Sisters' Island Marine Park

Sisters' Island Marine Park
Sisters' Islands Marine Park
Type Marine park
Location Sisters' Islands, Singapore
Coordinates 1°12′54″N 103°50′00″E / 1.21500°N 103.83333°E / 1.21500; 103.83333Coordinates: 1°12′54″N 103°50′00″E / 1.21500°N 103.83333°E / 1.21500; 103.83333
Area 160,000 m2 (40 acres)
Opened August 2014 (Guided walks)[1]
2015 (Dive trails and public gallery)
Operated by National Parks Board
Status Operational
Website Official site

Sisters’ Islands Marine Park is a 160,000 m2 (40 acres) marine park located in Singapore. The park encompasses the land and waters surrounding Sisters' Islands, and also covers the western coasts of both St John’s Island and Pulau Tekukor.[2]

The park is Singapore's first marine park[3] and it allows visitors to the park to experience the marine life around the region, through guided walks, [4] the Marine Park Public Gallery which showcases the biodiversity in Singapore waters and the dive trails where visitors can observe the marine life in the area.[5]

Overview

In July 2014, National Parks Board announced their plans for a new marine park. The park will serve as a platform for outreach, education, conservation and research activities related to Singapore’s native marine life.[2] It will also serve as a marine reserve to protect Singapore’s coral reefs, which support an ecosystem inhabited by rare and endangered species of seahorses, clams, sponges and other marine life.

Biodiversity

The area that the park occupies has a vast variety of marine life, which includes hard and soft corals, and sea anemones. Restoration activities including nurseries for iconic marine organisms are also part of the enhancement efforts to be carried out at the park.

Colonies of corals were also relocated from Pulau Semakau to the park,[6] among the corals relocated also includes rare species like the Neptune’s Cup Sponge (Cliona patera), which was thought to be extinct since 1908, until it was rediscovered in 2011 along Singapore's coast.[7]

Activities

Guided walks

The intertidal area at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park are only organised during low tides of 0.4 metres and below, allowing the marine life in the area to be seen which is usually submerged under water. Nature guides will be at hand to bring you on a tour to experience the MarinePark’s amazing biodiversity. These guided walks are conducted free of charge and each guided walk session is open to a maximum of 45 people. The walks are currently limited to the shores off Sisters’ Islands.

Dive trails

Opened in September 2015, the park features 2 dive trails as part of the Marine Conservation Action Plan to protect and enhance marine heritage and biodiversity in the area.[8] The two circular dive trails are located at different depths, the Shallow Dive Trail where divers can observe giant clams, sea anemones and clown fishes circles around coral reef and sandy habitats is around 4 to 6 metres underwater, while the Deep Dive Trail features coral rubble and rocky and silty habitats at around 10 to 16 metres deep where divers can observe sea fans, sea stars and the Neptune’s Cup Sponge.[9] Underwater signboards are also located along each dive trail provides information on marine biodiversity in the area.[8]

There are also plans to build facilities in the big lagoon of Big Sister’s island to allow access to intertidal areas.[10]

The gallery, which is about 30 m2 (320 sq ft) was officially opened on July 15, 2015, by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. It features marine biodiversity in Singapore's waters and provide an overview of the Sisters' Islands Marine Park, including a 3D diorama of its dive trails. Other features of the gallery includes a seminar room and teaching lab where talks, seminars and teaching activities for school and community groups can be facilitated at the park.[11]

Plans to include viewing pools to display marine organisms and a mangrove ecosystem, which is an area where mangroves can be planted under controlled conditions to facilitate experiments for research projects will be completed by 2016.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "5 things about the Sisters' Islands, Singapore's first marine park". The Straits Times. July 15, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Singapore to have its first marine park on Sisters' Islands". Eco-Business. July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Singapore to get first marine park". The Straits Times. July 13, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Singapore to have its first Marine Park on Sisters' Islands". Channel News Asia. July 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ "5 things about the Sisters' Islands, Singapore's first marine park". The Straits Times. July 15, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Corals successfully relocated from Semakau to Sisters' Islands Marine Park". Channel News Asia. January 20, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ "'Extinct' giant sponges, once used as bath tubs, are rediscovered". Mother Nature Network. November 22, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "See Singapore's latest nature parks - under the sea". The Straits Times. June 28, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ "New dive trails 'could be overwhelming for amateurs'". Channel News Asia. August 1, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Three marine, coastal sites to be enhanced for recreation". Channel News Asia. January 9, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ "President Tony Tan opens the Sisters' Islands Marine Park Public Gallery". National Parks Board. July 15, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Marine Park reaches out". National University of Singapore. July 20, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
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