A “Bruda whale” died after it became entangled in a fishing net. According to Phuket reports, the animal was two or three months old, measured 4.5 metres, weighed 600 kilos and had deep cuts from the netting. Photo from Phuketwan News In Phuket, many turtles have been forced ashore this monsoon season. They are either […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Choice between floating facilities, land reclamation to be made soon Ronnie Lim, Business Times 1 Oct 09; (SINGAPORE) Jurong Island is running out of land and Singapore will decide early next year on how to augment space at the oil and petrochemicals hub that houses biggies such as ExxonMobil and Shell. One option is to […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Gladya Ow, Channel NewsAsia 30 Sep 09; SINGAPORE: Singaporeans feel that the government should pump more money into heritage and culture, than into sectors like tourism, IT and defence. Education topped the list, followed by investment in social welfare. This is according to a recent survey carried out by the National University of Singapore and […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Ria Tan calls me at 4pm today and asks if I had any plans for the evening. I did, but I wanted to hear what exciting news she was bearing that couldn’t wait. Turns out, Francis Olsen, Chief Marina Officer at Marina at Keppel Bay, learned about what wonderful stuff there is in Singapore waters, […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Look what NParks officers spotted at Changi Intertidal this morning! Also known as the Estuarine seahorse, Hippocampus kuda is found mainly in seagrass areas near sources of freshwater. It is found all around Singapore in shallow waters. Unlike other seahorses in our waters, its body is without large, obvious spines. Colours seen include yellow, brown, […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

While Australia remains committed to playing an ongoing role in assisting the six nations of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) to protect their marine environments, a leading scientist here says that an Australian-style of management in the triangle will not work. ”There is no single recipe for how to manage a reef well and the […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Terribly tedious to get close to, the blind shimp tenaciously hawls loads of sand out of its burrow in Pulau Hantu’s reef slope as a Shrimp goby stands guard at the entrance. Shrimp gobies are extremely alert and skittish. With its tail, the goby signals to the shrimp if it is safe to some out. […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

The Sustainable Island Programme (SIP) 2009-2010 was approved by Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) on January 19, 2009, as a continuation of conservation efforts in 2008. A joint collaboration between Wild Asia (WA) and Reef Check Malaysia (RCM), SIP’s vision is to promote sustainable destinations and responsible island development between the private sector, local communities and […]

Posted in Uncategorized 2 Comments »

MANADO, Indonesia—Six Asia-Pacific countries agreed Friday on a wide-ranging plan to protect one of the world’s largest networks of coral reefs, promising to reduce pollution, eliminate overfishing and improve the livelihoods of impoverished coastal communities. The agreement at the World Oceans Conference creates a voluntary management plan for an area defined as the Coral Triangle, […]

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments »

Keeping my fingers crossed during the week seemed to work. Bright sunshine and great visibility meant first timers on our trip were lucky to experience Hantu at one of its best. Above, diver Lee Wen descends into the depths. Many on the first dive got to see lots of nudibranchs Reef Xplore guide Ming Sheng […]

Posted in Uncategorized 1 Comment »