semakau seagrass lagoon @ 01Feb2014

Went on a short boat ride looking for oil from the recent ship collisions.
(see Link 1, 2)

On the way to Semakau, ...

Bukom's southern seawall seems to have some dark banding indicative of an oil-spill. The brown spots could be some other localised spill. Wonder what could have caused those spots.

The bad news is that Semakau's northern shore may have had some exposure to some of the oil-spill. There was a distinct dark line on the seawall. 

Whilst the others in the recce went to explore the Northern shore and Terumbu Semakau, I went Westwards along the seagrass lagoon.

The good news is that it looks like Semakau's seagrass lagoon was clear of oil. The seagrass lagoon and shore were 'normal'. No oil seen on the inter-tidal area, shore or on the fringing mangrove trees. That is a good sign.

'Normal' however means a whole lot of trash on the high shore line. Lots of plastic items which had floated in with the tides over many many years still line the shore. 

note the styrofoam box high in the tree

a 3 foot long fluorescent light bulb

bundles of rope

an SPC oil drum

a plastic road barrier

a huge piece of blue plastic sheeting

an old sofa

one of the gazillion mineral water cups and water bottles

a large prawn feed bag

This was a balloon stuck high up on a mangrove tree.

We really should take better care of our marine environment.

At the southern end of the seagrass lagoon, lots was happening.

This chap had harvested quite a few large mud crabs from the mangrove inlet.

Another few were harvesting shells from the inter-tidal zone whilst another laid out a long driftnet on the inter-tidal zone.

 A ciggarette butt was care-less-ly dropped in the water.

A quick chat with one of them showed them to be contractors at the landfill site out to gather a quick seafood dinner. 

They promptly agreed to return their haul to the lagoon and to recover the driftnet that was being laid out.

 No fan clam soup tonight.

The men soon left in their vehicles parked atop the service road. 

The mud-crabs were however not released. Looks like crab curry tonight.

 

There were two long driftnets long abandoned at the South-Western tip of the seagrass lagoon. These looked like they had been on the inter-tidal for some time. (There was a third driftnet at the Northern part of the seagrass lagoon.) 

 A super long driftnet attached at one end to the replanted mangrove trees and the other to a rock on the inter-tidal zone. 

These carpet anemones will not last very long with the driftnet filaments draped over them.

These driftnets will need some tedious work to remove them and the various organisms that become stuck in them.

That's a task for another day with more time. 

It soon got dark during the long walk back up the lagoon.

Can you name the following ?

Have a look here for help.

Good night Semakau!

See these links for news on the collisions and oil-spills. (Link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Read about what the others saw :

Peiyan's Kusu Island check : Link

Peiyan's Semakau check : Link

Wonderful Creation's check : Link

Singapore Reef Watch's check : Link

WildSingapore's 4 Feb 2014 summary update on the oilspills : Link

NEA 4 Feb 2014 Advisory : Link 

R.I.P. Great-Billed Heron @ SBWR

The pic above was taken on 18 June2011.

It shows a rare great-billed heron in the hands of its rescuer, albeit a little too late...

A frequent park visitor and an avid photographer, Peter W. had seen the heron struggling in the water almost totally encased in a driftnet near Platform 1 and had alerted the park rangers. However, despite the immediate reaction by the park rangers, it had already drowned by the time human assistance came to it. The bird must have gotten stuck earlier that morning and the rising tide made it a race against time for the hapless bird. By the time the first visitors had made their way to Platform 1, (which is a long way from the entrance and a favourite amongst nature photographers), the bird was already on its last few breaths slowly suffocating with each rising wave.

Poaching fishermen have been a frequent problem at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. These fishermen are usually based 24x7x365 at the nearby Kranji Reservoir Park where they conduct their wholesale and retail fish business. It is doubted that any of them have a proper AVA or NEA licence.

Many other animals can get caught in these long driftnets which can stretch for over 100m. These range from endangered horsehoe crabs (by the hundreds), birds, otters and even crocodiles.

Read about earlier posts on the illegal fishing :-

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/05/apathetic-fisherman-sbwr-01may2011.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/05/apathetic-fishermen-ii-sg-buloh.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/05/apathetic-fishermen-iii-sbwr-15may2011.html

and about how the driftnets keep catching animals if they are not removed :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-fishing-please-kranji-nature-trail.html

and about the crocodile which had drowned in a driftnet in 2008 :

http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2008/10/crocked.html

Read also about Project Driftnet http://projectdriftnet.blogspot.com/ which is a volunteer effort to locate and remove such driftnets which have been abandoned or carelessly discarded by their fishermen owners.

It is hoped that the authorities will take a firm approach to eliminate the use of such nets and other forms of fishing in the areas both around as well as within the now biodiversity-rich wetland reserve. We cannot afford to lose any more of our already endangered animal treasures.

P.s. . The departed bird lies in state at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

driftnet fishing @ terumbu semakau 05June2011

Came across a driftnet (sometimes called a gill net as it usually catches fish by the gills) on Terumbu Semakau. There was an amazing variety of fish caught in the long net which was at least 100m long stretching across from one end of the reef to the other. The video clip shows a selection of fish (and one flower crab) seen over about a 35m stretch of the driftnet.

The fishermen and their boat were closeby and were quick to pick up the catch in a styrofoam box. They must have set up the net quite a few hours earlier before the tide went out. The outgoing tide would have caught fish trying to escape from being stranded on the reef as it got more exposed. The reef had patches of Enhalus seagrass which would have provided a good refuge for smaller fish to hide from larger predatory fish.

Unfortunately, the long net also caught on to coral and sponges as well. The swaying of the net in the water could cause serious damage to corals and sponges. Any hard pull could tear off parts from soft coral and sponges. The area is also well known for its wild dolphins and resident sea turtles. Recently also, there were signs of possible dugong feeding trails at the Semakau seagrass lagoon. These animals face the risk of getting caught in the long driftnets.

After collecting the catch on the terumbu, the fishermen boated over to Semakau itself to continue their collection from another long net placed along the seawall on the foreshore.

Read also the Wildshores blogpost about the net :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/06/long-driftnet-traps-many-colourful.html