Usually when you think of marinas where boats are docked, you might think of dirty brown waters and plastic floating on the surface.
This is not the case for Marina at Keppel Bay.
Young sea turtles, seahorses and other creatures found on underwater pontoons and seawalls
According to this Facebook post by Nathaniel Soon, an underwater photography project conducted by Our Seas, Our Legacy and Marina at Keppel Bay uncovered a wide variety of marine life in its clear, blue waters.
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Soon told Mothership that among the surveys done at urban pontoons (floating structures that boats are attached to), the Marina at Keppel Bay has proven to have the greatest diversity in marine life.
Of the 12 hours spent underwater over 6 dives, Soon's highlight was finding juvenile hawksbill turtles (as seen below).
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Soon found that the man-made structures at the marina, such as the pontoons and seawalls, are home to seahorses, butterflyfish and filefish.
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
The team also spotted nudibranchs, a white-spotted jellyfish and a sea cucumber that was eating.
The photographer highlighted in his album that it was a pleasant surprise that these rare creatures could be found on these urban structures, especially as they are hard to come by in our natural reefs.
The City Reef Initiative: A role model for urban marine conservation
According to this website, the marine life is thriving on the pontoons due to careful management of the marina through the City Reef Initiative.
The marina was built to allow water to flow in and out of the area according to the natural tides.
This allows for water rich in nutrients and food for fishes, such as plankton, to flow into the marina.
At the same time, the natural flow of water allows for the growth of corals.
All boats at the marina are provided with a complex pump-out system which makes sure that sewage from the vessels does not enter the water, thus keeping the water clean.
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
Photo by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay
The clean waters allow for the growth of seaweed, fan worms, sea fans and corals.
To ensure that the marine life is not impacted, boat owners are encouraged to use washing liquids and detergents that are biodegradable when cleaning their boats.
In addition, fishing is not allowed within the marina to ensure balance in the food chain of the marine life that lives there.
On land, only environmentally-friendly fertilisers are used on the plants at the marina to ensure that any excess fertiliser that might enter the water will not harm the marine residents.
Future efforts between the management and scientists from NUS
According to the initiative's corporate video, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be working with the Marina at Keppel Bay to enhance the urban habitats so that the marine life can continue to thrive.
You can find out more about this initiative here:
Let's hope that more marinas will work on becoming environmentally-friendly so that we can live in harmony with sea turtles and other marine life.
Check out Soon's full Facebook post below:
Top photos by Nathaniel Soon/Facebook and Marina at Keppel Bay