black tip reef shark @ Semakau 28May2011

As were were dragging the huge net across the shallow mudflat, I noticed a small white triangular object in the water about 50metres away. I did ask out aloud.. "Hey, what's that over there?" but the rest of the group were too pre-occupied with dragging the heavy carelessly abandoned net in shallow water across the semi-soft mudflat. We had enough to be busy with trying not to trip over the huge net.

After reaching a clear spot on the mudflat where we decided to work on separating the nets, someone exclaimed that the white 'thing' was the fin of a shark on its side. Instantly, the whole group of eight forgot about the nets and headed towards the white fin.

It was a male black-tip reef shark and quite clearly either really comatose or really dead although it looked perfectly fine and healthy. No signs of trauma on its body at all. Still just to be sure, we made sure to keep our hands away from its mouth in case it came to.

There was only a tiny (about 5mm x 0.5mm long) marine leech wriggling on one side of the shark's body. At 1.2m long, the shark was heavy too. I estimated its weight at between 10 to 15 kilos.

James did his best as a shark whisperer to try to see if it would regain its glory and come to life. He even tried 'swimming' the shark in the shallows by giving it a boost pushing its tail hoping that some speed through the water would do it some good but it was already past its time. (We did suggest to him to try CPR but he respectfully declined.)

None of us could figure out why the healthy looking specimen was dead on its side. It did not look like it had gotten caught in some fisherman's net or line. Perhaps it was just its time. At 1.2m, this may be a normal adult size for this particular species of black tip reef shark.

We left it in the shallows where we had found it.

trying to swim the shark through the water...a futile little attempt.

checking the body for signs of trauma....none found!

See also Ria's WildShores blogpost about the shark and net clearing : http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/05/shark-on-semakau.html

fish net cleanup @ semakau 28May2011

A sprightly group of 8 volunteers made their way to Pulau Semakau's intertidal mudflats with a mission to rid one of the mangrove trees on the intertidal  of some carelessly discarded fish nets which had become wrapped around it and which was threatening its survival.

See http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/05/abandoned-fish-nets-semakau-21may2011.html for an earlier post when the nets were first discovered.

Leaving such nets without removing them can result in quite a few undesirable consequences. Due to the influence of the tides and incessant wave action, the nets may damage the tree by breaking its branches, 'suffocating' the trees by 'strangling' the trunk, branches and roots preventing the tree from growing normally. Further, such nets can cover prime mudflats available for seedlings to lodge and sprout. Singapore's already limited mangrove habitats are thereby even more limited by such 'litter'. The nets may also continue to trap intertidal animals, such as shore crabs, horseshoe crabs, fish, shore birds, monitor lizards etc.

It took quite a bit of work to remove the net from entanglement with the tree. Then we had to pile it up into a manageable bundle to move it to the extraction point some 200m away. At that point we thought that the entire bundle was made up of a few nets entangled together as there were three distinct hole sizes. We decided to move the bundle as it was to a more open part of the mudflats and the best way to do that was to float the bundle across the shallows. This involved a 150m trek on the mudflats through the shallows tugging the nets. All throughout the watery trek, we were mindful of having personal encounters with Mr Stone Fish. Semakau's shores are known to have stonefish. Indeed, one of the volunteers did have such an encounter on a submerged reef across from Semakau during an intertidal reefwalk about 1.5 years ago. He was evacuated, had a week's stay in the hospital and took some time after that to fully recover from the 'sting'. Luckily, we did not encounter any stonefish ... but we did encounter a black-tip reef shark. (See this link for more info).

On stretching the nets out, we realised that there were 3 nets all joined together to form one huge mega-net. It is very likely that the mega-net was used in a fish-farm type setting. Incidentally, there is a large floating commercial fish farm located a little further south along the Semakau coast.

We cut up the nets into smaller sections for easier portage. Later we had to carry these another about 500m through the Semakau forest trail to the access road for disposal.

The huge nets covering the still live tree.

Checking out the size of the nets.

The different coloured threading shows where nets have been joined to form a much larger net. 

The blue threading here joins nets with larger holes.

Stretching out one part of the mega-net on the mudflat

This is a huge net! Not the kind fishermen would use but the heavy duty kind used on fishfarms for their pens.

The 8 bags of nets all wrapped up ready for disposal. It took 8 volunteers about 2 hours to clear the nets  from Semakau's foreshore.

[Many thanks to NEA for facilitating the volunteer effort and for arranging the removal of the cleared nets!]

Read more about the effort at the Project Driftnet Blog.

red squid stranded @ t.bemban besar 22May2011

This little squid was stranded in a small puddle on a sandbank just metres away from the vast sea.

It must have been caught off guard as the tide was running out and had to stay put in the puddle to await the return of the rising tide. In the meantime, it faced certain risks such as being discovered by shorebirds such as herons and egrets and also risked being turned into squid soup due to it being a clear blue sky morning with the sun shining with all it's glory.

The birds were probably kept at bay because there were some other nosy bipedal morps walking that section of the exposed submerged reef that morning.

daylight hunting octopus @ t.bemban besar 22May2011

It was surprising to see not one but two small octopus out hunting in broad daylight. Normally, octopus are seen on an exposed submerged reef at night or in the early hours of the morning.

These actively went about using their tentacles to probe around and under rocks, coral and sponges looking for food such as crabs and small fish.

abandoned fish nets @ semakau 21May2011

res ipsa loquitor

Where could this bundle of heavy duty fish nets have come from?
The pile, made up of two or three large heavy duty nets, was freshly washed up ... probably within the day as it was relatively easy to extricate parts of it from the tree they were wrapped around. Given that the bundle had stayed together in a small tight bundle, it is probable that the bundle had not travelled far at all before coming to rest around the mangrove tree on the Semakau foreshore.

there was at least one crab stuck in the netting. 

leaves and branches of the tree caught in one of the nets

Close-up showing the heavy-duty nets. The red 'thread' joins two parts together.

apathetic fishermen III @ SBWR 15May2011

Here we go again...

The first half shows a young man well prepared for his poaching expedition on his kayak armed with a fishing rod, water, sunshades and visor (inter alia). He even had an air-filled plastic bag presumably containing some fish. He had found his way around Pulau Buloh within a stone's throw from Platform 2 and just outside of a sluice gate probably hoping to land a good catch. Instead he was caught by two park visitors who made prompt telephone calls to the park rangers which caused him to pack up and flee towards Platform 1. On seeing the ranger beckoning for him to come 'ashore', he quickly turned his kayak and paddled out towards Kranji.

The second half of the clip shows a yellow-shirted man ("YSM") with a cast net walking across the mouth of Sungei Buloh Besar. The tide was low enough for the walk but the YSM failed to net anything significant except some very small fish. (The bigger fish had probably already been prevented from coming in due to the long gill/drift nets placed a little further out by the other fishermen.) This YSM disappeared into the mangrove at the east bank. He would probably walk out towards the Kranji Nature Trail.

Let's have a look at relevant legislation :-

Parks and Trees Act

Restricted activities in respect of animals, etc., in national parks and nature reserves

9. —(1) No person shall, except with the approval of the Commissioner granted under section 12 and in accordance with the terms and conditions of such approval, carry out any of the following activities within any national park or nature reserve:

(a) capture, displace or feed any animal;

(b) disturb or take the nest of any animal;

(c) collect, remove or wilfully displace any other organism;

(d) use any animal, firearm, explosive, net, trap, hunting device or instrument or means whatever for the purpose of capturing any animal; or

(e) carry or have in the person’s possession any explosive, net, trap or hunting device.

(2) No person shall carry out any activity within any national park or nature reserve which he knows or ought reasonably to know causes or may cause injury to, or the death of, any animal or any other organism within the national park or nature reserve.

(3) No person shall, except with the approval of the Commissioner granted under section 12 and in accordance with the terms and conditions of such approval —

(a) bring or release or cause any animal to be brought or released into a nature reserve; or

(b) permit any domestic animal to stray into a nature reserve.

(4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of $500 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.

scarlet-backed flowerpecker@ SBWR - May2011

This lovely little bird was busy choosing cherries on an Indian Cherry (Muntingia calabura) tree. This tree is located near the path from the visitor centre leading to the main bridge. It was full of green berry-like fruit.

In spite of the ungainly bipedal lifeform observing it almost within arms reach, it merrily went about choosing fruit. Settling on one and despite dangling vertically, it first poked into it a few times with its sharp beak. Then it grabbed it within its beak and flew off to an adjacent branch for a more horizontal position whereupon it proceeded to squeeze out the juice into its beak. It also rolled the fruit around in its beak probably to get the best leverage for each remaining part of the berry. It took just over a minute and a half to juice a berry whereupon it promptly discarded it and wiped its beak against the branch it was on.


Find out more about the bird here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet-backed_Flowerpecker
http://birdsoftheworldonline.com/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-dicaeum-cruentatum
http://www.besgroup.org/2011/01/09/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-eating-fruit-of-indian-cherry/

otter makantime II @ SBWR May2011

The resident wild otters at SBWR were out for some breakfast and made their way over to Sungei Billabong Buloh (dunno how Singapore got a 'billabong') which separates Pulau Buloh from the rest of SBWR. 

Platforms 1 and 2 are good vantage points to see the otters in action.

It was a low tide morning and all the fish were concentrated in a much shallower column of water. Schooling fish are already naturally jumpy and are more so when being chased by predatory mouths. 

The otters dived repeatedly looking for their prized fish species.... catfish. They did not seem very interested in the other fish schooling in the upper part of the water column but they seemed to dive to the bottom most of the time with their long tails occasionally showing above the water.

Soon enough, a catfish was found and the otter went about holding it with its hands whilst munching into the tail. Perhaps the otters bite into the tail first to disable the fish in case the fish does try to get away. However, it seems that the otters prefer mainly the tail region and any innards which can be pulled out from the rear of fish. This has been observed on other occasions. 

Strangely, despite there being a good meaty portion of freshly caught catfish left, the otters frequently abandon the fish and move on to look for other fish. They seem to do this over and over and can catch and 'tail' up to 2 or 3 catfish in an equivalent number of hours leaving easy leftovers for anything else that may come by (like the numerous monitor lizards which also inhabit the reserve).

croc on the path @ SBWR 08May2011

Was walking along one of the quieter paths with my boots making quite a mini-ruckus on the gravel eventhough I was trying my best not to when i looked up to see a tail disappearing off the path about 5 mteres ahead into the adjacent foliage. Instantly it occurred to me that the tail was way too broad and speckled to belong to a monitor lizard. It had to be a crocodile! I could not help but feel both surprised and shocked at the same time. Cautiously, i moved forward towards where the tail disappeared whilst looking out for the croc. It was down the embankment and near the water ready to plunge in if needed. The shade of the overhanging trees made it a bit difficult to spot the croc. One had to be looking for a croc to see it. It's speckled hide also camouflaged it very well. It did not seem bothered by a human with much less sharp teeth than it did. For good measure, it left its mouth open showing off its many many sharp teeth.

The croc must have been sunning itself soaking up the morning sun when it heard me coming. It pays to be attentive when in Nature Reserves ... and quiet.

Read more about Crocs here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/reptilia/porosus.htm

and a recent encounter where a much larger croc at Sg Buloh made a quick meal out of a large water monitor! :
http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2011/01/a-lizards-last-moments.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2011/01/110115-sungei-buloh.html

otter makantime I @ SBWR 30Apr2011

This smooth otter was seen in the gallery pool at the SBWR visitor centre carrying what looked like a fish leftovers. It was a bony fish and it must have been rather large. The otter moved with it to the side where it was shallow enough for it to stand on its hind feet (and probably using its tail also as a third leg). It then proceeded to really bite into the bony fish carcass crunching into the bone.

Unfortunately, it looks as if it got a bone stuck in its teeth and it dropped the carcass to try to use its claws to dislodge the bone. Whilst it did so, it was distracted away from the approaching monitor lizards who could obviously smell the fish carcass. It soon dislodged whatever was causing it discomfort, looked around the murky green water for the fish and grabbed it before any lizard got to it. It then swam away with its catch to another part of the pool.

hunting herons @ SBWR 08May2011

A compilation of short clips of a few grey herons stalking and hunting fish (or prawns) for food. There is a segment of a juvenile grey heron having speared a small catfish and then dropping the catfish onto the mud in order to re-position itself for another deadly and forceful impaling strike. The bird then deftly beaks the fish in order to swallow it whole. And after that, it washes its beak in a nearby pool. The slow-mo replay @12.5% is still not quite slow enough to clearly capture the speed at which the stalking herons strike at their prey. Faster than a blink!

a selection of birds @ SBWR 08May2011

a selection of birds from Sungei Buloh

grey heron (Ardea cinerea)

grey heron (Ardea cinerea)

little heron (Butorides striatus) taking a bold step

oriental pied-hornbill (Anthracocerous albirostris) (at canteen pond)

unknown raptor flying overhead

apathetic fishermen II @ Sg Buloh 07May2011

More fishing at Sungei Buloh. Sigh.

And it looks like this is an regular occurrence.

This time there was more than one net...six to be correct! Five were very long drift (or gill) nets [VLD net] and one was a throw or cast net. Three of the VLD nets were being cared for by 2 men on an improvised styrofoam float. Another 2 VLD nets were cared for by ciggy man on kayak (who had made an appearance in an earlier post). Ciggy man's friend joined him later on, also on a kayak. A mysterious 'darkman' (silhouetted against the morning sun) with the cast (or throw) net also was seen crossing the mouth of Sungei Buloh Besar on foot. This chap raised some interesting questions as he did not seem to catch anything despite his casts but he did go on to move some heavy deadwood on the eastbank shore....as if he had been tasked to manage that corner of the shore???.

First the duo on styrofoam with support motorboat. These guys used a motorised boat (SZ10404J) as their base. The motorboat was moored a bit further out in slightly deeper water and the duo moved to it to drop off their collection from each VLG net. From the looks of it, this duo netted a bumper crop of huge catfish and other fish. I wonder how much fish they can eat...surely they would sell off most of this catch. Where do they sell off this catch? (I wonder if AVA licenses them?).

the duo on their improvised floatation device checking on their 3 nets

the duo paddling their improvised floatation device back to homebase, their motorboat.

the duo got off their 'improvised floatation device and onto the mudbank west of Platform 1

They moved along each of their nets picking up fish with ease every few feet of net. An estimate of the distance covered by this group? 200m at least.

Ciggy man on red kayak was merrily checking his nets as well despite him abandoning his fishing on 01 May2011.

He was soon joined by his buddy on blue kayak. Both of them moor their kayaks and conduct their fishery business at Kranji Reservoir Park (rent free).

Then we have Darkman. Mysterious, with no face because of the sihouetting sun, he was observed casting his net a few times across the river mouth. But he had little luck - since there were two gill nets (managed by the Duo and Ciggy man) preventing fish from getting to where Darkman was.

Cast nets are usually much less successful compared to the VLDnets. Darkman made his way across to the eastbank and deposited his fishing gear into a large plastic jerry can cutout. Then he cleared up that isolated corner by moving some deadwood and also carried a long piece of driftwood out of his favourite corner. Was he clearing it up so that he could have a better corner to come back to on another morning?

We need to better protect our Nature Reserves. Fishing with VLDnets just outside of the river mouth will have a detrimental effect on the amount of fish entering the mangroves as the VLD nets effectively are a wall against entry. This may affect the resident otters and crocodiles as there would be a significant reduction on food items over time. These fishermen can be effectively considered resident fishermen as they are around 24x7x365 due to the proximity to their main base at Kranji Reservoir Park. It is probable that they are not licensed at all.

Further, the multiple VLDnets put up in parallel by the different fishermen are a maze for the otters and crocodiles to circumnavigate and there is a very real danger that these animals will get entangled up in the almost invisible nets. Indeed this has already happenned to a hapless crocodile recently. See this link for more info.

plantain squirrel @ SBWR 30Apr2011

These squirrels are commonly found all over Singapore. This particular one was at the SBWR Mangrove Boardwalk at about 1pm actively biting into and eating the bark of what seems to be a Sea Hibiscus bush. Maybe it was looking for bugs below the bark but it sure seemed to bite deep into the branches.

Read more about this entertaining squirrel here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/notatus.htm
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/plantain_squirrel.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/squirrelplantain.htm

oriental pied-hornbills @ SBWR 30Apr2011

A couple of birdwatchers looking up into the trees at the Mangrove Boardwalk piqued my interest as I could not make out what they were intently pointing and looking at. A change of viewpoint soon highlighted a pair of backlit birds with distinctive bills...hornbills!

The pair were grooming themselves on top of a mangrove tree. The bird on the left occasionally groomed the bird on the right. The bird on the right occasionally spread out its wings as if to give them a good stretch and even seemed to twist its neck.... It was as if the bird was doing some warm up exercises in preparation for some strenuous activity...or perhaps some confinement. Perhaps this was a mating pair with the female getting ready to be holed up somewhere close by.  The birds had disappeared when I next looked up.

Later, I had overheard a volunteer saying that the hornbills may have been introduced to the reserve from elsewhere in Singapore as part of a breeding/re-introduction project.

Read more about the hornbills here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/birds/albirostris.htm
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/index.php?s=Anthracoceros+albirostris
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/ecolodge/58/oph/nesting.html

3 otters @ SBWR 30Apr2011

Here are the 3 smooth otters going off on their evening hunt (about 5pm). Interesting how the otters form a wall of teeth as they move through the water in close formation. This is a great way to corral fish into the shallows for easy catching. Or to look out for the resident crocodiles submerged in the water!

The otters swam up the main river and crossed the central embankment of smud (sand and mud). From the video, it looks like the first otter crossing the smud was a female with the distinctive nipples visible below its abdomen. The other two otters seemed a little smaller than the first one. There used to be up to 10 otters at one time a few years ago. Where did the rest go?

There have also been otter sightings at various other local shores like Pulau Ketam, Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa, Changi, Pasir Ris, Woodlands Park and even Pulau Semakau!

Read more about smooth otters here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/smooth_otter.htm
http://www.ecologyasia.com/html-loc/ring-of-bright-water.htm

an NUS otter reserch project : http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

other sightings of otters around singapore :
http://www.wilsonchia.com/fishing/wild-otters-in-singapore/
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/03/otter-overload-at-sungei-buloh.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/otters-at-sungei-buloh-and-mangrove.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/05/otter-at-changi.html

other news about otters :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/12/otters-disappearing-in-southeast-asia.html
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/12/save-sungei-buloh-otters-from-dog.html
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/08/otters-just-out-to-have-fun.html

eagles @ SBWR & Labrador

A short compilation of 2 white-bellied sea eagle clips. One was recently from SBWR and the other from 2010 at Labrador Nature Reserve. Both seemed to be juveniles and did not therefore did not sport the full white underbelly but instead showing some brownish colouration on the upper chest and patchy coloured wings.

eagles @ SBWR & Labrador from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Check out these links for more info about this majestic bird! :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm

http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html

wolf snake @ KNT 30Apr2011

Came across Dr Chua EK and friends photographing a house wolf snake just outside the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve carpark and where the Kranji Nature Trail begins. This snake is non-venemous and can be found all over Singapore, even in neighbourhood parks and it has also been seen on some of Singapore's Southern Islands. This particular specimen was about 40cm long.

wolf snake @ KNT 30Apr2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about this snake :
http://singaporesnakes.blogspot.com/2007/09/more-records-of-house-wolf-snake.html
http://singaporesnakes.blogspot.com/search/label/House%20Wolf%20Snake
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/snakewolf.htm
http://www.naturemalaysia.com/house-wolf-snake.htm

black spitting cobra @ SBWR 30Apr2011

This 1.2m black beauty was trying to sun itself near the mangrove boardwalk when it got spooked by too many footsteps from the boardwalk. With a few flicks of its curves, it graciously slithered off into the safety of a nearby thicket.

equatorial spitting cobra @ SBWR 30Apr2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

It did not have the characteristic sharp narrow tail but a stubby thick one. Perhaps it had had a lucky escape but had to sacrifice its tail end.

Read more about this snake :
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/equatorial_spitting_cobra.htm

apathetic fisherman @ SBWR 01May2011

I had seen a very similar (probably the same) canoe with person paddling past the exit of Sungei Buloh Besar yesterday and thought it unusual that anyone would want to canoe in this area but thought nothing of it as the canoe was moving along quite well.

Saw the canoe again this afternoon but this time the occupant was checking a long gill net. The net was very long and it covered the entire river mouth at Sungei Buloh Besar.

apathetic fisherman #1 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

As I was shooting from the main bridge, i decided to move over to Platform 1 to get a closer look as the kayak seemed to be headed that way. When I got to Platform 1, it was obvious that the net stretched right across to the mudbank opposite Platform 1 and where the channel to Platform 2 starts.

apathetic fisherman #2 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I waited for the kayaker to get to the end of his net. He went along the whole of what seemed about 200m of net checking for fish or clearing the net of flotsam. When he came within earshot, I called out to him saying that he could not put his net across the mouth of the river or within the reserve.

apathetic fisherman #3 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

He shouted back insisting that he was 'outside' of the reserve. Sensing his reluctance to retrive his net, I promptly revealed my camera and pointed it in his direction. He 'got the picture' real quick and turned around to where the start of his net was and started pulling it into his kayak.  He made quick work of retrieving the net whilst trying to keep his face away from the shore and away from the camera.

apathetic fisherman #4 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I made my way back to the SBWR reception counter and informed the staff of the events. They promptly scrambled their team to intercept the kayaker whilst I made my way in advance to the Kranji Nature Trail bridge to see if I could get a clear shot of the kayaker. He paddled by making sure to avoid looking towards the camera and paddled his way in the direction of Kranji Dam.

apathetic fisherman #5 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I met the SBWR team on their way out and informed them that the kayaker was already speedily moving towards Kranji. Not much point in tracking him down since his fishing sojourn had been abruptly ended. Plus the drizzle looked set to turn into a downpour. Upon looking at the pics (on the small camera LCD), it appears that this particular kayaker had put up nets before and the SBWR had taken action and removed the nets before.

Note to self : in case of intruding kayakers, fishermen, poachers - call the SBWR reception immediately so that they can activate their response team to intercept the intruders on the spot. By not informing at the earliest oppurtunity (whilst I was initially on the main bridge), I had inadvertently given the kayaker a lot of time to move around and eventually make his speedy kayak getaway.

Have a look at this post (and associated links) to see why these nets are are so dangerous : http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-fishing-please-kranji-nature-trail.html

Sungei Buloh currently has 3 resident otters, a couple of crocodiles and many many monitor lizards. All of these can easily get caught in these gill nets and drown with the tides. Indeed, there is a recent record of a crocodile found dead caught up in a net. (See here.).

We should take better care of our Nature Reserves and their natural residents. Help SBWR effectively monitor intruding fishermen and nets! Inform the staff ASAP so that timely and effective action can be taken. The main line is +65 6794 1401.

Fishing enthusiasts should realise that leaving long gill nets unattended can result in inadvertent deaths of already critically endangered marine animals. This is especially so in critical areas near mangroves and on seagrass meadows. Setting up a net near such areas is inviting trouble and we cannot afford to lose even one such animal.

Please Mr. Fisherman! Help us save our endangered animals.

Update :
02May2011 - located the kayak at the Kranji Dam cove. Looks like there is a small fishing community there with some 'permanent' gear stored at the park. This is not mere recreational fishing as it looks as if there was some selling and buying going on. 

Note : 07May2011 - I've named this chap 'ciggyman' as he seems to like having a ciggarette in this mouth.