Back to Terumbu Bemban: Reef of fish trap

We are back on the reefs of Terumbu Bemban! It's one of the submerged reefs in our southern waters that is home to lots of corals. 

What a relief to start the trip slightly later by enjoying the sunrise instead of ending the survey with the sunrise. In any case, who can resist taking photos of the the lovely glows from dawn?

Tuas: Our last mainland western reefs

This morning, we journeyed from the east (where most of our mainland shores are) to west to our last remaining mainland western reef at Tuas.

Here's a look at the last stretch of natural reefs in the west that escaped reclamation. The Merawang Beacon is a prominent feature of this inaccessible shore. Many thanks to Sheryl from MSD for giving us the permission to do our survey.

Fabulous reef and seagrasses of Tanah Merah

We are back on yet another reclaimed mainland shore on a predawn trip.  It's our once-a-year survey of the hard corals at Tanah Merah.

The slippery and wobbly rocks below the seawall made this shore among the most difficult shores to document. I spent more time trying to get a proper footing than looking at the shore. But it is all worthwhile!

Rich reefs and seagrasses of East Coast shore

We are back at this newly discovered shore of East Coast Park! Despite the fact that the shoreline of East Coast Park is reclaimed, we are always amazed at how life creeps back over time if we do not disturb them.

This time, I decided to explore the other stretch of rock wall which is a lot longer! This part also is home to many huge and healthy hard corals.

Life at the edge at Terumbu Raya

We are back at Terumbu Raya after about one year! Terumbu Raya is translated into The Great Reef from Malay. The reef edge of Terumbu Raya, especially the side facing Pulay Semakau, is known to be breathtaking!

As today's tide was long and low, I walked further to survey the stretch facing Beting Bemban Besar and was surprised to find lots of mushroom corals! This unexplored stretch is a gem.

Kusu Island: Marine garden in the city

Our second trip of this series of low tide was dedicated to Kusu Island, which is only 15-20 mins boat ride away from Marina South Pier.

It's amazing that we have spectacular natural reefs situated very close to the city centre as shown in this photo of hard corals and the skyscrapers in the background. Indeed, the shores of Kusu Island is like a marine garden in the city.

Delightful echinoderms at Changi

It's always a delight to find lots of echinoderms ranging from sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, brittle stars etc on the shores of Changi.

The seagrass meadows of Changi shore are excellent nursery ground for marine life to thrive!

Predawn at Changi shore

It's my first predawn trip at Changi shore this year! We were back in May to check out an old friend of ours, a shore that I have been visiting since 2007. Was sharing with Jianlin that though life has moved on over the years, the shore still basically remains as it is, a constant that doesn't really change.

As it was an early trip, we ended the shore exploration during sunrise! It was a spectacular one with rays of hope overwhelming the dark navy sky during dawn.