational safety broadcasts to ask passing vessels to keep clear of the site. There is no impact to navigation safety.

Oil spill containment measures activated after Shell pipeline leak off Singapore
Shell says the oil leak which occurred at about 5.30am was stopped at around 3pm.
Channel NewsAsia 20 Oct 2024

SINGAPORE: Oil spill containment measures were activated after a leak from a pipeline belonging to major energy company Shell occurred on Sunday (Oct 20) morning.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Sunday it was alerted to oil leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil at about 1pm.

The leak occurred at around 5.30am and "was reported to have stopped at source", it said in a media statement on Sunday evening.

Shell said in response to CNA's queries that the oil leak at Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore was stopped at around 3pm.

"Since late morning, oil sheens have been detected at the water channel between the Bukom Besar and Kechil islands.

"We have activated emergency response specialists to help manage the situation."

Shell has placed containment booms off the site of the leak and has also deployed craft equipped with dispersants to clean up the oil sighted in the vicinity of the leak, said MPA.

"MPA has deployed seven MPA craft equipped with dispersants together with craft from its contractor Singapore Salvage Engineers.

"MPA has also activated its drones and satellite capabilities to assist with the sighting of the oil spill."

MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has issued navigational safety broadcasts to ask passing vessels to keep clear of the site, it added.

There is no impact to navigation safety, MPA said.

There are no injuries reported and we have informed the relevant authorities, said Shell.

"The health and safety of our people and the environment are our top priority as we work on resolving this as quickly as possible," it added.

Oil leaks into Singapore waters from Shell’s land-based pipeline joining Bukom islands
Fatimah Mujibah Straits Times 21 Oct 2024

SINGAPORE – An oil leak in the pre-dawn hours of Oct 20 from a Shell pipeline has affected waters off Singapore, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

The oil started leaking at around 5.30am from a land-based pipeline belonging to the British petrochemical company between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil, the authority said in a statement the same day.

MPA was alerted to the incident more than seven hours later at about 1pm. The leak was stopped at about 3pm, a Shell spokesperson said separately.

Shell said the oil “spilt into a holding area but some overflowed” into the water channel between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil, adding that it is still assessing the total volume spilt.

There were no new oil sightings as at 6pm, MPA added.

The Shell spokesperson said no injuries were reported, and that oil sheens have been detected in the water channel between the two islands since the late morning.

“We have activated emergency response specialists to help manage the situation,” the spokesperson said.

MPA, its contractor Singapore Salvage Engineers, and Shell have deployed boats to clean up the oil.

Also, Shell has placed containment booms off the site of the leak, while MPA has activated its drones and satellite capabilities to track the oil.

The relevant government agencies have been alerted and asked to report any oil sightings, the authority added.

Precautionary Measures Taken by Government Agencies
21 Oct 2024

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT

Shell reported that an estimated 30 to 40 metric tonnes of slop, a mixture of oil and water, was leaked from its land-based pipeline into the water yesterday.

2. Agencies are working closely with Shell to clean up the leaked oil in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil. As 21 October at 3 pm (Singapore Time), there are no other oil sightings.

3. As a precautionary measure, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has deployed a current buster system off Changi at the entrance to the East Johor Strait to collect oil slick, if sighted, and prevent potential spread beyond our port waters. Another current buster system has also been deployed to the west of Singapore, as a precautionary measure.

4. While no oil has been observed at Sentosa, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, East Coast Park and West Coast Park so far, agencies have preemptively deployed oil absorbent booms to protect the three beaches and the biodiversity-sensitive coastlines on Sentosa, the lagoons at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Berlayer Creek and the Rocky Shore at Labrador Nature Reserve, as well as the mangroves and other key areas at the Marsh Garden at West Coast Park, as well as key areas at East Coast Park. The lock gates of Sentosa Cove have been closed, with oil absorbent booms deployed. Additionally, deflective booms will be progressively deployed across the key areas of Sentosa, including the three beaches which currently remain open for land-based and waters activities.

5. To date there has been no oil sightings at Kusu, Seringat, St John’s, Lazarus island, and Pulau Hantu. Singapore Land Authority will continue to assess if oil-absorbent booms will be required at the lagoons of these islands.

6. As a precautionary measure, the National Environment Agency has advised the public against swimming and conducting other primary contact water activities at the beaches at East Coast Park, Kusu, St John’s, and Lazarus island. Information on water quality at these beaches is available at https://go.gov.sg/beach-water-info.

7. PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, is closely monitoring the seawater intake at its desalination plants. No oil has been detected near the Jurong Island Desalination Plant and Marina East Desalination Plant, which are located nearest to the oil leak location. Seawater quality readings remain normal, and the plants’ operations are not affected. As a precautionary measure, PUB has also deployed oil containment booms across Marina Barrage.

8. JTC has advised companies on Jurong Island and waterfront-facing companies in the western region to be on alert and to take precautionary measures as necessary.

9. To date, there has been no reports of fish farms being affected by the leak. Nonetheless, Singapore Food Agency is in contact with our farmers and has advised them to continue to be vigilant and to take precautionary measures as necessary.

10. Businesses which have claims-related queries arising from this oil leakage can contact Shell appointed administrator at +65 6632 8689 (during office hours: 9:00am – 5:30pm) or email shell_claims@crawford.asia.

11. We have informed the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities of the incident and advised them to look out for any oil sightings along their respective coastlines.

12. Investigations into the incident are currently ongoing.

Singapore agencies working with Shell to clean up 30 to 40 metric tonnes of 'slop' that leaked into sea
Channel News Asia 21 Oct 2024

SINGAPORE: Singapore agencies said on Monday (Oct 21) they are working closely with British petrochemical company Shell to clean up a mixture of oil and water that leaked into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.

Shell had said in a media statement on Monday evening that about 30 to 40 metric tonnes of “slop” was on Sunday leaked from its land-based pipeline into the water.

The company said it is “actively working with all relevant authorities to manage the clean-up effort”.

“The leak has stopped since around 3pm yesterday. We have deployed containment booms, anti-pollution crafts and spraying of dispersant to contain and break up the oil as part of ongoing clean-up effort,” Shell added.

“Our priority is to ensure the safety of people and to limit environmental impact as we work on resolving this as quickly as possible. We appreciate the support and cooperation from authorities and our communities as we work diligently to minimise the impact.”

In a joint media statement on Monday evening, the agencies said that as of 3pm, there were no other oil sightings besides the leaked oil in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil.

The joint statement was issued by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks), PUB, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore Land Authority (SLA), JTC, and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

As a precautionary measure, a current buster system was deployed by the MPA off Changi at the entrance to the East Johor Strait to collect oil slick, if sighted, and prevent potential spread beyond Singapore’s port waters, according to the statement.

Another current buster system has also been deployed to the west of Singapore “as a precautionary measure”, it added.

While no oil has been observed at Sentosa, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, East Coast Park and West Coast Park so far, the agencies have pre-emptively deployed oil absorbent booms at these locations.

This includes the lagoons at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Berlayer Creek and the Rocky Shore at Labrador Nature Reserve, as well as the mangroves and other key areas at the Marsh Garden at West Coast Park, as well as key areas at East Coast Park.

The lock gates of Sentosa Cove have been closed, with oil absorbent booms deployed.

“Additionally, deflective booms will be progressively deployed across the key areas of Sentosa, including the three beaches which currently remain open for land-based and waters activities.”

The agencies also said there has been no oil sightings at Kusu, Seringat, St John’s, Lazarus island, and Pulau Hantu.

“Singapore Land Authority will continue to assess if oil-absorbent booms will be required at the lagoons of these islands,” the statement read.

NEA on Monday has also advised members of the public against swimming and other primary contact water activities at the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu, St John’s and Lazarus islands as a "precautionary measure".

No oil has been detected near the Jurong Island Desalination Plant and Marina East Desalination Plant, which are located nearest to the oil leak location. National water agency PUB is closely monitoring the seawater intake at its desalination plants.

“Seawater quality readings remain normal, and the plants’ operations are not affected. As a precautionary measure, PUB has also deployed oil containment booms across Marina Barrage,” the statement said.

JTC has advised companies on Jurong Island and waterfront-facing companies in the western region to be on alert and to take precautionary measures as necessary.

No fish farms have been affected by the oil spill thus far. SFA is in contact with farmers and has advised them to continue to be vigilant and to take precautionary measures as necessary.

“We have informed the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities of the incident and advised them to look out for any oil sightings along their respective coastlines,” the joint statement read.

“Investigations into the incident are currently ongoing.”

In a Facebook post on Monday evening, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the ministry and its statutory boards are working closely with relevant agencies to ensure public health and safety.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and share updates as needed," Ms Fu said.

MPA said on Sunday it was alerted to oil leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil at about 1pm.

The leak occurred at around 5.30am and "was reported to have stopped at source", it added.

Shell oil leak: Govt agencies adopt measures after 30 tonnes of ‘slop’ leaked into sea
Fatimah Mujibah Straits Times 21 Oct 2024.

SINGAPORE - More than 30 tonnes of “slop” – a mixture of oil and water – leaked into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil early on Oct 20, said British petrochemical company Shell, as government agencies announced precautionary measures to detect and contain any slick.

In a statement on Oct 21, Shell said it was “actively working with all relevant authorities to manage the clean-up effort”, following an oil leak from a land-based pipeline.

The leak stopped at around 3pm on Oct 20, said the company, which said that approximately 30 to 40 tonnes of slop leaked into the sea.

“Our priority is to ensure the safety of people and to limit environmental impact as we work on resolving this as quickly as possible.

“We appreciate the support and cooperation from the authorities and our communities as we work diligently to minimise the impact,” said Shell, adding that more information will be released soon.

It added that it has deployed containment booms and anti-pollution craft, and was spraying dispersant to contain and break up the oil as part of the ongoing clean-up effort.

In a joint statement on Oct 21, eight government agencies said they were working closely with Shell to clean up the leaked oil.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) deployed a Current Buster system off Changi at the entrance to the East Johor Strait to collect oil slicks, if sighted, and prevent potential spread beyond port waters.

Another Current Buster system, which scoops seawater in affected areas and sieves out oil, was deployed to the west of Singapore.

The oil started leaking at around 5.30am on Oct 20 from a land-based pipeline belonging to Shell and “spilt into a holding area but some overflowed” into the water channel between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.

MPA was alerted to the incident more than seven hours later, at about 1pm. There were no other oil sightings as at 3pm on Oct 20, said the agencies.

The National Environment Agency earlier on Oct 21 advised the public to avoid swimming and other primary contact water activities near the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu Island, St John’s Island and Lazarus Island.

This is despite no oil sightings at these islands, as well as Pulau Hantu and Seringat Island, according to the joint statement.

The Singapore Land Authority will continue to assess if oil-absorbent booms will be required at the lagoons of these islands.

Primary contact water activities are those where a person’s whole body or face and trunk are frequently immersed, or where it is likely that some water will be swallowed. These activities include swimming, wakeboarding and jet skiing.

The public may still continue with land-based and water activities at Tanjong Beach, Palawan Beach and Siloso Beach on Sentosa. Deflective booms will be progressively deployed across key areas of the island, including the three beaches.

The lock gates of Sentosa Cove have been closed, with oil-absorbent booms also deployed.

JTC Corporation has advised companies on Jurong Island and waterfront-facing companies in the western region to be on alert and to take precautionary measures.

There have been no reports of fish farms being affected by the leak, with the Singapore Food Agency in contact with farmers.

The authorities added that they have informed the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities of the incident and advised them to look out for any oil sightings along their respective coastlines.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Agencies Continue to Monitor for Oil Sightings
MPA 22 Oct 2024

The clean-up of oil in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil is progressing. The clearing of the remaining trapped oil within the containment booms in the channel and the cleaning of the stained rock bunds and infrastructure are targeted to be completed in the coming days.

2. There are no other oil sightings at sea and ashore as at 3pm (Singapore time).

3. National water agency PUB continues to monitor the seawater intakes at its desalination plants. Seawater quality readings remain normal.

4. There are no reports of fish farms being affected by the oil leak.

5. Agencies will continue to monitor for oil sightings.

Oil pipeline leak: Clean-up targeted to be competed in 'coming days
Ng Hong Siang Channel NewsAsia 22 Oct 2024 07:28PM

SINGAPORE: Clean-up operations following the oil leak from a Shell pipeline are targeted to be completed in the "coming days", the authorities said on Tuesday (Oct 22).

There have also been no other oil sightings at sea or ashore as of 3pm.

In an update on the situation, Singapore agencies said in a joint statement that the clean-up of oil in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil was progressing.

"The clearing of the remaining trapped oil within the containment booms in the channel and the cleaning of the stained rock bunds and infrastructure are targeted to be completed in the coming days."

Oil spill containment measures were activated after leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil on Sunday.

Shell said on Monday that about 30 to 40 metric tonnes of "slop" - a mixture of oil and water - had leaked into the sea.

"We have deployed containment booms, anti-pollution crafts and spraying of dispersant to contain and break up the oil as part of ongoing clean-up effort," said the company.

The joint statement on Tuesday said national water agency PUB will continue to monitor seawater intakes at its desalination plants.

Seawater quality readings remain normal, the authorities added.

"There are no reports of fish farms being affected by the oil leak. Agencies will continue to monitor for oil sightings."

The joint statement was issued by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks), PUB, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore Land Authority (SLA), JTC, and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Related blog post

Recent oil spills discussed in Parliament, 11 Nov 2024

Oil slick still seen on Seringat-Kias

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 22:57:00 +0000

As the evening low tides start, we survey Lazarus Island and the artificial Seringat-Kias lagoon (also called Eagle Bay by boaters).

These shores were impacted by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. As well as the 2024 global mass coral bleaching. Sadly, I sense about 50% of seagrasses in Eagle Bay are gone with patches of oil slick still present. On a happier note, the corals at Lazarus Island seemed to have pulled through.

We start the survey on the rocky southern tip of Lazarus. As usual, there aren't many hard corals. Most were boulder shaped. We did not manage to check this shore at the height of the 2024 mass coral bleaching. Today, the corals seem mostly alright. I didn't see any bleaching, most had only small or no dead patches. On the rocky shore facing Kusu Island, there are still lots of Asparagus flowery soft corals, and I also saw a few small Leathery soft coral colonies.

Kok Sheng aka The Human Climbing Crab, had a look at the corals growing on the seawall at Seringat-Kias. I will update with his photos later. As well as sightings by the rest of the team.

Thanks to Kok Sheng, we get a glimpse of the corals and other reef life that have settled on the artificial seawall that forms the artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias. A wide variety of corals including some rarely seen on our shores, and all seem mostly healthy with little signs of recent death from the mass coral bleaching, and Pasir Panjang oil spill.

Collage of photos by Loh Kok Sheng.

Despite the signs of oil slick in the lagoon, 5 months after the spill. And despite the loss of 50% of seagrasses here, the rest of the team saw interesting marine life. There were still some Common sea stars, as well as a lovely Orange sand star (it has orange feet!) and a Thick-edged sand dollar (rarely seen). There were also buried Strawberry cockles, tiny Dubious nerites, and a rarely seen Egg-white moon snail. Elsewhere near the lagoon, there were still many Land hermit crabs, and large snails like Spider conch.

Collage of photos by the team. Links to the albums below.

At Eagle Bay (Seringat-Kias), there is still oil slick 4 months after the oil spill hit this shore! I saw about 10 small patches oil slick. Also stretches of what seems to be oiled sand, and very dark blue sand where other people had dug into the sand. There were many people in the Bay as it was a weekend, playing in the water and on the sand.

I sense about 50% of seagrasses have disappeared since our last survey in Jan 2014. It is mostly bare sand where there used to be dense growths of seagrasses. In deeper water, also appears to be bare of seagrasses, I didn't see any seagrasses in the middle portion of the Bay. There were large clumps of green seaweeds here and there, and I saw broken off pieces of Noodle seagrass washed up on the shore.

There was still a large patch of seagrass on the Southern arm of the Bay - mostly Ribbon seagrass and Needle seagrass (narrow leaves). On the Northern arm, there were sprinkles of Spoon seagrass (tiny leaves) and tiny patches of Noodle seagrass and Needle seagrass. I only saw one clump of Tape seagrass with long leaves. It also had female flowers. I saw about 10 other clumps with leaves cropped short. One with male flowers.

I also checked up on the Critically Endangered Bonduc. It was badly chewed up with hardly any leaves on it in Mar 2021, but had recovered in Nov 2022. It was flourishing in Jan 2024 and today it seems to have grown even larger and was flowering and in good health. This is a very prickly bad-tempered plant! Its fierce hooks will catch onto clothing (or bare skin!) and are hard to dislodge. There are only a few plants known in the wild in Singapore. The one on Lazarus is a male plant, I have seen the female plant on Pulau Semakau. Another special plant there is a Brown-scurfy fig and it is still doing well, producing figs.

The main component of the washed up litter on the shore were single-use water cups. These are not commonly used by beach goers or the local boating or fishing community. But these single-use water cups are apparently given out to passengers on ferries. It seems no facilities are provided at any of the piers/terminals under MPA's charge for vessels to responsibly dispose of trash generated during their operation. More in this post.

The southern shore of Lazarus that we surveyed today has seawalls. But this is minor compared to the massive reclamation that created Seringat-Kias, which buried the submerged reefs of Seringat and Kias and connected it to the natural Lazarus Island. A causeway bridge joins these with St. John's Island. Here's more about what was done to create Seringat-Kias. Besides the lush seagrasses in the large artificial lagoon, mangroves and seagrasses have also settled in a smaller Mangrove Lagoon - I last surveyed this in Nov 2020.

Lazarus Island in the Singapore Blue Plan

The cluster of Kusu, Lazarus and St. John's Islands has been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for elevated protection status.

The Blue Plan highlights that Lazarus, St. John’s, and Kusu Islands are established sites for coral nurseries as their shoreline offers ideal sheltered areas for growth of corals. Designating these islands as No-fishing Areas can bolster their rehabilitation. Protecting a larger cluster of islands means zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

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

Photos by others on the survey

Jianlin Liu

Marcus Ng

Loh Kok Sheng

Che Cheng Neo

Vincent Choo

Adriane Lee

Launch of 15-month study to assess oil spill impact on marine biodiversity

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 22:06:00 +0000

The study will sample sediments from intertidal areas affected by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024: East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and Sentosa, as well as beaches that were not directly affected by the oil spill, including the eastern beaches at Changi Beach Park and Coney Island Park.

Oil at East Coast Park, 7 Jul 2024

Organisms in the samples will be identified and counted for abundance and diversity of different species. The data can provide a baseline for future studies on environmental changes.

Want to volunteer for this? More information from NParks https://www.nparks.gov.sg/biodiversity/community-in-nature-initiative/intertidal-watch

Singapore launches 15-month study to assess oil spill impact on marine biodiversity
Ariel Yu Straits Times 8 Oct 2024

SINGAPORE – Researchers in Singapore will embark on a 15-month plan to monitor the impact of the June 14 oil spill on biodiversity in intertidal areas.

The national plan was announced by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee at a marine science workshop held at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Oct 8.

As part of the monitoring effort, researchers will collect sediment samples from the intertidal zone in coastal areas affected by the oil spill, said Dr Tan Koh Siang, a principal research fellow at NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI).

Dr Tan is part of the research team responsible for the post-oil spill monitoring effort, which will also include scientists from the National Parks Board (NParks), TMSI, St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the National Institute of Education.

The researchers will monitor affected sites, including East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and Sentosa, as well as beaches that were not directly affected by the oil spill, including the eastern beaches at Changi Beach Park and Coney Island Park, NParks added.

By retrieving sediment samples from areas affected and unaffected by the oil spill, researchers will be able to tease out the impact of the toxic slick on the tiny organisms in the sediment, such as crustaceans, worms and molluscs.

Dr Tan explained that the oil spill could smother organisms and kill them, as harmful chemicals from the oil may be released at high concentrations. At lower concentrations, these chemicals may affect their physiology – referring to how living organisms function.

“These (organisms) have not really been looked at, so we are interested to see what effects the oil has on these communities that are not visually obvious,” Dr Tan said.

To monitor the impact of the oil spill on marine biodiversity in intertidal areas, researchers will first obtain and sieve through sediment samples collected from the study sites.

Organisms retained on the sieves will be identified and counted to account for the abundance and diversity of different species of invertebrates – creatures without backbones, such as small crustaceans, worms and molluscs.

Dr Tan said: “These data will also form the basis for understanding their community structure, which can provide a baseline for future studies on environmental changes when called for.”

The post-oil spill monitoring plan was announced after the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima on June 14 hit the stationary bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal, causing half of the low-sulphur fuel oil in one of Marine Honour’s tanks – totalling 400 tonnes – to leak into the sea.

The oil spread to biodiversity-rich areas along Singapore’s southern coast the next morning, with oil slicks reported in several areas of Singapore, including Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve, the Southern Islands, Marina South Pier and East Coast Park.

The oil continued to spread and was sighted off Changi on June 16.

The spill occurred during a bleaching event in early June, when about 40 per cent of hard corals in Singapore’s shallow waters of the Southern Islands turned white and weakened due to high sea-surface temperatures.

Intertidal zones are areas where the sea meets the land, which become exposed to air during low tides and are submerged during high tides.

Oil floats on water, so intertidal areas were directly exposed to the oil slick when the tide ebbed. This is why intertidal areas are the focus of the monitoring effort, Dr Tan said, when asked if Singapore’s coral reef habitats would also be studied under the nationally coordinated research effort.

In Singapore’s southern waters, coral reefs are located mainly in the subtidal zone, meaning they are permanently submerged, even at low tide.

Dr Jani Tanzil, facility director of St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, said the research team will need to monitor the long-term impact from the oil spill and also look into the potential effects of other environmental disturbances. Specifically, the marine heatwave – which was also at its peak during the oil spill event – that has also affected important tropical marine ecosystems such as coral reefs.

One approach is tapping existing research and marine monitoring efforts such as the Marine Environment Sensing Network (MESN), a multi-institution project aiming to set up three research buoys that can deliver information about the condition of Singapore’s seawater, including on temperature, salinity, acidity level and nutrients.

Currently, only one buoy is deployed off St John’s Island, with plans to install the other two in coming months, said Dr Tanzil.

“So the MESN aims to obtain research-quality data that can let us better know what’s going on in our complex and dynamic marine environment. In-depth understanding of the processes driving our environmental changes will hopefully help tease out ecological impacts caused by the oil spill, compared to normal conditions and other disturbance events.”

Commenting on the significance of the 15-month plan, Mr Lee said: “While there’s been no significant impact on our marine biodiversity observed thus far, there could be a time lag between the incidence of the oil spill and its effect on biodiversity... We need to continue to monitor the impact, and the recovery, of our marine habitats.”

The data collected during this initial phase will be assessed before the team suggests possible mitigation and restoration measures to protect and restore biodiversity areas of importance in Singapore, Mr Lee added.

Members of the public who are interested in volunteering to help with monitoring efforts can visit NParks’ webpage for more information: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/biodiversity/community-in-nature-initiative/intertidal-watch

Opening address by Minister Desmond Lee at the Marine Monitoring for Action 2024 Workshop
MND Oct 8, 2024

I am glad to join you at the inaugural Marine Monitoring for Action Workshop, organised by the St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML) and the Marine Environment Sensing Network (MESN).

I hope you have enjoyed the workshop so far, and gained new insights.

Importance of Stewarding Our Sea Space

As a small island city-state, Singapore is surrounded by coastal and marine areas that are vital not only to our own environment, but also integral to the broader Southeast Asian region.

Our inter-connected waters are home to a diversity of marine life, and Singapore waters are home to about 250 coral species and about 700 marine fish species.

Our waters are some of the busiest in the world, serving multiple functions, from shipping and industry, food and aquaculture, to research, leisure and recreation. This coupled with climate change, brings significant pressure to the marine ecosystem.

The demands on our sea spaces are no less intense than those on our limited land, and even as public attention is very much focused on concept planning and master planning of the terrestrial areas of our city, there is also equal amount of work done to master plan our sea space. So we have to plan our sea spaces very carefully to balance the multiple uses, while protecting our biodiversity.

To ensure the sustainability of our marine biodiversity and its ecosystem, it is crucial that we adopt a science-based approach to monitor and protect our regional waters. Only with science and data can we make a strong case for conservation.

One terrestrial example is the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat site – for those who are visitors to Singapore, it is actually a very small area next to one of the busiest land crossings in the world at Woodlands, the causeway. The site could have been used for many other uses – security, industry and so on, because of its very prime location next to the causeway. It’s because of data and a strong partnership between the National Parks Board, the Nature Society (Singapore) and our nature community and scientists, that we were able to prove that the site is, and remains, vital to the survival of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the mudflat and mangrove area in the northwest of Singapore. The symbiotic relationship between the two sites meant that we had to rethink the use of Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat, and hence it had been announced a couple of years ago as our next nature park.

The science and data, particularly for a very land and sea scarce island city-state like Singapore, is vital to policy. And this workshop, focused on marine monitoring, is not only timely, but also essential, as it brings together both local and regional marine researchers to strengthen our collective knowledge and protection of our regional waters.

Monitoring of the Marine Environment

The foundation of any effective marine monitoring effort lies in the accuracy and reliability of the data collected on marine habitat for the long-term.

It is no longer sufficient to rely on historical data and assumptions. Instead, we need systematic and effective marine monitoring to gather data for scenario mapping and analysis. These insights are crucial to help us understand the health of our marine environment, identify specific risks, so that we can develop targeted policies and actions in response to the challenges posed by climate change and urban development.

For example, in Singapore, the Marine Environment Sensing Network (MESN) has deployed a research buoy near St. John’s Island in November 2022 – I understand that you will have a field trip to the buoy on Friday. Another two buoys will be deployed near Chek Jawa Wetlands and Raffles Lighthouse. These buoys will help establish a baseline for key biogeochemical processes by collecting near real time monitoring data, such as wave height, biological productivity, and salinity.

This knowledge gained will form the bedrock upon which we would formulate strategies to protect and safeguard our marine environment.

Only by understanding our marine ecosystems, can we develop solutions to strengthen their resilience, and inform critical restoration efforts.

You may recall the oil spill incident that occurred in Singapore waters in June this year. An allision between two vessels at Pasir Panjang Terminal caused 400 tonnes of oil to be spilled into the sea, and impacted our beaches and our marine environment.

Our immediate response efforts focused on containing and mitigating the effects of the oil spill. Frontline workers were mobilised to clean affected areas; oil-absorbent booms were deployed to protect our sensitive coastal and marine ecosystems; affected beaches and shorelines were closed to protect public health and safety.

Additionally, with the help of volunteers and the scientific community, we also conducted surveys to assess the impact on our marine biodiversity.

I am glad that we have since reopened our beaches as the clean-up has been completed, and water activities have been allowed to resume.

While no significant impact on our marine biodiversity has been observed thus far, there could be a time lag between the incidence of the oil spill and its effects on biodiversity. We need to continue to monitor the impact, and the recovery of our marine habitats.

Integrated Oil Spill Response and Habitat Recovery plan

To support these research efforts and better understand the longer-term impact of the oil spill on our biodiversity, I am happy to announce that my colleagues from NParks is teaming up with NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute, St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, and National Institute of Education to develop and implement an integrated oil spill response and habitat recovery plan.

In the initial phase of the plan, the research team will carry out a 15-month national monitoring plan focusing on collecting baseline data at key biodiversity areas and of species of interest, and monitoring the post-oil spill ecological impact and recovery. So whilst the main recovery effort is completed, this work will continue for some time.

We will assess the data collected from this initial phase and suggest possible mitigation and restoration strategies towards protecting and restoring key biodiversity areas.

We will also continue to collaborate with local scientific communities, citizen volunteers, and partners to conduct post-spill monitoring surveys and research.

We intend to train more citizen scientists from schools, interest groups, and members of the public to conduct intertidal watch surveys at various sites across Singapore, because we believe that safeguarding and restoring our marine environment is a collective effort that everyone can play a part in – and it’s a matter of organising, strategising and building effective operational collaboration on the ground.

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to thank the organisers, and all who have contributed to this workshop in different ways.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the local and regional community for your invaluable contributions to our shared mission of safeguarding our regional waters.

Your dedication to science and to marine environment sensing and data collection plays a crucial role in protecting our precious marine ecosystems and biodiversity. And all the more important in Singapore as our waterways are heavily used and one of the busiest waterways in the world. If our biodiversity is to thrive, we have to put in double the effort and collect as much data as we possibly can.

I wish everyone a fruitful discussion for the rest of the programme. Thank you.

Related blog posts

$1million project on transplanting seagrasses in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 22:41:00 +0000

NParks and OCBC Bank will embark on Singapore’s first seagrass restoration project. Focusing on successful transplanting of seagrass at locations in decline.

Dugong feeding trails seen in seagrass meadows
at Chek Jawa, May 2024

Researchers will trial innovations to transplant seagrass in Singapore to find out which restoration techniques will work best. The aim is to start restoring seagrass meadows within the first year of the project so there is time to track their progress. Suitable locations have not been pinned down yet. OCBC staff volunteers and members of the public will be invited to volunteer as part of the project, with more information to be shared when ready. During the research, these volunteers will conduct survey on the plants’ flowering process, assist in the transplanting procedures and more.

Singapore’s first seagrass restoration project aims to raise survival rate of carbon-storing plant
Shabana Begum Straits Times 30 Sep 2024

SINGAPORE – Seagrass meadows, the often-overlooked, carbon-storing sibling to mangroves, are set for a revival along Singapore’s coasts.

On Sept 27, the National Parks Board (NParks) and OCBC Bank said they will embark on Singapore’s first seagrass restoration project, with a focus on understanding the plants’ reproduction and finding ways to improve the success of transplanting seagrass at locations in decline.

OCBC has pledged close to $1 million to fund this three-year research effort, which will be helmed by NParks, the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the National University of Singapore.

The reproductive characteristics of tropical seagrass have been largely under-researched in South-east Asia, NParks said in a statement.

Singapore’s waters are home to 12 species of seagrass, the oceans’ only flowering plant.

Seagrass meadows are found in shallow waters off the coasts. In the north, they are found near mangroves, while in the south, they are found near coral reefs, predominantly around the Southern Islands.

The largest continuous stretches of seagrass meadows are found at Chek Jawa and Cyrene Reef, a submerged reef off Pasir Panjang Terminal.

In recent years, seagrass has been held in higher regard globally due to its ability to store carbon in the soil. The submerged plant can soak carbon up to 40 times more effectively than forests and store up to 18 per cent of oceanic carbon.

But more than 45 per cent of Singapore’s original seagrass cover has been lost to coastal development and reclamation over the last five decades.

These underwater fields are nurseries for juvenile fish, while serving as habitats for sea stars, seahorses, crabs and sea cucumbers, among other marine life.

Seagrass is also a key food source for sea turtles and critically endangered dugongs, which are occasionally spotted in the southern waters and Johor Strait.

In the project, researchers will experiment with innovative ways to transplant and anchor seagrass in Singapore’s coastal waters to find out which restoration techniques will work best.

This will help improve existing planting methods, which tend to have low success rates due to a lack of understanding of the factors affecting seagrass survival in challenging underwater conditions, such as those of Singapore’s waters, said NParks.

For example, conventional methods include taking a sand core containing some seagrass and transplanting it at another site. However, Singapore’s waters can be turbid, with some areas experiencing stronger currents, affecting the sediment’s stability and causing transplanted seagrass to be washed away.

To address this, scientists will use biodegradable mats made of calcium carbonate and coconut fibre to anchor transplanted species and stabilise the sediment.

“We also want to understand how we can improve the survivability of the restored seagrass. There is no point putting it out if they’re all going to go away within the next few months. You want them to persist, thrive and sequester carbon and bring back biodiversity,” Dr Samantha Lai, deputy director of biodiversity (coastal and marine) at NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre, said at the project’s launch at Fort Canning Centre on Sept 27.

Dr Siti Maryam Yaakub, senior director of the International Blue Carbon Institute, said: “Site and species selection are very important when considering seagrass restoration.”

The aim is to start restoring seagrass meadows within the first year of the project so there is time to track their progress. Suitable locations have not been pinned down yet.

One method of restoring seagrass meadows is by transplanting entire plants, which involves taking seagrass shoots from a healthy meadow and planting them on the restoration site.

Another method involves sowing seeds into the sand, which is cost-effective and easier to scale up. But as the seed production of local seagrass species is not well known, researchers will do aquarium experiments to trigger the flowering of seagrass species.

“By triggering this flowering, hopefully we can collect the seeds, germinate them for growth and study their survivorship. And then with time... we can scale up our seagrass restoration through seed-based transplantation,” said Dr Lai.

The project requires more hands on deck and, over the three years, members of the public and OCBC staff will be invited to help with parts of it. These include surveying existing meadows to understand the seagrass’ flowering and fruiting patterns, and carrying out transplanting at restoration sites.

Singapore’s plans to restore seagrass comes weeks before the COP16 UN biodiversity summit in Colombia.

Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a UN pact cemented in the previous summit of 2022, governments were urged to restore nature.

OCBC and NParks Announce Singapore’s First Seagrass Restoration Project to Study Seagrass and Enhance Conservation Efforts
NParks Media Release 27 Sep 2024.

- Pilot project will focus on ways to increase survival rate of transplanted seagrass and factors that will spur the plant’s reproduction rate

- This is the fourth climate action project by OCBC, partnering NParks, to enhance carbon capture and carbon storage efforts

Singapore, 27 September 2024 – OCBC and the National Parks Board (NParks) announced Singapore’s first seagrass restoration project today. Under the OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project, researchers from NParks and the National University of Singapore (NUS) will study the reproductive characteristics of seagrass, conduct a pilot seagrass restoration project, and develop and test innovative methods to improve the success of seagrass transplants. As part of this project, researchers will also study the ways to quantify the tangible and intangible benefits of seagrass restoration such as the increase in carbon sequestration and species diversity. Seagrass meadows are globally recognised as an important blue carbon habitat as they have the potential to store carbon up to 40 times more effectively than terrestrial forests. They are crucial to the environment as they provide coastal protection and habitats for marine biodiversity. Hence, findings from the three-year restoration project will contribute significantly to Singapore’s seagrass conservation and restoration efforts. The OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project will be fully funded by OCBC. The success of the project will help to enhance Singapore’s climate and ecological resilience in line with NParks’ vision to transform our island-state into a City in Nature, which aims to ensure a more liveable and sustainable home for Singaporeans.

OCBC has been partnering NParks since 2017 with its first climate action project to enhance habitats at Coney Island Park. This was followed by 2019’s opening of the OCBC Arboretum in the Singapore Botanic Gardens which conserves around 2,000 ecologically important dipterocarp trees, that can grow to be some of the tallest trees in Southeast Asia’s rainforests. The latest initiative was the project to establish about 9,000 mangrove trees in the OCBC Mangrove Park and its surroundings on Pulau Ubin. It is estimated that OCBC Mangrove Park, OCBC Arboretum and other regional reforestation efforts by OCBC, together allow for the absorption of more than 110 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide.

Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development & Information and National Development, said, “Conserving our biodiversity is crucial to transforming Singapore into a City in Nature. We have been actively restoring our forest, coastal, and marine habitats, while further strengthening conservation efforts for native plant and animal species. Our seagrass meadows, a significant part of Singapore’s rich natural heritage, provide a variety of ecosystem benefits – from providing food and shelter for marine species, to contributing to carbon sequestration and coastal protection. The collaboration between NParks and OCBC for the OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project marks an exciting advancement in our marine biodiversity conservation efforts, and the generous support of our corporate partners like OCBC plays an important part. I am very heartened by OCBC’s support towards our conservation and sustainability efforts over the years.”

Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC, said, “As a nature-lover, I am pleased to launch another climate action initiative with NParks. Together with the OCBC Arboretum and the OCBC Mangrove Park, the OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project will go a long way in our carbon sequestration efforts. When we assessed projects with NParks to fight climate change, we want projects with big impact. Whether it is the dipterocarp trees at the OCBC Arboretum, the mangroves at OCBC Mangrove Park or seagrass with the OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project, they function as carbon sinks, all highly effective in carbon capture and storage. For this latest project, we will invite OCBC staff and members of the public to play the role of citizen scientists during the seagrass research. They have the opportunity to assist in the seagrass transplantation process and conduct surveys to record flowering in seagrass meadows. I would also volunteer myself for this very exciting project.”

Importance of seagrass restoration

Seagrass meadows are critical to the environment and marine life. They contribute greatly to carbon sequestration, habitat creation, survival of marine species, and coastal protection. Although seagrass meadows cover only 0.2% of the world’s ocean floor and seabed, they store up to 18% of oceanic carbon.

However, seagrass meadows are declining worldwide and continue to be impacted due to a variety of factors, including pollution, shoreline modification and climate change. More than 45% of seagrass meadows in Singapore have disappeared over the last five decades. Given the key role that seagrass plays in mitigating climate change, it is important to better understand and restore these plants to ensure that they continue to thrive in Singapore.

Objectives of seagrass restoration project

In order to effectively restore seagrass meadows, the study will focus on understanding the reproductive characteristics of tropical seagrasses, which has been largely under-researched in Southeast Asia. The project will also see researchers experiment with innovative ways to transplant and anchor seagrass in Singapore’s surrounding coastal waters. This will help improve current methods which tend to have low success rates due to a lack of understanding of the factors affecting seagrass survival in challenging underwater conditions such as that of Singapore’s waters.

If successful, the new transplanting methods will go a long way in improving the long-term survival of transplanted seagrass. The feasibility of these new methods will be evaluated based on seagrass growth and their survivability. These results and learnings will be vital to developing established procedures for future restoration efforts locally.

OCBC staff volunteers and members of the public will be invited to volunteer as part of the project, with more information to be shared when ready. During the research, these volunteers will conduct survey on the plants’ flowering process, assist in the transplanting procedures and more.

Oiled East Coast shore: seagrasses still there

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Tan) — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 23:44:00 +0000

I did a quick check on this shore which was not cleaned after it was impacted by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024.

The 'House of Horrors' under the bridge in the canal is still there, but doesn't glisten as much; sand seems to be piling up thus making the 'drip' less obvious. Seagrasses are still growing lush. The tide was not low enough for me to check on the corals.

Before I share all the gory photos, there are still some signs of life. Many workers were relaxing on the shore, and this small pile of fish and crabs were caught by some of them with a net. Life on the oiled seawall was rather sparse: I did see tiny snails, tiny crabs and one slug. Among the seagrass, there were lots of Bazillion snails and a few Dubious nerites. But I didn't see anything much else. The shore is definitely much quieter than in the past.

One of the nicest patch of seagrasses in Singapore is at the mouth of this canal. Almost all the seagrass species for Singapore can be found here. Today is the first time I'm seeing the seagrasses in some daylight. They are still growing lush at the mouth of the canal. The seagrasses still seemed healthy, leaves long and not cropped. Those growing lower on the shore seemed fresh and green, though those growing higher up on the shore seemed more covered in ephiphytes. I didn't see any bleaching seagrasses and there was no sign of oil anywhere among the seagrasses. similar to the past and on 22 Jun, 7 Jul, 4 Aug.

Seagrasses still grew well inside the canal to the first bridge over it. There were still Tape seagrass with long leaves - although I didn't see any with flowers. As in the past, there was lots of Spoon seagrass (large and small leaves); Needle seagrass (broad and narrow leaves). I also saw lots of Smooth ribbon seagrass. The tide wasn't very low - I didn't get to explore much of the low shore. Although coverage is still good, I sense the seagrasses are a little less fresh and green.

On the bridge 'legs' and along the canal walls, the oil still glistens as the first time I saw it a week after the oil spill.

There is still oil in the sand on the high shore, but I didn't see any in my footprints in the canal. The litter washed up on the high shore also didn't have oil. High res photos of this survey on wildsingapore flickr.

Today, the tide wasn't low enough to cross the canal, and the corals were not exposed anyway. September is usually our 'rest' period because there are usually no super low tides. But I had a quick look as I want to check on the oiled shore every month. Let's hope the corals are okay when the tides are low enough to visit next month.

What is the fate of these shores?

These shores lie west of Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

Technical studies for 'Long Island' 800ha reclamation off the East Coast were recently announced to begin.

Natural regeneration on Singapore's artificial shores and structures is already happening now. Unintentionally, with zero replanting. Can we plan coastal works to allow reefs, mangroves and seagrasses to naturally regenerate? Naturalise canals leading to the sea for a continuum of freshwater wetlands to mangroves? Imagine what's possible! Reefs and natural marine ecosystems at our doorstep, for all in the City to enjoy. More about this idea in my feedback to the Draft Master Plan 2013.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Check out the Sinapore Blue Plan 2018 which outlines community recommendations for all these shores. DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

See these and other East Coast shores for yourself!

It's fun and easy to explore these shores. After the shores are reopened when oil spill cleanup is completed, you can explore them for yourself. More details in East Coast Park - Surprising intertidal adventures for the family.