First morning trip of 2014 at Changi

It's been a while I have checked out our shores since Chinese New Year earlier in February. The morning low tides are back and on this Good Saturday (after Good Friday), Ron and I decided to drop by Changi on a not-so-low spring tide.

The feeling of starting the trip when it is pitch dark, seeing the magnificent sunrise and ending on a bright early morning definitely beats that of an evening tide where the sequence is the opposite. Of course, less the waking up part!

Not-so-solo at Tanah Merah sandy shore

On Lunar New Year Day 3, I decided to check out the idyllic sand flat at Tanah Merah / East Coast since the tide is still moderately low enough for a shore trip.

My previous trip here was last August in 2013 though I only spent a short moment exploring a huge stretch of shores along the East. The last trip that I properly surveyed this shore was as long as nearly 4 years ago in 2010 (before the oil spill event)!

It was a lovely evening out on the shore and this is a small shore to document so it was easy to cover grounds with no rush at all.

Oil spill check at Northern Semakau

There was a collision on 29 Jan evening between a chemical tanker and a containership which happened "about 2.7 km, south of Jurong Island". This has caused a spillage of bunker fuel in the surrounding waters. On a Lunar New Year holiday, we decided to swing by the Semakau and Terumbu Raya area to have a look at the impact of this oil spill.

We had a large team and thus could afford to split into two, one that landed on Terumbu Raya and I was part of the Pulau Semakau team. We landed at northern Semakau which is the part that is closest to Pulau Hantu and Jurong Island.

Stress and more stress on Kusu Island

Just one day before our scheduled trip to Kusu Island, we received news of two marine collisions that resulted in an oil spill. Having experienced the devastating and long drawn effects of oil spill at Tanah Merah and East Coast, we were worried that marine life in the South would be affected.

Upon landing on the island, we went straight to the nearest lagoon facing northeast and we were greeted with lots of signs of the oil that hit Kusu Island. The arrows show the oil stains on the high shore, intertidal area and also created a thick dark band on the seawall facing inwards.

Any Impact on Chek Jawa from Dec flood at Johor?

Every year towards December and January, it is likely to come across news on floods in Johor and other parts of Malaysia. It was the flood of Dec 2006 and Jan 2007 that lead to a mass mortality of marine invertebrates in Chek Jawa. To find out more on what happened back then, you may read my blog post on What caused the mass death here.

On Dec 2013, we read news of yet more flood in Johor and therefore it is imperative for us to do a check on whether the outflow of freshwater into the Johor Straits have any impact on Chek Jawa.

With special permission from National Parks Board, a small team of us were able to survey the intertidal shore of Chek Jawa on an evening. And we were relieved to not experience any sight of mass mortality on the shore.

Pasir Ris mangroves briefly with Naked Hermit Crabs

In mid-December, I was out with the Naked Hermit Crabs and my two student councillors, Clarabelle and Kai Sing, from Dunman High School to guide at Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk.

It's always amazing to show participants what one can find in close proximity to the housing estate at Pasir Ris. The mangroves here are alive! Here is Alyce sharing some of the nature facts and stories with the rest.

Cyrene Reef with Teamseagrass

Our last Teamseagrass monitoring of the year was held on the first week of December at Cyrene Reef! Our December trips are more tricky because of the rainy season.

Nevertheless, the scary rainclouds and not-so-positive weather forecast did not deter the intrepid seagrass troopers from launching out to the reef through amphibious landing.