Oil of death - Where were YOU when the shores need you...

Have you heard? Were you concern? What did you do?

These are probably some of the questions that people might start asking each other about the recent oil spill off changi east.

Photo by Tan Hang Chong. Chek Jawa clean up efforts (29 May 2010)

Disaster struck just recently on 25 May 2010 along the coast of Changi East where 2 tankers - MT Bunga Kelana 3 and MV Waily, spilling a 2,500 tonnes of crude oil. I was notified of this matter when someone asked me, "Are you going to save the animals?" These few days have been hectic and news of help and volunteers have been circulating around... After giving much thought to the series of events that occurred, I decided to give a short reflection of my thoughts on this....

History of oil spill in Singapore?

Maybe I used to be a 'mountain tortoise'... Did you know that Singapore had a serious oil spill that occurred in 1997. Through the show, Green Detectives (2002), the Evoikos Emergency was featured in Episode 6. Pursuing my masters degree has definitely helped me widen my understanding of the impacts of natural disasters on marine life. Then, 28,000 tonnes of marine fuel oil was spilled when Orapin Global and Evoikos collided - it was an unavoided collision. According to the documentary, Pulau Sudong had the worst hit from the oil spill. The newly planted mangrove saplings were affected badly because of the oil coverage on the breathing roots.

Did anyone do anything to help the mangroves? Apparently not so, but it was suggested to leave it for monitoring... True enough, nature has its own works and it was noted that the mangroves grew new foliage just 3 weeks after the spill! Amazing recovery isn't it? Years later, a student like myself took up diving around the local waters primarily for my own work. To my amazement, the aftermath of the oil spill isn't so bad... Almost 15 years ago, coral reefs once covered in sludge turned into a dense and rich reef. Signs of life were everywhere, from the presence of huge coral boulders to sightings of rays and large giant clams! Only after that, I began to appreciate more on the resilience of the marine life in Singapore... How hard it must have been for the creatures to recover and pick up pieces of their 'life' back on the reef... Truly a great feat!

Changi East Oil Spill?

Right after news of the oil slicks hitting along the coastline from Tanah Merah to East Coast... Multiple agencies start to dispatch and deploy people to clean up the mess, while others decide to save the animals... A smaller portion of people decided to document and observe the impacts of oil spills.

Below are a few notable photos of the outcome of this spill...

Photo by Ria Tan. From top left (clockwise): Moon crab with her unhatched young; Ghost crab covered in oil; bivalves and worms; Porcelein crabs.

Indeed, one of the most significant impact of oil spill is the deprivation of dissolved oxygen in the waters and substrate. Once oil hits the substrate, it causes the substrate to stick together, resulting in the lack of oxygen circulation. At the same time, small amounts of oil that gets into the respiratory system of the animals can choke them to death. The most vulnerable would thus be the crabs and bivalves. What about the worms? Most worms are burrowers, and absorb oxygen via their body surface. The levels of oil toxicity in their body can cause them to wriggle out of their burrows, and eventually death.

Later impacts of oil on the animals could be inhibition of light. Corals ladled with oil become deprived of light can accelerate their death. Similarly, the reduction of light penetration can affect seagrass beds.

Though this may seem gloomy and all, there are a few positive things that we can learn from this oil spill. Firstly, uncommon and rare animals such as this striped mantis shrimp can be discovered! Even though in death, this specimen served as a useful baseline to our understanding of the marine life.

Photo by Ria Tan.

Some luckier individuals like this unusual box crab came out of its burrow just in time to save itself! This crab has not been seen on the shores for almost 4 years, and at a time like this, it has appeared to give us a sigh of relief of its continued presence despite the various shore impacts over the last 4 years...

Photo by Ivan Kwan.

To find out more about the shores, please follow up to these links...
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/05/crude-cruelties-oil-spill-victims-on.html#more
http://lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com/2010/05/heartbreaking-sight-on-tanah-merah.html
http://colorclouds.blogspot.com/2010/05/aftemath-of-oil-spill-tanah-merah.html
Facebook group - Changi East Oil Spill

Public response?

I can classify them into two major categories: the over-zealous people and the indifferent people... Let's see how they played their roles in this oil spill....

1. Over-zealous
Being concern is a good thing, it means that you are aware of the consequences of the impacts of such a disaster on the shore. However, to take matters into your own hands might result it to be detrimental to the marine life itself. Marine animals are unique in their own realm. Like us humans, the animals have been and know how to adapt and survive in natural disasters and recover. Unfortunately, this is also the cruel fact where this is also where the fittest individuals survive. If it is at the brink of death, there is simply nothing much else we can do for the animals. If it is coping well, why should we touch and move them? If I were a little starfish or snail, I would be appalled to find myself being moved into a new unfamiliar place. These animals cannot talk nor speak, they cannot express displeasure when touched or moved. Some will poke and pinch, others wriggle and burrow. Others just simply cannot move because they have reach the end of their cycle.

Like the Semakau mangrove story and Chek Jawa mass death story, shouldn't we let the animals handle themselves instead of us prodding them?

2. Indifferent
So you think marine animals aren't sexy or cute enough to get your attention? Here's a fact, like it or not, we rely very much on the seas.

Think about where all your chilli crab and steam grouper came from.
Think about where all your gong gong and sea cucumbers came from.
Think about where all the seafood on your dinner plate came from.
That doesn't mean we can undermine them and view them as not important to the balance of ecosystem.

Many of us are becoming more urbanized, and we may perceive that nature exist only beyond the borders of Singapore. It is a difficult task for many of us to persuade urbanites or non-believers to come along with us for shore trips. This is one fact that I learnt, that many of us are unwilling to step out of our comfort zone to give nature a chance to show itself. Until it is gone, we start to ask ourselves, "what have I been doing?" will become too late a question.

Personally, I have only to add this - If you don't do it, then I will. A chance once given to all of us, has been thrown aside by many for other material things. We no longer have the vegetation and reefs that we can probably boast about. Is your natural heritage not important to you? Well, this is a choice. A choice that cannot be decided by anyone but yourself.

So what can we do?
The same exact sentiments when I see this disaster happened. Ria has shared her opinions on her blog post... The important message from her sharing is - to document, to share, and to educate others of the impacts. We are no superman or Captain Planet - no power to wipe out oil with just a wave of your hand. Instead, promoting awareness of the effects of oil pollution on marine life is very important. Our shores have been impacted by many other activities that have the same outcomes from an oil spill. Also, letting others know that Singapore still have rich marine diversity!

Observe. Yes, like any science student, we are always encouraged to observe and note down unusual things. So why not for this oil spill? Studies of shore animals are limited and this gives us a good opportunity to find out what else the shore has to offer, and how they are coping with the oil. Nature works wonders. The resilience coral reefs at the Southern islands once demonstrated its undying wish to survive, I'm looking forward to see how these shores will pick itself up in the weeks to come. :)

Helpless as we may be, but I'm really glad that more people are taking this seriously and voiced out their concerns. At the same time, is this going to be a one off thing? Are your concerns for short-term or long-term? At times like this, is it just another news that will soon be forgotten by all...?

Last words...
So that leaves me to asking everyone - where were YOU when the shores needed you to give it a voice many years ago?

How can you say you love the shore if you never even stepped upon one?
How can you say there is nothing on the beach if you never visited?
How can you say you care for the shore if you drop litter that contributes to marine litter?

This is not about being passionate, this is not about being a marine biologist, and this is definitely not about advocating that you should do something right now.

This is about doing what's right for the environment (e.g. care for it and not destroy it). This is about basic etiquette (e.g. don't litter when the bins are everywhere!). Most importantly, this is about communication (e.g. spread the word, why keep to yourself?).

What I share here today is purely my own after-thoughts on this matter and other relevant issues.

Loving the shore is just like loving a person, you need to persist, adore and share... To find out what is unique about the shore, and bring out the best of the shore. The best of all, to show others how much you love the shore. :) XOXO