Community management

Dugongs have high cultural value and are a valued source of food, medicine and artefacts. Dugongs feed in shallow waters often within areas that fall under traditional ownership or community fishing grounds. Commercial fishermen, particularly fishermen that use gillnets, also use areas where dugongs occur. Dugong mortalities from by-catches in gillnets, boat strikes from commercial operations are significant. SPREP and partners will work to strengthen community-based initiatives within the following focus areas:
Identifying and protecting dugong feeding areas in range states;
Improving information bases to be used by communities and schools;
Strengthening community and industry involvement to reduce threats from over-harvesting, habitat destruction, by-catch, and marine pollution.

 

National guidance and leadership

Government (including researchers, legislators and policy makers) play a vital role in the strengthening of national activities that include:
Establishing/improving programmes (e.g. research and monitoring) to obtain and update information on dugong and its habitats, identification and minimizing threats;
Establishing effective legislation and policies concerning dugong conservation, where none exist;
Reviewing the effectiveness and relevancy of existing legislation and policies concerning dugong conservation; and Improving enforcement mechanisms.

Working together to strengthen Pacific Dugong conservation partnership

Given their status, dugong conservation requires long-term regional collaboration and partnership for the efforts to be effective. Dugongs are part of the Pacific biodiversity and their conservation is a shared responsibility. SPREP is promoting the need for communities, governments and industry to work together to strengthen dugong conservation.

This regional campaign is facilitated by SPREP in collaboration with other conservation organisations and agencies, international species conventions particularly the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), national governments and other organizations and agencies.

The success of the campaign is dependent on the participation of partners and the integration of the campaign activities into national programme plans.

Dugong Regional Management Effort in the Pacific Islands Region

The Pacific Islands region supports the world’s largest remaining population of dugongs, although much of this is shared between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Concerns over the state of marine mammals in the region resulted in a marine mammal conservation programme at SPREP which currently has a 5-year regional Dugong Action Plan (2008-2012) in place.

All dugong range states in the Pacific Islands region (SPREP members that have dugongs in their waters) have signed the Convention on Migratory Species Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their range.