ST had asked Mr Lim if the FC110E farm belonged to him.
Both farms were no longer listed in the farm licence records as at October, which means that they had already relinquished their licences and exited the industry.
Both Mr Lim and SFA did not respond to queries on how long the clutter had been there.
Dr Tay Choon Nghee, a senior director from Prime Group International, which owns a fish farm on Pulau Ketam, said that the clutter on the island’s southern shoreline has been “growing steadily” in the past few months, likely due to many fish farms moving out of the East Johor Strait.
ST reported on Oct 25 that the number of fish farms has fallen over the years, from 98 in 2023 to 74 as at Oct 4. SFA had offered a support package of $100,000 to help them move out.
Dr Tay said that there is still sufficient space for boats to navigate despite the clutter.
“Presently, it is not imposing on our farm operations as we draw clean water from the northern part of the island, in a channel between Pulau Ubin and Pulau Ketam,” he said.
Ms Sue Ye, founder of Marine Stewards, a marine conservation non-governmental organisation, noted that the clutter appeared this year, suggesting that a fish farm may have been abandoned there.
Some materials from the farm structures, if left there for a long time, may degrade and leach into the waters, affecting the habitats of native biodiversity, she added.
Mr Yasser Amin, who is chief officer of not-for-profit organisation Stridy, said: “Major parts of the clutter seem to be large rafts that are made up of wooden structures tied to the blue barrels. This is not something that a voluntary group can or should work with to remove.”
“To the best of my knowledge, (this) would require professional waste removal services,” he added.
Stridy regularly organises clean-ups in urban areas in collaboration with corporations and schools.
While beach clean-up groups sometimes deal with large items such as fridges, huge tyres and blue barrels, the scale of the clutter on Pulau Ketam would likely be beyond their abilities, Mr Yasser added.
Mr Yasser and Ms Ye said they have not been approached to help remove the clutter on Pulau Ketam.