Several activities were organized by the Sea Hounds crew during this event. They included PADI Open Water Diver, Advanced OW Diver, & Rescue Diver courses, and National Geographic Diver & PADI Discover Snorkeling programs. Also conducted were Reef Checks, Fish Counts, Mangrove Appreciation walk and underwater clean-ups.
We were encouraged by the participants' commitment to conservation. Many continued their diver education during this event and others commited simply by following guidelines for an eco-tourist. By their attendance, they gave vital support to Sea Hounds as their local ProjectAWARE GoECO Operator.
Our count of significant species was done at Renggis with 32 groupers, 21 of which were under 30cm in length. The previous batch of National Geographic Divers last weekend were able to observe one of the resident rock cods approx. 1.2m in length at 7m depth.
Other observations for snappers, bumpheads, sweetlips, morays and humphead wrasse were done on seperate dives.
For invertebrates, we found an alarming number of COTs at SeaFan Garden, dive site off Tulai. Total count on that dive was 18 over 50m of reef, and ranging from 14 to 8m of water. Sea cucumbers were abundant. No count was done.
Renggis was also the site for the National Geographic Diver's exploration dive where aquatic life id and buoyancy skills were practised to observe behaviours of the apex predator, the Blacktip Reef Shark, and other vertebrates and invertebrates over a pre-determined section of the coral reef.
Coral Health Monitoring was also conducted randomly during this dive, supported by charts from Project AWARE. CoralWatch Data Sheets are being prepared.
The Mangrove Appreciation snorkel/walk led us to a well-aged bumphead parrotfish at 6m depth and pigtail macaques combing the beach. Our walk found abundant lifeforms seeking refuge in the pools left by the extremely low-tide from the New Moon that evening. Juvenile swimmer crab, mantis shrimp, slipper lobster, and cleaner shrimps. Silverlined mudskippers hid under the breathing roots of the mangroves.
Rhizophora, saplings of the mangrove, lined the coast and Nyapa palms grew from the rocky outcrops. As we left, white-bellied sea eagles were a common sight with more calling in the lush island forest.
The team collected 18kg in total of discarded boatlines left on the mangrove roots, rubber and plastic items from the mangroves. Sadly, the most trash we collected was from the Marine Park dive site where the most common item was plastic mineral water bottles.
Sea Hounds and the HantuBlog also conducted an effective cleanup for Earth Day on the same weekend in Singapore.
Kranji Mangrove Clean-up at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, Singapore
Unfortunately, mangrove forests are some of the most threatened ecosystems because of their proximity to the sea(prime developmental land) and the tendency for us to see them as useless swamps with threatening 'Swamp Things'.
Destruction of these forests has dire implications since they provide an important spawning ground and serve as a nursery for many commercially important species.
Earth Day Photo Album
To get involved more, enrol in the National Geographic Diver program, Join the HantuBlog dives or sign up for the next ICC or Dive In events.
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