Our Crazy Rich Shores: Pulau Sekudu

Part of the Chek Jawa Wetlands that is managed by NParks, Pulau Sekudu, is a precious jewel.

This tiny island hosts important habitats and teems with colourful marine life.


Pulau Sekudu has a large intertidal flat which is only exposed at low tide. The edges of the flats are teeming with colourful sponges, soft corals, sea fans and even some  hard corals.

Here's a glimpse at what we saw at our most recent survey of Pulau Sekudu, with permission from NParks.

Pulau Sekudu has lush seagrass meadows, with 5 species of seagrasses! We often see signs of dugong feeding trails in these meadows.

Nestled in the seagrass meadows are large Knobby sea stars, carpet anemones and other colourful creatures.

The island is strewn with large boulders smoothed over time, and a few mangrove trees grow on the high shore among them.

One of the boulders resembles a frog (someone has helpfully added eyes and a smile). And indeed Pulau Sekudu is also called Frog Island. It is part of the legend of how the islands of Sekudu and Ubin were formed when an Elephant, a Pig and a Frog challenged one another to a race from Singapore to Johor.

Pulau Ubin is among the areas that the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 has recommended for immediate conservation priority. The marine community hopes the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Ubin can be designated Marine Reserve.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.

Links

• Annual intertidal surveys of Pulau Sekudu. Pulau Sekudu is off limits since 2007 and requires special permission from NParks.

This article first appeared on the wild shores of singapore blog.