26
August
2008
The Hantu Blog lent its support to local marine group Cyrene Star Trackers by adopting a knobbly seastar at this year’s IYOR Reef Celebrations at the Botanical Gardens
Debby the Hantu Blogger picks out Bibi the seastar from the Star Trackers adoption board
The Hantu Blog believes that the marine protection movement is a dynamic one, and it takes all sorts of groups and individuals working within unique systems in the environment and society, to ensure a holistic approach towards conservation. We believe that support and understanding between local NGOs is an essential lubricant for direct or indirect collaborative effort. Whether you’re walking on the reef with the Blue Water Volunteers, doing Reef Checks with Reef Friends, volunteering with groups like Team Seagrass, Naked Hermit Crabs, or The Raffles Museum Toddycats, your work is essentially a cog in the system that keeps the whole engine that is the environmental protection framework, moving tirelessly forward and engaging every sector of society, and recognising every individuals unique skills, purpose and interests.
The Hantu Blog named it’s seastar Bibi, which is short for the Arabic word “Habibi” meaning beloved or darling. The name also has a Farsi and Persian origin, meaning “lady of the house”. A name that is both assertive and compassionate; a trait of many of our volunteers in Singapore, and around the world that dedicate their lives towards protecting the world and all its inhabitants.
To adopt your own Cyrene Seastar visit startrackers.blogspot.com
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26
August
2008
A new report by Jeremy B. C. Jackson*
This year has been full of bad news regarding marine ecosystems:
one-third of coral species threatened with extinction, dead-zones spread
to 415 sites, half of U.S. reefs in fair or bad condition, increase in
ocean acidification, tuna and shark populations collapsing, and only
four percent of ocean considered pristine. Jeremy Jackson, director of
the Scripps Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the
University of California, San Diego, synthesizes such reports and others
into a new paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, that boldly lays out the scope of the oceanic
emergency and what urgently needs to be done.
See the complete paper
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10
August
2008
Ria provides a comprehensive write up of the IYOR Launch at the Botanical Gardens over this weekend on the IYOR Blog.
She’s got lots of pictures and a run down of all the events and side shows that took places over the past two days. Meet the people who worked hard to get the event rolling and all the curious members of the public who had fun learning and networking. See what you’ve missed!
You can still be a part of the IYOR Singapore Celebrates our Reefs efforts because the year isn’t yet over! Find out how you, your school or your company can still be a part of the effort to safeguard the future our our reefs through becoming aware, or volunteering your time.
See more pix from the festival at the Hantu Blog Gallery!
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9
August
2008
While everyone has glued to their TV screens on Aug 8 for the opening of the Beijing Olympics, some very busy people were fussing themselves at the Botanical Gardens for the official launch of the International Year of the Reef: Singapore Celebrates Our Reefs!
The Hantu Blog was amongst 7 NGOs present at the event to showcase the wonderful marine world of Singapore in an effort to spread the awareness of the threats, protection and action that is necessary to safeguard the existence of our precious reefs.
As usual, Raffles Museum Toddycats had an amazing display, stole the show for much of the day. Now, I’ve got to pack down for the day. More blogging and pix later!
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5
August
2008
What would you do if you had some spare time on your hands? What would you do if you’ve been anticipating going diving all week only to wake up late on the weekend to realise you’ve missed your boat? Speaking for myself I probably waste time being upset at myself and get all stressed out and miserable for letting it happen. But those wiser than us put their time to great use, and then share their works to continue inspiring others. One such person with a fabulous heart and great artistic gift is regular Blog diver Chay Hoon. Check out her pebble paintings from last weekend!
More at her Blog
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5
August
2008
It’s been awhile since you took a look at underwater Hantu! I hope the pictures this dive satiate your cravings! But before all that… a weather report! It’s the middle of the year and when we should be expecting hot and dry days, many of you on this island Republic will realise that it’s been anything but. Scattered showers and storms have been dotting the week, and it looks like the tend is going to keep up till the monsoon season. With it raining throughout the year, you wonder if the “monsoon season” needs a new definition. Despite the ominous weather, lucky us, we had sunshine all day. I even managed to get a little bit roasted. (Not that I had the intention) ABOVE: Six banded Angelfish, Copper banded Butterflyfish
And what better way to compliment a sunny day than with great vis at Hantu! If you couldn’t join us this weekend, you missed a pretty lot! Regular divers of Hantu appreciate a day of good vis, and newcomers to the waters wonder what all the hype is about. More than anything, improved vis simply means diving with a little more comfort, there’s no greater or less luck with finding critters. ABOVE: Carpet eel blenny, Speckled goatfish
I managed to spot myself an elusive though relatively well known critter of local waters, the Ceratosoma nudibranch with its winglike appendages. But what bewildered me more was this yellow little sea slug, covered with spectacular white knobs with pink tips. This was one thing I’d never seen before. If you can tell by the size of the algae in the same shot, this critter was tiny. So it was tough getting a good shot of it though there is another view of it in our Gallery.
Taking advantage of the decent vis, I took this wideshot of the silver moonies. They are surreal to watch and often school in the waters of Hantu. They are skittish and can disappear very quickly when there’s too much activity in the water. They also like to keep shallow, which ironically leads to them often being missed because divers like to look down into the depths!
But the truth is, there are some good things to see in the deep depths. Especially if you bother to squint really hard. Like this Whip coral goby. Marvelous creatures.
Blue spotted fantail rays are often found hiding under some crevice during the day time, because they’re actually nocturnal. During daylight they hide and rest, and at night they’re our in full force, hunting for a meal. I actually spotted this ray sleeping next to a very unassuming neighbour…
A surprisingly laid back Red swimmer crab rests in a crevice next to the ray. These crabs are also more active at night. Anyone who’s seen a Red swimmer crab on the offense will be able to tell how unprovoked this individual is.
There were PLENTY of crinoids out at Hantu. Someone should really look into why most of the crinoids in Hantu are predominantly red or reddish. We’ve seen some green, yellow and white ones, but most often we come across the red ones.
On the way back to mainland, we were so excited to see the mighty Rainbow Warrior berthed at the marina. This ship has traveled across all the world’s oceans and is an ambassador for peace not only towards the environment but towards humanity. It was very inspiring to finally behold this great ship.
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4
August
2008
Join us for a fun filled celebration of the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 on Friday 8 August 2008, from 4-7pm at Function Hall, Botany Centre of the Singapore Botanic Gardens!IYOR 2008 is celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about the importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them.
Comprised of a diverse group of individuals and organizations active in marine conservation who have come together for a common cause, the Singapore IYOR working committee is proud to present this official launch, which aims to showcase the array of events and activities that have taken place and are lined up for the rest of the year for everyone’s participation to make a difference for the reefs.
Chairman of the IYOR Singapore Committee, Mr Francis Lee, shall also represent the members to receive a $5000 donation from TMX, organizer for the Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) this year at Suntec City, raised to support the committee’s conservation efforts.
Gracing the occasion, are Prof Tommy Koh and Prof Chou Loke Meng from the National University of Singapore, who shall each provide a keynote address all attendees on their personal thoughts on the importance of reef conservation and to call for more public support for this meaningful cause.
Please see IYOR invite for more information.
We look forward to seeing you!
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