Mass coral spawning 2024

Singapore's corals are alive and very sexy too. Their annual orgy of explosive sex just happened! Thanks to the dedicated team who have been keeping an eye on this event every year, and Vincent Choo and Chay Hoon, we get a glimpse of what happened. Chay Hoon reported coming across 8 spawning colonies from 4 genera.

Photo by Chay Hoon.

Once a year, on the fourth month, around four days after the fourth full moon of the year, our corals seed the seas with new life! Called Mass Coral Spawning, what is it and why is it a big deal? More below!

Pulau Jong still alive!

We survey this untouched island just half an hour away from the city. Although it lies near petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom, the Landfill and major shipping lanes, Pulau Jong is still very much alive.

We find Giant clams and other colourful reef life. I checked for mass coral bleaching. Although I saw signs of stress, I estimate only about 2% of corals hard and soft were outright bleaching.

Terumbu Raya still alive!

We land at first light on this submerged reef that lies near petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. Despite this, it is still very much alive! We survey the shore facing Pulau Sudong where reclamation is scheduled for the end of this year.

We encounter Giant clams, special anemones and other colourful reef life. I checked for mass coral bleaching. Although I saw widespread signs of stress, I estimate only about 2-5% of corals hard and soft were outright bleaching.

Chek Jawa (South) with signs of dugong and rare sea stars

We do our annual low tide check up on the southern area of Chek Jawa with kind permission and support from NParks.

We see signs of dugong feeding in the lush seagrass meadows, and lots of juveniles of a rare sea star. The hard corals near the beacon are not mass bleaching, but some seem stressed. There is hardly any sponges and most of the sprinkling of small soft corals were bleaching. 

East Coast still lively

There is a shallow lagoon at East Coast Park which has slowly been taken over by seagrasses. At super low tide, a long sand bar stretches out seaward.

There's still lots of seagrasses, though some parts have been come sandier. And the sand bar seems flatter. But the shore is still very much alive! Our team has split up to cover two mainland sites this low spring tide: East Coast Park and Punggol. Because we are reserving the best tides to check on our coral reefs for expected Mass Coral Bleaching this year.

CoralWalk at Marina at Keppel Bay: Every Friday, March-October 2024

Super safe, super fun. A reef grows on the floating pontoons of Marina at Keppel Bay in the city. Explore it without even getting wet!

Join the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum CoralWalk. See corals, anemones, fishes! For kids aged 6 and above.