October happenings at the Sisters Islands Marine Park

We enjoy sunset intertidal tours of Big Sisters Island as low tides have switched to the evening.

Visitors enthralled by intertidal marine life.
Photo by Ng Juat Ying.

The Marine Park gets global attention as Victor Tang's awesome film "Birth of a Marine Park" gets honourable mention at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit in Florida. And a recent update on the mass coral bleaching situation from the scientists.


The intertidal walks at Big Sisters Islands remain very popular! With large turnouts as intertidal walks resumed in October.

Photo by Ng Juat Ying.

Photo by Collin Tong.

Photo by Vicky Tan.

The Marine Park goes global

It's so exciting that Victor Tang's awesome film "Birth of a Marine Park" gets honourable mention at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit in Florida.

Thank you Victor for sharing with Singapore and the world about our amazing marine life. And the awesome story of how Singapore's first Marine Park came to be.

Mass coral bleaching ending soon?

Unfortunately, this year mass coral bleaching has affected the corals at the Marine Park and many other shores in Singapore.

Some updates on the situation from a recent article "Warming seas cause longest coral bleaching in Singapore by Audrey Tan, Straits Times AsiaOne 24 Oct 16;

"The sea surface temperatures dipped to just below the bleaching threshold from early June, but continued to remain above the maximum monthly mean till early October," said Dr Karenne Tun, director of the coastal and marine division at the National Parks Board's (NParks) National Biodiversity Centre.

She added that scientists observed this month that recovery from bleaching is still ongoing. "But we are hopeful that the remaining bleached corals will recover within the next one to two months if the sea surface temperatures continue on their downward trend," she said.

A bleaching event is considered to have ended when sea surface temperatures go back to normal, said Prof Chou Loke Ming, an adjunct research professor at the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute.

What is mass coral bleaching, and why should I care? on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Here's a map compiling sightings by the community of mass coral bleaching in 2016. In October, there were still community reports of bleaching, including on Big Sisters Islands. Please share your bleaching sightings with Ria Tan on facebook or email hello@wildsingapore.com.



MORE about the Marine Park

Catch up with all the happenings at the Marine Park through the Sisters' Islands Marine Park facebook page. You can share your encounters, ideas and thoughts for the Marine Park here. Photos in this blog post are from those who shared on this facebook page. Thank you!

More about guided walks at the Sisters' Islands Marine Park on the NParks website.

More about what to expect at a guided walk.

Why should I visit with an experienced and trained guide? Why are places limited on a public walk? Which other shores are accessible to the public? and more in this wildsingapore page.