Blog Action Day – Coral Reefs of Pulau Hantu

October 15, 2010

Mention coral reefs in Singapore, and the first response you often get is, “there are coral reefs in Singapore?” I could’ve kept it my little secret, but it makes me too excited so I just have to tell the whole world about it – YES! There are coral reefs in Singapore! And you’d be surprised at the kind of diversity you will be able to encounter on the little patches of reefs scattered around our island’s waters.

For the past seven years, the Hantu Blog has been documenting the marine and coastal life that exists around and on Pulau Hantu, an island located just two hours off the southern coast of mainland Singapore. With the skyscrapers and smoke stacks in view, it can be hard to conceive that there is any life beneath these busy waters, but BELIEVE IT! Even the volunteers and I get surprised with new finds after hundreds of dives!

Without water, Singapore would not be what it is today. Our seas are the very reason we’ve become such a successful island nation, and it was the reason why anyone settled here in the first place! Our oceans are full of life despite being the busiest port in the world! If we take care to maintain this balance, nature and development can exist together, enriching the life of millions of Singaporeans that live in super urban environments.

More and more people are become aware of the wilderness that is embedded within Singapore city. The next time you are on the beach, walk slowly and look out for critters scrambling along the sand. Recently, a friend and I were on a beach at Sentosa island, when we noticed something scuttling along the sand. He remarked, “This beach is not even real and it’s so developed. I thought it would be lifeless! And there are ghost crabs here!”

Be it day or night, if you just remain patient and keep your eyes and attitude open, you’re bound to find a little surprise along our shores. Just look at the birds! They’ve come to land on the beach because they know there are lots of critters to eat! So just imagine, what more lies beneath the waters surface!

It doesn’t matter if you’re not a diver. You don’t even have to know how to swim! You’ve interacted with our oceans in some way or another. If you have in your home, something that got to you on the deck of a ship that trudged across the sea, you depend on our oceans. If you enjoy the breeze that cruises through Shenton Way and Marina Bay, it’s the ocean that creates that breeze. If you enjoy seafood (and we know many people in Singapore do!) you need to take care of our oceans – a healthy sea begets healthy sea food for all of us. The oceans gives fishermen and fish growers a job, and it keeps the thousands of employees in our shipyards employed.

Here are three simple but big ways you can help our oceans:

1. Learn about our oceans! The more you know about what is out there and the better you understand our relationship with our oceans, the more ways you’ll learn to protect it. Visit Singapore’s wild places!
2. Not littering! When it rains, litter inland flows into drains, then to rivers, and out into our seas. Every year, thousands of animals die because they get entangled in trash or when they mistake trash for food and get choked trying to eat it.
3. Spread the word! Talk to friends and family about the problems (and the solutions) that impact our oceans.
4. Become a volunteer! Volunteering gives you opportunities to interact with others who care about our oceans. You may also get a chance to meet naturalists and scientists who are working hard to learn ways to defend our oceans.

Posted in Events, Fisheries, Volunteers