27
March
2008
31 Mar-1 Apr: Code Blue at NUS
Time: 10am-6pm
Venue: Central Forum, the National University of Singapore
Contact: Belmont Lay
Code Blue is a communications campaign aimed at advocating local marine conservation efforts among NUS students. Timed to coincide with the International Year of the Reef 2008, Code Blue will join the worldwide marine conservation campaign on March 31 with a two-day special event featuring recruitment for marine conservation volunteers, a marine photo exhibition and a special environmental display at the NUS Central Forum.
The 2-day special event will feature the following highlights:
- Marine photo exhibition;
- One-of-a-kind environmental exhibition;
- Marine conservation exhibition;
- Pledge booth for participants to sign pledge cards in support of marine conservation; and
- Recruitment drive for a variety of marine conservation activities and also for Roots & Shoots Youth United youth leaders
Sign the Pledge or Sign up as a volunteer
Posted: Notices
25
March
2008
Good things come in small packages, like allied cowries, porcelain crabs, decorator crabs, and whip gobies. We waited an entire year for this day - the one day in each year we insanely decide to spend 12 hours out at sea diving 4 dives including a thrilling night dive for the sake of showcasing Hantu’s wildlife and it’s potential for bringing diversity, pleasure, and inspiration into the lives of locals and those who visit our country.
This March we commemorate 4 years of diving and blogging. Through the years we’ve managed to miraculously organise 56 dives to Hantu (excluding your research and training dives!) and led almost 500 members of the public into Hantu waters! It really has been super, and when I first started blogging one plain day 4 years ago, I really had no idea something like this was in store - ReefXplore! and a team of volunteers! Who’d have thought? The Hantu Blog’s dive trips, and the very blog itself, would not have been sustained without the priceless commitment of our volunteers in teaching others about Hantu’s marine life! A massive thank you to all those who’ve dived wit us through the years. This Blog and our dives can’t exist without you!
If you already saw our post with the video logs, you’d know that we had an outstanding dive last weekend around Hantu. Here’s the evidence…
I saw a total of 3 seahorses at 2 sites. One of our volunteers saw another one during the night dive, making the total at least 4 seahorses across 3 sites!
There were heaps of nudibranches out today. Particularly the Gymnodoris. This one here’s laying a ribbon of pretty pink eggs.
This fella here with the big ugly mug might very well have bagged the prize for the best find this weekend. It’s not a sponge, not a cluster of ascidians… It’s in fact, a very privileged find - a frogfish! Divers were shrieking under their regulators in excitement, attempting to clap their hands and giving high fives underwater when this critter was spotted!
The coral polyps were also out in full force!
This was an interesting find: A shark’s eggs case, with a developing pup inside nonetheless!
These Blue spotted fan tailed rays are extremely shy and never fail to humour me. They kind of suffer from the ostrich syndrome, thinking what they can’t see can’t see them either. These rays are most frequently detected because they have their faces wedged into some coral crevice whilst their tails are left extended out in the open! Perhaps their tails have nothing to fear because they are so deathly barbed, but still! Anyway, they are always fantastic to photograph because their blue spots turn out brilliant in pictures.
Here’s something else we haven’t seen in awhile. The above picture taken by volunteer guide, Marcel, is of a carpet eel blenny. These animals are usually shy and dart away into sandy burrows or crevices in the reef as soon as they’re spotted. But this individual seemed to enjoy the limelight. Allowing a good number of shots to be taken as it crept along the reef.
Marcel being one of the 1st to descend for the 2nd dive managed to grab this surreal picture of a school of silver moonies. In a later photograph, the moonies are joined by a few Long finned batfish.
Another photo from Marcel, a Ceratosoma nudibranch.
This is just a tinsy sample of some of the things we saw during the Anniversary dive. If it’s not enough to make you jealous, you can visit our gallery. Prepared to be blown away!
Some other creatures we saw but didn’t manage to get photos of included Octopus, Sweetlips, Sea Bass, Groupers, Swatooth shrimp, and a Turtle!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives
25
March
2008
In case you haven’t already heard, the Hantu Blog’s 4th Anniversary celebrations on the island and it’s reef was uber fantastic! Everyone was nervous about the outcome, what more with the relentless rain we’ve been having for the past week! Dark clouds made the morning appear ominous but as we entered the early afternoon, things started to look a bit brighter. As we entered the water, things also turned out a lot CLEARER than we’d expected!
Yes, Hantu waters (or local waters for that matter) are infamous for their visibility (or lack of). But there’s also a saying that runs “the most difficult paths lead to the most beautiful views”. I’m sorry, but this particular post is for me to brag (not often do I get to do that!) about the great escape 8 divers, 3 volunteers and myself made to our southern island ocean this past weekend. It was like a dream - the water, weather, company and conditions were perfect. We couldn’t have asked for more. Even for some of Hantu’s most seasoned divers, this the 4th anniversary marked one of the best times we’ve had discovering, documenting, and PLAYING in our waters.
Here’s a prelude to the photo blog that will be coming up soon. Enjoy these videos!
Not every crinoid is this expressive. I know we recently posted a video of a larger one swimming quite bombastically though the water, but this was seemed to have a mission - to boldly go where no crinoid has gone before! We got a little worried as it seemed to ascend way above the reef and towards the surface! We hoped it eventually found its way back to the safety of the reef!
Batfish meets Jellyfish: I was playing around with this jellyfish at first, taking some pictures and sorts, when I just started to shoot a video of it, I was startled by a largish figure that entered into my frame (as can be told by the sudden jolt during the shoot). It turned out to be a young Longfinned batfish. These are absolutely gorgeous fish. Some of them can be quite curious and follow divers along the reef. It was nice to bump into one. Or have one bump into me rather!
Map puffer fish: It’s been awhile since I ran into one of these great massive puffer fish. They like to take it easy during the day, hanging out on the seabed, watching the world go by. Like veterans on the reef, they probably sit there pondering why the rabbitfish bother to swim about so much. “What’s all the rush about?”
Posted: Blog Dives, Videos
18
March
2008
On Tuesday, the PFT crew and me went back to Hantu island to wrap up the shoot for the final episode of Once Upon a Tree II: Tides and Coastlines. The episode featuring the Hantu Blog carries the theme, “Hope”, and is intended to set the ending note for the state of our coastal and marine habitats, and the action that we have to take in order to safeguard our unique natural heritage.
The last time we took an intertidal look at Hantu’s reef, but this time, we went underwater with co-host Sye-Lynn. The water’s were more turbid than we would have preferred but we tried out best to work with the elements! The conditions surrounding Hantu island certainly don’t make it easy for us to do underwater documentation. Fingers crossed that the crew managed to get all the footage they need to give a spectacular representation of Hantu’s reef!
I managed to get some pretty exceptional shots and videos myself whilst taking it easy underwater as the camera crew fussed over their shots! It began with this awesome video of a swimming feather star!
There was also this exceptionally confident file fish which was only about the size of both my palms!
Then there was this school of tiny fish that hung in the shallow waters near the surface.
And of course, there were seahorses. Plural. There were 2.
These weren’t the only things we saw! There was also a sprinkling of other weird marine creatures and an aerial phenomenon was well - there was a MASSIVE flock of birds gathered over Hantu island. See what you missed! Swing by our gallery for a browse.
The series Once Upon a Tree will be aired on Tuesday, March 25 at 9.30pm (2130hrs). Need an email reminder?
Posted: Notices, Blogs, Videos
11
March
2008
The Hantu Blog went out with the crew of Once Upon a Tree, a series about Singapore’s marine and coastal habitats, to be broadcast on Arts Central later this month. The episode that features the Blog will be aired later this month.
This was the 1st of 2 segments within the episode. The second will be conducted underwater. Blog volunteer Ming Sheng was present at the shoot to help out with documenting the days activities, amongst other things!
I was stoked to be able to work with Dr. Shawn Lum, seen in the above picture. He was great fun to work with! It was quite odd to be asked questions by someone who’s been in the field for so long. Half the time I was wondering if he was asking me questions he already knew the answers to! But it turns out there’re just so many things out there, and pardon the cliche, but nature is so full of surprises that we truly are learning new things everyday. Sometimes I’d consult with Ming Sheng, and he’s consult with Shawn and we’d awe each other with our shared knowledge.
Ming Sheng and I also had some time to deviate, during which time we managed to spot some awesome creatures of the intertidal area. We must’ve spotted at least 3 octopuses! Some within their burrows, others boldly creeping over the coralscape. We also saw a dragonet whilst staring at a tiny flowercrab. It was awesome! There was also a bunch of squid eggs (or cuttlefish eggs?) on the reef. Seeing eggs are good. It means we’ve got a future.
Posted: Notices, Blogs
3
March
2008
UNEP Fisheries Expert, Christopher Paterson, visited the Hantu Blog and sent the following email:
“I was interested to read the aricle “Only 4% of untouched ocean left” on your blog “Pulau Hantu”, particularly your comments regarding the South China Sea.
I thought you may be interested in our South China Sea Project website.
This site was recently featured on the official Google Earth blog and can also be accessed via the Google Earth Showcase.
I hope that you and perhaps your readers will find some of the content on our website useful.
Congratulations on your excellent blog. I have added it to the links section of our website.”
The website contains insightful information about communities in the region and their interaction with the oceans, and discusses strategies and methods to mitigate their impact on the oceans.
Learn about projects that are being implemented in coastal and ocean habitats throughout the region, view fascinating maps with the help of Google Earth, and even speak with an expert that’s online through their website via Skype!
If you’d like to enrich yourself further, you can check out their calendar of events for the heads up on several of their workshops and conferences being held throughout the region. You may also have your opinions heard on their forum.
This is an indispensable website for recreationists, researchers alike. There’re so many things to discover and interact with, I almost missed my dinner whilst exploring it!
Posted: Notices, News
2
March
2008
A global report on oceans shows devastating damage with The South China sea found to be amongst the worst affected seas in the world a global investigation into the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems revealed last month.
Read the full article.
Posted: News
