NParks & Acres Explain Why Multiple Fishes Were Found Dead in Punggol Point Park

As if 2020 isn’t apocalyptic enough, things start to drop dead out of a sudden.

First the cats in Yishun and now this? Hmm, we think it is a little sus.

Dead Fish Floating Around

However, don’t be alarmed. There is an absolutely logical explanation for this.

On 18 October, dead fish have been spotted in waters at Punggol Point Park and a Stomper uploaded this image to Stomp complaining about the sea of carcasses. Literally. Except that it’s a small pond.

The anonymous poster commented that he believes the fishes died to water pollution.

Why? Because floating in waters is a whole bunch of dead leaves, bread, rubber bands and even plastic.

Now, we have an answer.

It’s a Hot Country

Group Director of Parks East at NParks, Mr Chia Seng Jiang, responded to the angry Stomper and explained the phenomenon.

Singapore is a hot country sitting on the Equator and we experience hot weather all the time. Mr Chia explained that algae growth tends to escalate after a bout of hot sunny weather.

The overgrowth leads to a sudden decrease in oxygens levels in the water. The lack of oxygen at night causes an imbalance in the water climate that the fish are not used to.

To keep this from happening again, algae will be removed and more aqua plants will be planted to absorb excess nutrients and improve the pond’s aeration.

On Monday, 19 October, the carcases were removed from the pond along with the rubbish. Speaking of which, Mr Chia used this opportunity to remind visitors not to feed the fish in the pond.

Every pond or natural body has its own ecosystem. When humans interfere with it, it causes the climate and system to change. However, when the change is not consistent, it will also affect the creatures that live in it.

As visitors to public parks, we should leave these ecosystems to thrive on their own. It is our responsibility to admire and enjoy it from afar and not disrupt it.

Why Are There So Many Fish Anyway

Singaporeans are fickle-minded creatures and many pet owners tend to release their pets into the wild.

Most common animals and pets to be released are fishes and turtles as there are many ponds and water habitats in Singapore.

Mr Kalai Vanan, deputy chief executive officer of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), does not encourage the dumping of animals into reserves and public waters.

He said that “over the years, a lot of animals have been illegally dumped or abandoned in these ponds which has caused the water quality to suffer greatly over the years.”

ACRES encourages people to report the unauthorised released of these animals.