tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/dugong-5418/articlesDugong – The Conversation2023-01-18T17:02:06Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978412023-01-18T17:02:06Z2023-01-18T17:02:06ZDesalination could give the Middle East water without damaging marine life – but it must be managed carefully<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504863/original/file-20230117-20-8ur47l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C0%2C5400%2C3581&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A saltier Red Sea could threaten its marine life. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-free-divers-swimming-over-vivid-222885136">Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://www.unwater.org/sites/default/files/app/uploads/2021/12/SDG-6-Summary-Progress-Update-2021_Version-July-2021a.pdf">2 billion people</a> live in <a href="https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-scarcity#:%7E:text=When%20a%20territory%20withdraws%2025%25%20or%20more%20of%20its%20renewable,UN%2DWater%202021">“water stressed”</a> countries. These are territories where more than 25% of the available freshwater resources are withdrawn for human use each year. </p>
<p>Desalination - the process of removing salt from seawater - is increasingly being used to tackle water scarcity worldwide. Roughly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718349167">16,000 desalination plants</a> now produce 35 trillion litres of freshwater annually. And Jordan, a country located north of the Red Sea, is <a href="https://jordantimes.com/news/local/water-ministry-launches-first-phase-aqaba-amman-water-conveyance-national-project">planning</a> a major desalination plant on the Gulf of Aqaba that will increase its desalination capacity from 4 billion to 350 billion litres each year. </p>
<p>But desalination tends to be energy intensive and produces saline wastewater called brine. On its return to the sea, brine can damage marine ecosystems. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/desalination-breakthrough-saving-the-sea-from-salt/">Research</a> suggests that desalination may be making some water bodies, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean, saltier.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011916421005932">We analysed</a> whether current and future desalination plans present a threat to salinity levels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. For both water bodies, the increase in salinity will likely be undetectable and less than natural seasonal variations, in which case it would not harm marine life.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/desalination-may-be-key-to-averting-global-water-shortage-but-it-will-take-time-189169">Desalination may be key to averting global water shortage, but it will take time</a>
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<h2>An important marine habitat</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of the region surrounding the Red Sea." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504665/original/file-20230116-26-tgjeta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Red Sea region.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/red-sea-region-political-map-capitals-663310681">Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The Red Sea is connected to the Indian Ocean at its southern end via a narrow and shallow strait. The Gulf of Aqaba branches off its northern end and is connected to the Indian Ocean only through the Red Sea. </p>
<p>Neither water body has a freshwater inflow, so salinity levels are determined by evaporation and the inward and outward flow of water from the Indian Ocean. Water entering the Red Sea flows north where it evaporates and cools, raising its salinity and density. At the head of the Red Sea, this more saline water sinks and flows southwards as a deeper water layer back to the Indian Ocean. </p>
<p>Between where water enters the Red Sea and where salinity peaks at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, salinity <a href="https://www.io-warnemuende.de/tl_files/forschung/meereswissenschaftliche-berichte/mebe50_2002_manasreh.pdf">rises naturally by 10%</a> from roughly 36.8 to 40.6 practical salinity units (psu). One psu is equivalent to 1g of salt dissolved in 1000g of water. Marine life in the region has adapted to the natural salinity level of their location. </p>
<p>Several <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/262">Unesco Natural Heritage Sites</a> are located in the northern Red Sea, including Sanganeb and Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island Marine National Parks. The national parks are home to coral reefs, seagrass beds, mudflats, mangroves and beaches. These habitats hold significant scientific and conservation value as they support a diverse range of marine species, including the endangered <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/dugong">dugong</a>. </p>
<p>Most marine species can tolerate minor variations in salinity, but they cannot withstand significant and sustained change. <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v181/p309-314/">Research</a> reveals that rates of photosynthesis and respiration in <em>Stylophora pistillata</em>, a species of Red Sea coral, falls by as much as 50% when salinity levels are raised from 38 psu to 40 psu. Most colonies of this coral will die if salinity is kept at this level for a sustained period. </p>
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<img alt="A male dugong swimming along the sea floor alongside small yellow fish." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504865/original/file-20230117-20-5a68sl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sanganeb Marine National Park is home to the endangered dugong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rare-big-dugong-male-sea-cow-2195272247">Ivanenko Vladimir/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Making the sea even saltier</h2>
<p>Our research used scenario analysis. This is where a number of plausible future scenarios are modelled and their consequences explored. </p>
<p>The most extreme scenario we developed involved high population growth, rapid economic development and falling desalination costs in the Middle East. Nearly 10 trillion litres of water could be desalinated on the Red Sea coast by 2050 and over 2.5 trillion litres along the Gulf of Aqaba in this case. </p>
<p>A less extreme scenario assumed limited population growth and restrained household water consumption. Nearly 2 trillion litres of water could be desalinated by the Red Sea and over 560 billion litres by the Gulf of Aqaba by 2050. </p>
<p>For both scenarios, salinity in the Red Sea increased by less than 0.1%. This increase would be less than the natural seasonal variation in salinity levels and would likely be undetectable. </p>
<p>The Gulf of Aqaba, however, is smaller and more isolated from the Indian Ocean. Salinity in the north of the Gulf therefore <a href="https://www.io-warnemuende.de/tl_files/forschung/meereswissenschaftliche-berichte/mebe50_2002_manasreh.pdf">varies naturally</a> between 40.2 psu and 40.75 psu. We found that the high growth scenario could increase salinity at the head of the Gulf by 0.5%, from approximately 40.6 psu to 40.8 psu. But even this increase is close to the maximum increase in salinity caused by natural variability. </p>
<p>The medium growth scenario would instead produce a change less than natural seasonal variation and would again be undetectable.</p>
<h2>Tackling water scarcity in the Middle East</h2>
<p>Our research suggests that, if carefully managed, rising rates of desalination may not harm the region’s marine ecosystems. This is particularly important as a considerable growth in desalination is likely to occur in the Middle East</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia plan to construct an entire new city in the country’s north west, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom">Neom</a>, to accommodate <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-crown-prince-says-zero-carbon-city-neom-will-likely-be-listed-2024-2022-07-25/">9 million people</a> and water intensive sectors like agriculture by 2045. The city will depend on water desalinated from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Neom will accomodate 9 million people by 2045.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Beyond the vicinity of each desalination plant, increased rates of desalination are unlikely to affect broader salinity levels in the region. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011916417307750">good plant design</a> and strict environmental regulations will remain critical to avoid environmental harm. </p>
<p>Plant outfalls, through which brine is channelled towards the sea, must ensure rapid dilution by dispersing brine into the Red Sea’s deeper water layer. Ocean currents can then carry the brine out to the Indian Ocean, where it will be further diluted. </p>
<p>Desalination will continue to grow worldwide. If carefully implemented it can be a crucial tool to tackle water scarcity without damaging fragile marine ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jordan is planning a major desalination plant on the Gulf of Aqaba – but will it damage nearby marine ecosystems?Jonathan Chenoweth, Senior Lecturer of Environment and Sustainability, University of SurreyRaya A. Al-Masri, Researcher in Resources Governance and Sustainability, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1799722022-04-12T13:53:59Z2022-04-12T13:53:59ZAfrica’s large aquatic animals are being hunted and traded: we assessed the scale<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456105/original/file-20220404-17-r60f66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hawksbill turtle.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across most of the world, and particularly in the tropics and subtropics, large wild aquatic animals – such as manatees, turtles and dolphins – are being hunted and traded. This is not a new phenomenon. Aquatic animal meat has been eaten, and sometimes used as remedies or in traditional ceremonies, throughout history.</p>
<p>This type of consumption is widespread. In some places this wild meat is an important source of nutrition, income, and cultural identity. Yet opportunities to exploit wildlife for economic gain – often illegally – increase the number of animals hunted in some places. Coupled with growing human populations, this has led to the unsustainable exploitation of some species. </p>
<p>Understanding the scope and potential threat of aquatic wild meat exploitation is an important first step toward appropriate conservation actions and policies.</p>
<p>We’re part of a large international team of conservation researchers and practitioners that <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/837447/fmars-09-837447-HTML/image_m/fmars-09-837447-t001.jpg">recently published</a> a paper on this. We carried out a literature review on the use of large aquatic animals (excluding fish) – what we call “aquatic megafauna” – for wild meat in the global tropics and subtropics. This topic is hugely under-researched, so this review represents one of the most in-depth assessments of the topic to date.</p>
<p>We focused on 37 species of conservation concern that are <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/837447/fmars-09-837447-HTML/image_m/fmars-09-837447-t001.jpg">listed</a> on the Appendices of the Convention on the <a href="https://www.cms.int/">Conservation of Migratory Species</a> of Wild Animals. The list includes several species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises (cetaceans), manatees and dugongs (sirenians), marine turtles (chelonians), and crocodiles (crocodylians).</p>
<p>Twelve of these species inhabit oceans and rivers in West, Central and Eastern Africa. These are regions that were in the tropics and subtropics and are where there are concerns about hunting, consumption and trade.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.837447/full">We found that</a> the consumption of these aquatic animals is widespread in coastal regions, to varying degrees. Some species are likely to be at risk from over-exploitation, particularly species inhabiting rivers and freshwater areas. </p>
<p>For most of the species monitored, a major issue is that animals are unintentionally caught as bycatch during fishing. They’re then opportunistically killed and eaten or sold, instead of being released when alive.</p>
<h2>Dolphins, manatees and turtles</h2>
<p>We found evidence of the use of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in most countries in tropical Africa, particularly in West Africa. Their meat was used for a variety of purposes including food, shark bait, and traditional medicine. </p>
<p>One species considered to be particularly at risk is the Atlantic humpback dolphin (<em>Sousa teuszii</em>). Distributed solely along Africa’s Atlantic coast, it’s one of the least understood coastal dolphins in the world. Because it has such a <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.10520/EJC18185">small population size</a> and lives close to shores – where it can get captured by small-scale fishers – it’s highly vulnerable. </p>
<p>African manatees (<em>Trichechus senegalensis</em>), distributed exclusively in West and Central Africa, and dugong (<em>Dugong dugon</em>), whose range spans into East Africa, are legally protected in nearly all countries in which they occur. However, the team found evidence that they were being used for various purposes including food and traditional medicine to some degree in all countries. Most manatee populations cannot withstand human-induced mortality because their populations are <a href="https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/19751/">highly sensitive</a> to changes in adult survival. In recent years, high losses to populations of African manatees have been reported.</p>
<p>Turtles face a similar threat. The capture and consumption of marine turtle adults, and harvest of their eggs, is ubiquitous across much of the species’ ranges. This includes mainland Africa and the African islands. However, as with the other aquatic megafauna, larger-scale monitoring is needed to assess impacts and sustainability.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454357/original/file-20220325-25-1qczted.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">(A) Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii), Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of the Congo; (B) African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria; and (C) Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Joal, Senegal. Photo credits: Tim Collins/Wildlife Conservation Society (A), Christogonus Uzoma Ejimadu (B), and Pearson McGovern, African Aquatic Conservation Fund (C). Author provided, no reuse.</span>
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<h2>River animals</h2>
<p>Risks to riverine megafauna – those living in rivers – from harvest may be particularly high, even if opportunistic, because these species face multiple threats in the same restricted area. The threats include dams, intensive fishing, and pollution where human population density is high. In Africa, this is true of African manatees and freshwater turtles (which were not assessed in the study, but are widely hunted). </p>
<p>Riverine megafauna may suffer from a lack of management and research, and will require increased conservation efforts. This is because they’re neither seen as terrestrial species nor as fish, so it’s not often clear at the national level who is responsible for their conservation and management.</p>
<h2>Widespread</h2>
<p>Across the tropics and subtropics, there are clearly differences in local circumstances between areas. The drivers of hunting and consumption, hunting technologies used, human density and other threats to animals and their habitats, and how they change over time, will influence harvest sustainability.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, it’s clear that the use of aquatic megafauna for meat is likely to be far more widespread in terms of frequency and species than reported in the review. This is because monitoring and reporting is limited. Also because many of the species are protected by national laws, or are charismatic, so their use is secretive. </p>
<p>The trans-boundary nature of harvests and associated trade of these oceanic, coastal, and riverine species requires increased international attention and cooperation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179972/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel J Ingram was partially supported to complete this work by funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He is affiliated with the African Aquatic Conservation Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidrun Frisch-Nwakanma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many of Africa’s large aquatic animals, such as dolphins, manatees and turtles, are being killed for meat.Daniel J Ingram, Researcher in Conservation, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1229022019-09-25T13:31:45Z2019-09-25T13:31:45ZDugongs: looking to the gentle sea creature’s past may guard its future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292585/original/file-20190916-19040-t0k3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dugongs are rare and elusive.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people look rather blank when asked if they know what a dugong is. Some may be aware that it’s a sea cow, something similar to the manatee. But they don’t know much more. This is a shame for two reasons. </p>
<p>The first is that dugongs (<em>Dugong dugon</em>) are beautiful, gentle creatures. A large adult reaches up to 2.6m and weighs about 300kg, which is comparable to the weight of a large adult tiger. They’re also rather rare: they are found only in the Indo-West Pacific region, from Mozambique in the west to New Caledonia in the east, and are considered vulnerable to extinction. </p>
<p>The second reason is that by tracking and understanding dugongs’ history, scientists can make good, informed decisions about marine conservation in the future. </p>
<p>Conservation of species requires robust scientific data. There is a lot of information about some of the remaining dugong populations and their decline in certain parts of the species’ range. But there has previously been no data on their broad-scale population genetic structure throughout their Indo-Pacific range, and how isolated or connected all these populations were. That’s where our work comes in. </p>
<p>Because dugongs are now so rare in the wild, my colleagues and I decided to investigate the genetic population structure of dugongs using material available in museum collections in Europe. This gave us an idea about how dugong populations are connected and how genetically different they are from each other.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0219350">Our study</a> revealed the existence of previously unknown, new genetic lineages in the Indian Ocean. It highlighted other surprising results. Perhaps the most important was that all individuals from Madagascar – today a very small and little understood population of dugongs – belonged to a unique and genetically divergent population. This indicates that this population deserves a high conservation status. </p>
<p>We also found a significant drop in the genetic diversity in the Indian Ocean samples collected after 1950, most likely as a reflection of the rapidly decreasing population sizes in the region.</p>
<h2>“Bring back the mermaid”</h2>
<p>Dugongs are interesting for many reasons. The name of the Order Sirenia to which they belong indicates that early sailors <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141124-manatee-awareness-month-dugongs-animals-science/">mistook them</a> for “sirens” or mermaids, as illustrated in the legend of Odysseus. </p>
<p>Dugong teats are located under their front flippers (in their “armpits”), so it may look like they are cradling an infant when suckling a calf. Or they may surface with some strands of seaweed covering their heads, appearing like long – albeit green – hair. These characteristics may have led to these animals being mistaken for mermaids. </p>
<p>There are five species in the Order Sirenia, but only four remain alive today: the West Indian manatee (<em>Trichechus manatus</em>), the Amazonian manatee (<em>T. inunguis</em>), the West African manatee (<em>T. senegalensis</em>) and the dugong. The fifth one, the Steller’s sea cow (<em>Hydrodamalis gigas</em>), <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/pleistoseacow/522831/">became extinct</a> within 27 years of its first discovery. This can be ascribed entirely to human consumption: sealers killed these animals for their tasty meat and used their uniquely hard skin for dugout canoes.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291966/original/file-20190911-190065-1pfksnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A dugong made from recycled flip-flops by an NGO in Kenya.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All Sirenians are herbivorous marine mammals, feeding almost exclusively on seagrass. Their inclusion in the Afrotheria clade, whose living members belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or are of African origin indicates that they are truly African. </p>
<p>And, while the other members of the Sirenia are found in the Atlantic, the dugong is the only sea cow that is found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific. This highlights its deep African connections.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the dugong is one of the many marine mammal species currently threatened with extinction. While its overall conservation status has been evaluated as “<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6909/43792211">vulnerable</a>” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, it appears to be rapidly reducing in numbers in many locations. In fact, <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6909/43792211">it’s believed</a> to be “endangered” in parts of its range.</p>
<h2>Collecting samples</h2>
<p>Some marine mammals, like the dugong, are difficult to study in the wild. There are a few reasons for this: these animals either occur far offshore; are solitary; or their deep diving lifestyle makes them inaccessible to researchers. In the dugong’s case, however, it seems that the decline in animal numbers is the biggest hurdle to in-depth studies. In these cases, museum collections are a valuable resource to help us better understand the species in question. </p>
<p>So our work started with investigations into the availability of samples in the form of skeletal material – teeth, tusks or bones – in museums. These could provide a crucial source of dugongs’ DNA. A number of European museums agreed to work with us. Historically, scientific expeditions of European powers led to the description and collection of exotic animals. These specimens were used to build important research collections in European museums, as well as to provide material for public exhibitions.</p>
<p>Our sampling took place over three years and involved travelling to most major Western European natural history museum collections. </p>
<p>We managed to gather samples from 176 dugongs in this way, which originated from countries throughout the original range of the dugong and dated as far back as 1827. This allowed us to piece together the phylogeography of the species: we were able to consider the population genetic structure of individuals with respect to their geographic distribution. </p>
<p>Our study was also able to provide a likely geographic origin for those samples that did not have any information in this regard, because unknown samples would have been grouped with samples of known geographic origin.</p>
<h2>Historical knowledge</h2>
<p>This study added to our understanding of dugong biology. This will, hopefully, contribute to its conservation because it highlights previously unknown vulnerable or even isolated populations. With this knowledge, conservation organisations and governments will know where to invest resources to protect the species and prevent its extinction.</p>
<p>Our work also highlights once again how important historical knowledge is if we want to make good and informed decisions for the future. About one third (35.03%) of the samples used in our study originated from one of the largest marine mammal collections in the world, the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk">Natural History Museum</a> in London, UK. </p>
<p>In our increasingly fast, future-oriented world, these kinds of studies highlight the importance of museum collections around the world as repositories for representatives of past populations.</p>
<p><em>Leslee Parr of San José State University and Richard Sabin of the London Natural History Museum contributed to the research on which this article is based.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Plön received funding from the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA; WIOMSA-Marg II
program), Ocean Park Hong Kong Conservation Fund (OPHKCF; grant id: 4030000112) and from the Convention for Migratory Species (CMS), Abu Dhabi Office, United Arab Emirates (grant-id: SSFA/CMSAD/2011/009).
Stephanie currently works for the Bayworld Centre for Research and Education (BCRE).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shane Lavery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the other members of the Sirenia are found in the Atlantic, the dugong is the only sea cow found in the Indian Ocean and south-western Pacific. This highlights its deep African connections.Stephanie Plön, Researcher, Earth Stewardship Science Research Institute, Nelson Mandela UniversityShane Lavery, Senior Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences & Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/872842017-11-30T12:46:11Z2017-11-30T12:46:11ZHow local ecological knowledge can save endangered and rare animals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197110/original/file-20171130-30931-3pqwuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The graceful Dugong.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146401137@N06/33595533184/in/photolist-TbHTyL-9AeS4d-hwkJtK-5MZZb-rPQ892-MFg4MX-5N11y-MFg4fK-8t6WnA-5N11Y-6eFME6-e8vZX-8zXr4W-6kMzMc-qskWAR-r7yLxN-5U27wg-kYN2DV-5U6oTY-bpUjgH-5U6nT5-6kRHkN-8t3UMr-pXVhSL-fxcbF4-cQZbq5-fxrmss-c77wEA-XqHpYG-c77why-hwjYiw-bFijvt-c77vRE-hwjTiG-hwj88D-7Shy4B-hwjz4N-hwjc82-hwjjVs-hwjy6A-5N11b-5U22yD-r5NQXF-r5NQzX-4zYshZ-fu4ATG-7nHKqx-pXViCy-kYN3ZF-6kRHV1">Jin Kemoole/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From knowing where animals live, to which plants provide what medicinal benefits, communities around the world hold expert levels of knowledge on their local environments.</p>
<p>In general, scientific investigations provide precise and measurable information, collected over short amounts of time. But this “local ecological knowledge” is made up of observations collected over very long time periods, which are often passed down through the generations. It can be simple things, like knowing the best places to fish, or can include rare or extreme events, such as floods or periods of bad weather. </p>
<p>For coastal communities dependent on ocean resources, this accumulated ecological knowledge is key to collecting food and maintaining livelihoods. But community ecological knowledge need not, and does not, stand alone from science. It has been repeatedly “tested” by scientists, and is now <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/13-0817.1/abstract">increasingly being recognised</a> as a valuable asset in environmental management and conservation biology. </p>
<p>In recent years, wider recognition of its value has resulted in local knowledge being drawn on to support natural resource management. It has been used to help design marine protected areas, for example <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-06-myanmar-marine-areas-local-fishing.html">in Myanmar</a> and <a href="https://greedypeg.org/surigao-del-sur/Hinatuan-Bay-Marine-Protected-Area.html">the Philippines</a>. </p>
<p>By combining the two, local knowledge can be a useful tool in data poor areas. Particularly when it comes to monitoring rare or endangered species. </p>
<h2>Saving the dugong</h2>
<p>The dugong is a large marine mammal that feeds almost exclusively on seagrass – itself <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-saving-our-blue-planet-may-lie-in-the-hands-of-citizen-scientists-74868">a threatened plant species</a>. At present the dugong is listed as “<a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6909/0">vulnerable to extinction</a>” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list. Major threats to dugong populations include habitat loss, coastal development, pollution, fishing activities, vessel strikes and unsustainable hunting or poaching.</p>
<p>Dugongs are thought to exist in only small fragmented groups outside of their primary population in Australia. Though dugongs are still found in the coastal waters of more than 40 countries throughout the Indo-West Pacific, accurate scientific information is scarce and often anecdotal. To properly support the protection of these vulnerable animals, we need to know where they are.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YProaycNpHE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>To monitor dugong populations, researchers typically use aerial surveys or unmanned aerial vehicles. But these techniques are costly, and often affected by difficult conditions such as cloudy water and glare. Additionally, they also provide only a narrow snapshot of what might be occurring in any particular area at a single time. </p>
<p>This is where local ecological knowledge can be hugely beneficial. If available, it has the potential to fill in the detail about the whereabouts and numbers of sighted dugongs.</p>
<h2>Indonesian efforts</h2>
<p>In Indonesia, <a href="http://www.dugongconservation.org/where-we-work/indonesia/">dugongs are protected</a> but there is limited accessible information on population numbers or their geographical range. Though the government appears committed to <a href="http://www.cms.int/dugong/en">conserving the species</a>, there is also growing evidence of the rapid decline of Indonesian seagrass meadows due to <a href="http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media-centre/news-archive/2014/researchshowsthatconservationofseagrassinindonesiaprotectsfisheriesfoodandimportantexports.php#accept">a suite of threats</a> including overfishing.</p>
<p>But fishers are not the dugong’s enemy, rather they could be its saviour. Our <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17309499">recently published research</a> used the knowledge of fishers to confirm the persistence of dugong in the Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia. The fishers, who take to the water daily, were able to relay precise times, dates and locations of multiple dugong sightings, going as far back as 1942. These fishers had knowledge that far surpassed any official research record and were able to describe previously unrecorded historical trends and population changes.</p>
<p>This is not the first time that this kind of locally-held ecological knowledge has been used to conserve species, nor will it be the last. Other examples include the conservation of the endangered <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716303202">Baleen whale poplulations</a> in the Falklands, and rare freshwater fishes <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0183247">in the Mekong River</a>.</p>
<p>Using science and the ecological knowledge of local people does more than save just one species at a time, too. The ocean is an ecosystem, and each plant, animal or other creature relies on one another. Dugong and seagrass conservation, for example, go hand-in-hand. To acquire better information on the population distribution of dugongs, we also need to know the distribution and status of seagrass. And by integrating these kinds of information, we can start saving the oceans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Cullen-Unsworth is co-director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin L. Jones is a founding director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard K.F. Unsworth is a founding director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass.</span></em></p>It can fill in the scientific gaps.Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, Research Fellow, Cardiff UniversityBenjamin L.H. Jones, Researcher at the Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff UniversityRichard K.F. Unsworth, Research Officer, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/690382016-12-06T02:49:10Z2016-12-06T02:49:10ZTraditional hunting gets headlines, but is not the big threat to turtles and dugongs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148759/original/image-20161205-25727-1kz5cfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traditional hunting poses no threat to dugongs. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3610811030/in/photolist-6v5mjA-6TYke6-6TYkAM-8RWYYG-npiNEB-gKhE5H-9A4mQ4-6F4HPX-7rje83-e4AdKa-7cBUUX-f5W2ob-jNyjW6-6U3moL-6U3m2U-6U3nqm-7cFNKq-6NM8kN-npiNat-7N2FLi-64rnqY-uHD4x-5irs7w-c6vg75-gmXWz4-6RiBqE-dbF8eG-8H3UZS-G65jz-vSpwaN-5Cm4K-7cFNEb-7x7PP4-7EnDwa-4ZWM5Y-7xbC7U-6wzUc8-6RexyX-dbF6wi-7r6eDL-4Cshex-7CCz69-AEGxj-6GFBAd-6GZgnG-f5W3bU-gmXUN8-6F8SyE-6F4J3v-rxsADk">Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent calls for <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/all-hunting-of-dugongs-turtles-must-end-activist/news-story/86e659ac06b57b98eecd38a87b9795c8">a ban on legal traditional hunting</a> of dugongs and marine turtles imply that hunting is the main threat to these iconic species in Australia. The science indicates otherwise.</p>
<p>While more is being done to address traditional hunting than any of the other impacts, the main threats to their survival often pass unnoticed.</p>
<h2>The real threat to sea turtles</h2>
<p>The draft <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/comment/draft-recovery-plan-marine-turtles">Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles in Australia</a> evaluated 20 threats to the 22 populations of Australia’s six species of marine turtle. Climate change and marine debris, particularly “<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghostnets-fish-on-marine-rubbish-threatens-northern-australian-turtles-11585">ghost nets</a>” lost or abandoned by fishers, are the greatest risks for most stocks.</p>
<p>Indigenous use is considered to be a high risk for three populations: Gulf of Carpentaria green turtles, Arafura Sea flatback turtles and north-eastern Arnhemland hawksbill turtles. </p>
<p>However, in each of these cases it is the egg harvest, not hunting, <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/comment/draft-recovery-plan-marine-turtles">that causes concern</a>. International commercial fishing is also a high risk for the hawksbill turtle, whose future remains uncertain. Traditional hunting of marine turtles in Australia is limited to green turtles.</p>
<h2>Is hunting a threat?</h2>
<p>The Torres Strait supports the largest dugong population in the world and a globally significant population of green turtles. <a href="http://monash.edu/research/explore/en/persons/ian-mcniven%28c808f32a-0c49-4375-947a-e9753a23dd1f%29.html">Archaeological research</a> shows that Torres Strait Islanders have been harvesting these species for more than 4,000 years and the dugong harvest has been substantial for several centuries. </p>
<p><a href="https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/helene.marsh/">Our research</a> shows that the Torres Strait dugong population has been stable since we started monitoring 30 years ago and that the harvest of both species is <a href="http://nesptropical.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/NESP-TWQ-3.2-FINAL-REPORT-2.pdf">sustainable</a>. </p>
<p>The situation for dugongs is <a href="https://theconversation.com/dugongs-are-safer-in-torres-strait-than-townsville-13552">very different</a> in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef south of Cooktown. The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report classifies the <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/great-barrier-reef-outlook-report">condition of the dugong population in this region as poor</a>. </p>
<p>Modelling indicates that the southern Great Barrier Reef stock of the green turtle, which live and breed south of Cooktown, is <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/comment/draft-recovery-plan-marine-turtles">increasing</a>. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, both <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0094849">green turtles and dugongs died in record numbers</a> in the year after the extreme floods and cyclones of the summer of 2010-11. Dugongs stopped breeding in the Great Barrier Reef region south of <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155675">Cooktown</a>.</p>
<p>Thankfully, our current aerial survey indicates that dugong calving has resumed as inshore seagrass habitats recover. There is no evidence that the 2011 losses significantly affected green turtle numbers.</p>
<h2>Working together</h2>
<p>Traditional owners are the first managers of our coastal waters, with cultural practices extending back thousands of years. They have the most to lose from any loss of turtles and dugongs. It is therefore in their best interests, and the government’s best interest, to work in partnership to protect and sustainably manage these species.</p>
<p>Longstanding tensions between traditional owners and tourist operators are behind much of the opposition to traditional hunting in the Cairns area. Some of these tensions have been relieved by the <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-partners/traditional-owners/traditional-use-of-marine-resources-agreements">Gunggandji Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement</a> signed in June 2016.</p>
<p>Under this agreement, the traditional owners decided to cease hunting turtles and dugongs in the waters surrounding Green Island, Michaelmas Cay and Fitzroy Island.</p>
<p>The Gunggandji agreement is the seventh to be signed between the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and traditional owners. In addition, there are two Indigenous land use agreements that address hunting issues in the Great Barrier Reef. </p>
<p>In the Torres Strait, dugong and turtle hunting is managed through 14 (soon to be 15) management plans. There are similar agreements with traditional owners and management agencies in other regions in northern Australia.</p>
<p>Indigenous rangers are crucial to implementing all these agreements in collaboration with management agencies and research institutions. Rangers deliver the practical, on-the-ground arrangements to conserve these species in their <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/resource/sea-country-indigenous-perspective">Sea Country</a>. </p>
<p>The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has implemented an Indigenous Compliance Program that authorises trained Indigenous rangers to respond to suspicious and illegal activities that they encounter as part of their work.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147533/original/image-20161125-15333-38x6wo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous rangers and community members from Badu Island in Torres Strait help JCU scientists fit a dugong with a satellite tracking device.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Takahiro Shimada/James Cook University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Indigenous rangers also remove marine debris from remote beaches. The community-based organisation <a href="http://www.ghostnets.com.au/">GhostNets Australia</a> has worked with 31 coastal Indigenous communities to protect over 3,000km of northern Australia’s saltwater country from ghost nets. These community projects have been instrumental in rescuing turtles, clearing ghost nets off beaches and identifying key areas to aid management agencies to better understand the impact. </p>
<p>Traditional owners from the Torres Strait and the northern Great Barrier Reef also play a valuable role in intervention works at Raine Island, one of the world’s most significant green turtle rookeries. This includes rescuing stranded turtles, using fences to stop turtles from falling over cliffs, and altering beach profiles. </p>
<h2>What about welfare?</h2>
<p>Traditional hunting raises animal welfare issues. The turtle and dugong management plans developed by the Torres Strait communities explicitly address animal welfare. The Torres Strait Regional Authority has been working with a marine mammal veterinarian and traditional owners to develop additional methods of killing turtles humanely.</p>
<p>Indigenous hunters who breach state and territory animal welfare laws can be prosecuted. But more widespread animal welfare problems, not associated with hunting, are largely hidden and ignored. The <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/comment/draft-recovery-plan-marine-turtles">Queensland Strand Net Program reported</a> that 879 turtles died of their wounds from vessel strike between 2000 and 2011.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147534/original/image-20161125-15333-y8yi2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An immature female loggerhead turtle severely injured by a boat strike near Gladstone. This turtle was determined to be unrecoverable and was euthanased by a local veterinarian in May 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Takahiro Shimada/James Cook University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other serious animal welfare issues are associated with animals drowning in nets and being caught in and ingesting marine debris. In addition, the potential impact of emerging threats like underwater noise pollution and water quality remain as substantial knowledge gaps. These matters tend not to make the headlines.</p>
<p>Australian waters are home to some of the world’s largest populations of marine turtles and dugongs. A comprehensive and balanced approach to their conservation and management is required to enable our grandchildren and their children to enjoy these amazing animals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helene Marsh FAA, FTSE, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science at James Cook University, is a conservation biologist who has been studying dugongs for 40 years. She has co-authored two books and some 200 professional articles. Helene currently receives funding from the federal government via the Australian Research Council, the Department of Environment and Energy, the National Environmental Science Program and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. She provides professional advice to the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Helene chairs the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, is a member of the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel and Co–chair of the IUCN Sirenia Specialist Group.
<a href="https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/helene.marsh/">https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/helene.marsh/</a>
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Haman is an Associate Professor in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University. He currently receives funding from the federal government via the Australian Research Council and the National Environmental Science Program and from the Gladstone Port Authority. Mark provides professional advice to the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Department of Environment and Energy and the Queensland Government. Mark is a Co-vice Chair of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group and a member of the Science Advisory Committee for the IOSEA MoU for Marine Turtles and their Habitats.</span></em></p>The real threats to dugongs and turtles are not being addressed.Helene Marsh, Dean, Graduate Research, James Cook UniversityMark Hamann, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science (marine focus), James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/393822015-05-27T20:05:07Z2015-05-27T20:05:07ZWe’ve only monitored a fraction of the Barrier Reef’s species<p><em>This long-read article is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/great-barrier-reef-threats-series">series</a> examining in depth the various threats to the Great Barrier Reef.</em></p>
<p>When the Great Barrier Reef was first <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154">placed on the World Heritage List in 1981</a>, it was recognised as being home to a huge diversity of species, many of them threatened. Conserving the reef’s habitats would therefore be a great way to protect many different species all at the same time.</p>
<p>Naturally, some of these thousands of species have attracted more attention than others. Generally these are large animals with high tourism value – often called the “charismatic megafauna” – such as marine mammals, turtles, sea snakes, sharks, rays and seabirds. Many of these species are listed as either <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species">threatened</a> or <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/what-is-protected/migratory-species">migratory</a> under Australia’s environmental legislation.</p>
<p>Yet this hardly scratches the surface. Even counting only vertebrates, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) boasts a diversity of species (see page 23 onwards <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/cdn/2014/GBRMPA-Outlook-Report-2014/">here</a>) that can be found in few other places on the planet. It features 1,625 species of bony fish, six of the seven marine turtle species, 30 whale and dolphin species, dugong, 20 breeding seabird species, and some 136 species of sharks and rays. </p>
<p>There are also hugely valuable places such as Raine Island, the world’s largest breeding location for green turtles, which also hosts breeding colonies of 14 seabird species and provides habitat for up to 20 shark and ray species.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83060/original/image-20150527-25080-orhlb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Great Barrier Reef is home to some 1,600 species of bony fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AReef2172_-_Flickr_-_NOAA_Photo_Library.jpg">Eric Johnson/NOAA/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet of these thousands of species, we only have data on population trends for a small few, and most species have never been assessed. There are nine species or species groups of marine vertebrates in the GBR – <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/cdn/2014/GBRMPA-Outlook-Report-2014">six are rated as being in poor condition and four have deteriorated</a> since 2009. </p>
<p>The lack of specific data makes it hard to work out which species will be vulnerable to human-generated risks, and to decide on policies to safeguard them. And of the ones that have been assessed, the news is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good.</p>
<h2>Good news stories</h2>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Humpback whales</strong> were hunted to near extinction in eastern Australia during the 1950s and early 1960s. Since whaling was banned in the early 1960s the population has recovered by an estimated 11% per year, and humpback and dwarf minke whales now support a multimillion-dollar whale-watching industry (see page 32 of the <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/cdn/2014/GBRMPA-Outlook-Report-2014/">GBR Outlook Report</a>).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Loggerhead turtles</strong> breeding in Queensland declined between the 1980s and 2000s as they were hit hard by <a href="http://www.austurtle.org.au/SeaTurtleBiology/loggerhead_Linnaeus.pdf">egg predation and fishing bycatch</a>. Combinations of land based-management, protected area designations and fisheries regulations (such as the 2001 requirement for turtle excluder devices) led to population recovery, although it has still not regained its original level.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Reef shark</strong> populations have <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106885">declined in some areas</a>, probably as a result of previous fishing pressures. However, there are early indications of recovery for some species since the rezoning of the GBR and fisheries management changes introduced in 2004. The public has also shown increasing awareness of the need for and value in sustaining healthy shark populations.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Sad news stories</h2>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Hawksbill turtles</strong> on the northern GBR are declining by around 3% per year. The key threats are international turtle hunting, and predation of eggs on Australian islands by native and introduced fauna. Without action, the population is <a href="http://www.austurtle.org.au/SeaTurtleBiology/hawksbill_Linnaeus.pdf">forecast to decline by more than 90% by 2020</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Most sawfishes</strong> and the speartooth shark have <a href="http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/2952/1/gbrmpa-VA-Sharks_Rays-11-7-12.pdf">seriously declined</a> in abundance and distribution along the Queensland coast, with some species such as the green sawfish facing potential localised extinctions. Although these species are listed as protected species, they continue to be threatened by fishing and habitat loss and degradation.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Inshore dolphins</strong> such as the Australian snubfin and Indo-pacific humpback live in small, often isolated, local populations around the coastal areas of the GBR. Although there are no population size estimates for either species they are believed to be in decline and under considerable risk from human activities. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dugong</strong>, despite being more abundant in the Torres Strait than anywhere else on Earth, are thought to be in decline in the southern GBR, according to <a href="https://theconversation.com/dugongs-are-safer-in-torres-strait-than-townsville-13552">aerial surveys</a>, and there are concerns that declining sea grass abundance coupled with fisheries and boating related mortality are affecting the population.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Conserving homes and habitats</h2>
<p>Rather than focus on individual species, it is perhaps easier to look at the broad habitat types where they live. The different habitats that cover the GBR World Heritage Area include islands, beaches and coastline, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangroves, the lagoon floor, shoals, halimeda banks, continental slope and open waters. </p>
<p>The GBR Marine Park Authority’s <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/great-barrier-reef-outlook-report">Outlook Report</a> states that the condition of five of the ten habitat groups have deteriorated between 2009 and 2014, and for three habitats rated as “good”, their condition was inferred on the basis of limited evidence. Each of these habitats is important for many of the GBR’s most recognised species.</p>
<p>In particular, there have been <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/cdn/2014/GBRMPA-Outlook-Report-2014/">well-documented declines in seagrass and hard coral cover</a> across the World Heritage Area, particularly in the southern inshore region of the GBR. Additionally, coastal, estuarine and lagoon floor habitats are also affected by impacts from land-use changes such as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15000792">coastal modification</a>. Restoring the condition to these habitats is complicated and will take a long time. What’s more, when habitats change we have little idea of the longer-term flow-on consequences for many species. </p>
<p>There are still crucial unanswered questions: how do seagrass seeds disperse along the coast and between coastal bays? What is the abundance, distribution and status of key species (and new ones yet to be discovered)? How and why do coastal species move within and between coastal habitats and coral reefs? </p>
<p>How does bottom-trawling affect seafloor invertebrate species and the flow on impacts to turtles? What is the impact of high seas and International fisheries on the GBR’s marine turtles? How will marine mammals and other vertebrates react to underwater noise from human activities?</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The Commonwealth and Queensland governments’ <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/gbr/long-term-sustainability-plan">Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan</a>, released earlier this year, is big on ambition but low on detail. Targets are <a href="https://theconversation.com/cloudy-issue-we-need-to-fix-the-barrier-reefs-murky-waters-39380">well defined for water quality</a>, having been the subject of much discussion. But for marine vertebrates and their habitats the targets are often generic, and there is no guarantee that there will be enough resources to do the necessary monitoring to make them any better.</p>
<p>Yet we believe there are several things that can be done. Several of the threatened and declining species are migratory, so one thing we can do is strengthen international cooperation through jointly funded conservation projects. We should also strengthen Indigenous partnerships for research and management, not just in the World Heritage Area but in the neighbouring Torres Strait and southeast Queensland. </p>
<p>We need to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378011001427">strengthen the transfer of knowledge</a> between groups doing work on the ground and people in Government who make decisions. There also needs to be concerted effort and political will focused on reviving the integrated planning and management schemes designed to manage and protect the coastal ecosystems that drive and support coastal and reef dwelling species. </p>
<p>From the sheer volume of media discussion about issues such as the Abbot Point port redevelopment, it could be inferred that the people are uncertain about the government’s ability to safeguard the reef’s outstanding value. Community attitudes and support are vital for a healthy reef, and we believe that a concerted effort is needed to restore community confidence and engage the community in conservation efforts.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, we need to identify the species of highest priority. For each species or group of species we then need to understand the threats, work out how to manage them, and properly evaluate the effectiveness of management actions put in place to protect them. </p>
<p>It is unlikely that sufficient resources will be available to address each individual threat for each species or multi-species group, so we need to develop tools which allow decision makers to determine priority actions which when complete provide best conservation bang for buck. </p>
<p>Marine parks work, but are they generally too small to protect mobile or migratory species, so we will need to work out how to conserve species on larger scales. </p>
<p>Monitoring marine populations and habitats is always challenging, especially in near-shore regions with <a href="https://theconversation.com/cloudy-issue-we-need-to-fix-the-barrier-reefs-murky-waters-39380">cloudy water</a>, but if we are to save the valued animals of the Great Barrier Reef, we will need research, results, and a solid plan with realistic priorities on which we can rely on to obtain the best conservation outcomes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Hamann receives funding from the Australian Government's Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility and the National Environmental Research Program. He is affiliated with James Cook University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Chin receives funding from the Australian Government Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and is affiliated with the Center for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture at James Cook University. He is an executive officer of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, a scientific organisation promoting the research and sustainable use of sharks and rays.</span></em></p>The Great Barrier Reef is home to some 1,600 species of bony fish, 130 sharks and rays, and turtles, mammals and more. Most have had no population monitoring, meaning we don’t know how well they are faring.Mark Hamann, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science (marine focus), James Cook UniversityAndrew Chin, Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/324282014-10-08T04:01:47Z2014-10-08T04:01:47ZClimate change threatens Western Australia’s iconic Shark Bay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61052/original/tw7jqm34-1412689435.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shark Bay is one of Australia's 19 World Heritage Areas, home to dolphins, dugongs, and sharks. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Fraser</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the summer of 2010-2011 Western Australia experienced an unprecedented heatwave — but not on land. Between December 2010 and April 2011, sea temperatures off the WA coast reached 3C above average, and for two weeks peaked at 5C above average — 28C compared to the normal 23C. </p>
<p>The effects were drastic. <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00338-012-0873-4?LI=true">Corals bleached</a>, and the makeup of the usually temperate south west marine ecosystems shifted to more tropical — both in fish, and <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n1/full/nclimate1627.html">algae</a>. </p>
<p>We’re still learning about this extraordinary event. Our recent research published in [Journal of Ecology and Global Change Biology](<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264007237_Extreme_climate_events_lower_resilience_of_foundation_seagrass_at_edge_of_biogeographical_range">Journal of Ecology</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264944221_Extreme_temperatures_foundation_species_and_abrupt_ecosystem_change_an_example_from_an_iconic_seagrass_ecosystem">Global Change Biology</a> shows that the heatwave had a significant, possibly permanent, impact on the seagrass beds of Shark Bay — an internationally recognised <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/578">World Heritage Area</a>. </p>
<p>With climate change forecast to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, this is a sign of things to come. </p>
<h2>A perfect storm</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/heatwave">Heatwaves</a> will be one of the bigger <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-council-heatwaves-are-getting-hotter-and-more-frequent-23253">climate-related threats</a> facing Australia as we move into a changing future. </p>
<p>The effects of such <a href="https://theconversation.com/heatwaves-mozzies-dengue-and-droughts-how-climate-change-threatens-our-health-13">heatwaves on humans</a> and land ecosystems are relatively well-established, and we have already seen <a href="https://theconversation.com/killer-climate-tens-of-thousands-of-flying-foxes-dead-in-a-day-23227">mass deaths in animals</a> resulting from abnormally high temperatures.</p>
<p>However, the risk of extreme heat events in our marine ecosystems is less known. </p>
<p>The 2011 heatwave has been dubbed the “Ningaloo Niña”. The Ningaloo Niña was an <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130214/srep01277/full/srep01277.html">unprecedented warming event</a> in waters off the coast of Western Australia, driven by intense Leeuwin Current flows, an extraordinary La Niña event, and multi-decadal trends in the Pacific Ocean.</p>
<p>These events overlapped to drive mean monthly sea surface temperatures up to 2-4C above normal in Shark Bay for a period of four months.</p>
<h2>Too hot to handle</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60997/original/2h9bg5q9-1412654168.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Survey areas where seagrass loss was observed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The impact of this prolonged heatwave on the seagrass meadows in Shark Bay was drastic. </p>
<p>The main seagrass species of Shark Bay (<em>Amphibolis antarctica</em>) is a temperate species found only in Australia. In Shark Bay it lives near the limit of its temperature tolerance. The Ningaloo Niña pushed the grass past its limit — 90% dieback was recorded in some areas across the bay. </p>
<p>At the same time, the Wooramel River, which flows into Shark Bay, flooded three times in the summer of 2010/11. These floods delivered over 500 gigalitres of floodwater containing large amounts of sediment into Shark Bay. This reduced light availability resulted in meadows up to 15 kilometres from the River mouth being among the worst affected. </p>
<p>Loss of habitat will be greatest in areas where extreme events overlap with additional stressors, a pattern also noted in <a href="https://theconversation.com/reef-condition-is-poor-and-probably-worse-than-healthcheck-suggests-30508">coral reef ecosystems</a>.</p>
<p>The seagrass did recover a little over the next two years (measured in weight of leaves or “biomass”), but only to 7-20% of the historical averages for Shark Bay. </p>
<p>Belowground roots and rhizomes decreased over the same period. For large seagrasses, belowground reserves help them persist through unfavourable conditions like high temperatures or low light. </p>
<p>This lowered resistance could therefore increase vulnerability to future extreme events. As extreme climatic events are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity, this points to a worrying future for the seagrasses of Shark Bay.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60614/original/8rwm5bq5-1412220736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Healthy Amphibolis antarctica with numerous green leaves (left) and defoliated A. antarctica meadow overgrown by algae in Shark Bay following 2011 marine heatwave (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Fraser (left) and John Statton (right)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does this mean for World Heritage?</h2>
<p>Shark Bay was granted World Heritage Status in 1991 for its natural heritage values, and was the first marine World Heritage Site in Western Australia. </p>
<p>Shark Bay boasts one of the largest continuous seagrass meadows in the world, and the seagrasses of Shark Bay are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235432695_Science_behind_management_of_Shark_Bay_and_Florida_Bay_two_P-limited_subtropical_systems_with_different_climatology_and_human_pressures?ev=prf_pub">central to its World Heritage Status</a>. </p>
<p>The temperate seagrass <em>Amphibolis antarctica</em> – endemic to Australia - is undoubtedly the foundation species of Shark Bay. It covers approximately 3,700 square kilometres of Shark Bay (85% of the bay’s total seagrass cover), and its meadows are rich in biodiversity. </p>
<p>Shark Bay is home to globally significant populations of the endangered green turtle and the vulnerable dugong. Seagrasses provide important habitat and forage for these large animals, and loss of seagrass could impact these populations. </p>
<p>Indeed, Florida International University’s <a href="http://www2.fiu.edu/%7Eheithaus/SBERP/">Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project</a> has noted a decline in the health of green turtles in Shark Bay in the two years following the heatwave and seagrass loss, showing the potential impact of seagrass loss on the megafauna of Shark Bay. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61129/original/644mgvwy-1412740487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seagrass forms important foraging habitat for green turtles, which declined in health after the 2011 heatwave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pierre_pouliquin/12205721716">Pierre Pouliquin/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such impacts could reach even the top predators in the system — tiger sharks — that forage for prey, including sea turtles, over seagrass meadows. </p>
<p>Important fisheries species can also rely on functioning seagrass meadows. Since the marine heatwave, the Shark Bay blue swimmer crab and scallop fisheries (the largest in WA) have been closed due to low abundances, presumably as an <a href="http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/research_reports/frr250.pdf#page=11">impact of the heatwave</a>.</p>
<p>Seagrasses play other indirect roles in Shark Bay’s status as a World Heritage Site. </p>
<p>Seagrasses have contributed to the creation of large banks and sills across Shark Bay by increasing the buildup of sediment. These banks and sills have restricted circulation and led to a strong salinity gradient in the Bay — with salinities of 70 ppt found in Hamelin Pool. </p>
<p>This salinity gradient has allowed for the presence of one of the most diverse and abundant stromatolite populations in the world. Stromatolites are rocky structures created by blue-green algae. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/shark-bay-stromatolites-at-risk-from-climate-change-4277">represent living fossils</a>, and are examples of some of the most ancient life on Earth — the oldest known stromatolite fossils date over 3.5 billion years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61128/original/c55m2qv8-1412740260.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seagrass helps maintain salinity levels in Shark Bay, in turn vital for stromatolites, almost identical to 3.5 billion year old fossils.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertpaulyoung/2765075772">Robert Young/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Seagrass loss will impact the long-term stability of these banks and sills, and may directly threaten these globally important organisms that attract many tourists to the region. Climate-driven loss of seagrass in Shark Bay will likely have severe implications for this iconic ecosystem.</p>
<p>Even in areas that are relatively free from human impacts like Shark Bay, these extreme climatic events will change our marine ecosystems. </p>
<p><em>This article also received input from Emeritus Professor Diana Walker at the University of Western Australia.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32428/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Fraser received funding from the National Heritage Trust - "Caring for our Country" program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Kendrick previously received funding for seagrass research in Shark Bay from the National Heritage Trust - Caring for our Country program and presently receives funding from the Australian Research Council to investigate seagrass recovery and restoration in Shark Bay. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Heithaus receives funding from the National Science Foundation (USA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Statton and Jordan Thomson do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the summer of 2010-2011 Western Australia experienced an unprecedented heatwave — but not on land. Between December 2010 and April 2011, sea temperatures off the WA coast reached 3C above average, and…Matthew Fraser, PhD candidate in Marine Ecology, The University of Western AustraliaGary Kendrick, Winthrop Professor, Oceans Institute , The University of Western AustraliaJohn Statton, Postdoctoral research associate, The University of Western AustraliaJordan Thomson, Postdoctoral researcher, Florida International UniversityMichael Heithaus, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/135522013-05-09T20:31:24Z2013-05-09T20:31:24ZDugongs are safer in Torres Strait than Townsville<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23127/original/bdmhhf58-1367454254.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's rough out there: the waters off Townsville present many more threats to dugongs than do the hunters of the Torres Strait.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Francisco Martins</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“How many are there?” and “how are they doing?” are the first questions people usually ask about species of conservation concern. These seemingly straightforward questions are tough to answer when it comes to the dugong. </p>
<p>What we do know is that dugongs are generally safer in remote areas, where traditional hunting is the major pressure, than they are around coastal urban areas where they are affected by habitat loss, gill netting, and vessel-strikes, rather than hunting.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/search.ep?pn=1&productType=917504&keywords=ecology+and+conservation+of+sirenia&list=8">We don’t know</a> how many dugongs there are globally or in Australian waters. Estimating dugong numbers is difficult because the animals mostly live in turbid water and tend to surface discreetly, often with only their nostrils breaking the surface. Our best estimates mostly come from aerial surveys combined with sophisticated statistical models.</p>
<p>About one-fifth of the dugong’s range is in Australia. Dugong habitat extends from Shark Bay in Western Australia, along 24,000 km of our northern coastline to Moreton Bay near Brisbane. Our genetically healthy dugongs are the most abundant marine mammals in our northern coastal waters. While aerial survey data indicate more than 70,000 dugongs, the number is certainly higher. Large parts of the remote coasts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory have not been surveyed recently, or at all.</p>
<p>The status of Australian dugongs varies greatly. Shark Bay supports a large dugong population with minimal human pressures, making it the most secure dugong population in the world. On the other hand, the urban coast of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region between Cairns and Bundaberg poses many threats to dugongs.</p>
<p>Torres Strait is the world’s largest dugong habitat. Surveys conducted by my group at James Cook University show that the region contains a remarkable 58% of the habitat supporting high densities of dugongs in Queensland, as illustrated by the map below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23052/original/7zr4dtpj-1367302878.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Relative density of dugongs along the coast of Queensland and adjacent Northern Territory waters based on 25 years of JCU aerial surveys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Alana Grech</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.monash.edu.au/research/people/profiles/profile.html?sid=4827&pid=3665">Archaeological research by Ian McNiven’s group at Monash</a> indicates that dugongs have been hunted in Torres Strait for at least 4,000 years and that the harvest has been substantial since well before European settlement. Today dugong hunting is sanctioned by the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and in Australia by the Commonwealth Torres Strait Fisheries Act and the Native Title Act.</p>
<p>The data to compare contemporary and past catch rates are not available. The current total regional dugong catch is unknown although the Torres Strait Regional Authority is attempting to correct this deficiency for Australian communities.</p>
<p>In 2004, I was co-author of <a href="http://www.dugong.id.au/publications/JournalPapers/2004/Marsh%20et%20al%202004.%20Anim.%20Cons.7.pdf">two modelling papers using different techniques</a> that suggested that the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1017/S1367943004001593/abstract">current dugong catch in Torres Strait was not sustainable</a>. I now question this conclusion for several reasons:</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/23126/original/rb9w24m7-1367450787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dugong cow and calf killed by collision with a ferry in Moreton Bay, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Groom</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>Dugong habitat in Torres Strait is much more extensive than we thought. In 2010, the Torres Strait Regional Authority partnered with scientists at Fisheries Queensland to conduct the <a href="http://www.seagrasswatch.org/Info_centre/Publications/pdf/meg/FinalDugongSanctuaryReportMarch_2010_lowres.pdf">first seagrass survey of far western Torres Strait</a>. This survey discovered that this very remote region supported the largest continuous seagrass bed in Australia. My group subsequently extended our aerial survey of Torres Strait to cover this area and established that it also supports a sizable dugong population.</p></li>
<li><p>Our time series of aerial surveys conducted since the mid-1980s has not demonstrated a significant decline in dugong density in Torres Strait.</p></li>
<li><p>Studies of the diving behaviour of wild dugongs fitted with timed-depth recorders and GPS-satellite transmitters indicate that the aerial survey population estimates used in the modelling are significant underestimates.</p></li>
<li><p>Studies of hunter behaviour indicate that about two-thirds of the high density dugong habitat in Torres Strait is never hunted.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>James Cook University research is being used by the Torres Strait Regional Authority in negotiations with the PNG Government and Islander leaders regarding the management of hunting. The Authority is also working with a veterinarian to address animal welfare concerns.</p>
<p>In the remote GBR region north of Cooktown the dugong situation is similar to Torres Strait. However, dugongs along the urban coast of the GBR, including around Townsville, have to cope with additional challenges. Analysis of the records of dugongs <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-untold-story-of-shark-nets-in-australia-3748">caught in shark nets</a> indicated a <a href="http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/04-0673">precipitous decline in catch rates</a> between the 1960s and 1980s.</p>
<p>The university’s aerial surveys since the mid-1980s indicated that the population had <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/4382/Dobbs-et-al-2008.pdf">stabilised</a> as a result of significant management interventions by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments.</p>
<p>But the 2011 floods and cyclones reduced the dugong population to the <a href="http://www.nerptropical.edu.au/sites/default/files/publications/files/Project%201.2%20Technical%20Report%20Sobtzick%20et%20al%202012%20Final.pdf">lowest level since surveys began</a>. Worse, the dugongs stopped breeding because of a shortage of food - no calves were seen in the region during our 2011 survey.</p>
<p>Dugong mortalities recorded by the Queensland government’s StrandNet program <a href="http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/pdf/dugong-report-2011.pdf">in 2011</a> were the highest since reporting began in 1998. Some dugongs migrated from the region and are now returning, but the high level of coastal development is cause for grave concern.</p>
<p>The most serious human impacts on dugongs in the urban GBR are habitat loss, gill netting, and vessel-strikes, rather than hunting. All these impacts have associated animal welfare concerns.</p>
<p>If you were a dugong, where would you rather live: Torres Strait or Townsville?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/13552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helene Marsh FTSE, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science at James Cook University, is a conservation biologist who has been studying dugongs for 40 years. She is the senior author of a scholarly book entitled Ecology and Conservation of Sirenians: Dugongs and Manatees published in 2011 by Cambridge University Press and has authored more than 170 articles in professional journals and books. Marsh currently receives funding from the federal government via the Australian Research Council, the Australian Marine Mammal Centre and the National Environmental Research Program. She provides professional advice to the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; both these organisations have funded her dugong research. Marsh chairs the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, which advises the Commonwealth Minster for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. </span></em></p>“How many are there?” and “how are they doing?” are the first questions people usually ask about species of conservation concern. These seemingly straightforward questions are tough to answer when it comes…Helene Marsh, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/133182013-04-15T19:58:58Z2013-04-15T19:58:58ZBanning Indigenous hunting won’t help dugongs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22328/original/5zmn4zb7-1365645335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C136%2C766%2C463&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dugongs rely on seagrass for food - damage to grass beds is a bigger threat to the species than Indigenous hunting.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">sandwichgirl/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1990s some international animal rights and environment organisations instigated a concerted campaign to stop the hunting of pilot whales by Faroese people living in the northeast Atlantic. </p>
<p>The thousand-year-old, community-based <a href="http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=354">pilot whale</a> hunt that annually supplies approximately 30% of the islanders’ meat was criticised as being cruel, unsustainable and pandering to archaic cultural needs. The campaign said Faroese whaling, with its use of modern boats, must be stopped. </p>
<p>The campaign had little data, eventually ran its course and the Faroese continued with their sustainable <a href="http://www.cci.ualberta.ca/en/%7E/media/cci/Documents/Kerins-AThousandYearsOfWhaling.pdf">community-based whaling institutions</a>.</p>
<p>Recently <a href="http://theconversation.com/in-the-name-of-culture-dugong-hunting-is-simply-cruel-12463">an article</a> on The Conversation made a claim that sounded very familiar to the Faroese anti-whaling campaign. The article was not about whaling but dugong hunting in Australia. It said “every year in Australian waters, thousands of dugongs are speared, dragged by the spear line and then drowned in a process that takes between 15 minutes and two hours”. This sounds much like animal rights campaign literature.</p>
<p>The article conflates two issues: the sustainability of dugong hunting by Indigenous hunters and the issue of animal cruelty. It skilfully deploys the emotive issue of animal cruelty, real or imagined, to make an argument that is not based on evidence or wildlife management. It calls for either the prohibition of dugong hunting or stricter regulation enforced by state authority. </p>
<p>While humane killing is a vital component of modern hunting it is unrelated to the sustainability of wildlife populations. There is no evidence that prohibition in very remote regions or stricter enforcement by largely absent state authorities will stop people hunting for food. So let us swim a little against the tide of opinion here and make a few comments to challenge the authors and contributors to this debate.</p>
<p>The management of common property resources, such as dugong, by Indigenous Australians has become a difficult and complex task since settler colonisation and “development” of Australia. Dugongs’ food is seagrass that grows mostly in shallow coastal waters, and development has made their lives precarious. They are vulnerable to damage to seagrass beds from trawling, build-up of silt caused by mining, poor catchment management or coastal development, boat strikes,entanglement in fishing nets and lines, coastal and marine pollution, as well as hunting.</p>
<p>The article provided no evidence of the impact of dugong hunting on dugong sustainability compared to all these other significant factors that Indigenous Australians have little control over.</p>
<p>These human impacts were all raised in the Australian Government’s <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/publications/pubs/turtle-harvest-national-approach.pdf">Sustainable Harvest of Marine Turtles and Dugongs in Australia—A National Partnership Approach</a> in 2005, yet were never fully addressed. This left Indigenous institutions and their common property resources vulnerable.</p>
<p>It is also imperative to acknowledge that Indigenous dugong hunters operate under Australian law that has been tested in the High Court. <a href="http://www.animallaw.info/nonus/cases/caau1999201clr351.htm">Yanner v Eaton 1999</a> found that section 211 (2) of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/">Native Title Act 1993</a> provided for the taking of native wildlife by Indigenous Australians for the purpose of satisfying personal, domestic or non-commercial purposes. If this right is to be extinguished then the Australian Government must negotiate and compensate the native title holders. It cannot be just wished away.</p>
<p>There are better ways to ensure the sustainability of hunted dugong populations - and to ensure humane methods are are used - than prohibition or top-down enforcement. Dugongs, like whales, are “natural flow resources”. Like other wildlife that humans use, they are renewable and can be managed to yield goods and services sustainably over extremely long periods of time.</p>
<p>Research by the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom">Elinor Ostrom</a>, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_institutionalism">new institutionalists</a>, focused on how humans interact with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-pool_resource">common property</a> resources to maintain long-term sustainable resource yields. Such research provides evidence of how societies have developed diverse community-based institutions for managing common property resources to avoid resource depletion.</p>
<p>The Australian state must collaborate with Indigenous hunting communities to strengthen their local institutions of resource management. This is vital. In some situations, dugong populations may have become an open access resource subject to poorly regulated hunting through post-colonial institutional failure such as weakened rules for common property exploitation and diluted community leadership and authority. Such instances of failure may have undermined very different collective common property management regimes that have historically proven very effective.</p>
<p>To build a better management regime, the Australian Government will need to develop or recognise clearly defined management boundaries and use rules adapted to local conditions by local people. They will have to set up collective-choice arrangements that allow resource users to participate in decision-making process (which will avoid costly and likely ineffective top-down enforcement), and independent monitoring accountable to the community of users. There will have to be graduated sanctions for anyone who breaks community rules such as using humane killing methods, and mechanisms for conflict resolution. And state authorities will have to recognise and resource self-determined institutions, and help with data sharing across ecological regions.</p>
<p>Building or reinvigorating common property institutions would move Indigenous hunters from being just users of natural resources to also being active resource managers, allowing them to change components of the hunt locked down by Australian law. This would ensure the future viability of dugong populations. There are already some sound practice examples among groups like the <a href="http://www.savanna.org.au/nailsma/publications/downloads/Always-part-of-us.pdf">Bardi-Jawi sea rangers</a> in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and over a dozen communities in the <a href="http://www.nrm.gov.au/projects/regional-base-level/qld/torres-strait/">Torres Strait</a>.</p>
<p>Instead of establishing new management regimes for remote coastal waters that are likely to fail, such institutional arrangements should be carefully considered and potentially replicated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/13318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Altman receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Environmental Research Program. He is a director of Karrkad-Kanjdji Limited.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seán Kerins receives funding from The National Environmental Research Program.</span></em></p>In the 1990s some international animal rights and environment organisations instigated a concerted campaign to stop the hunting of pilot whales by Faroese people living in the northeast Atlantic. The thousand-year-old…Jon Altman, Research Professor in Anthropology, Australian National UniversitySeán Kerins, Research Fellow in Anthropology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124632013-04-07T20:13:15Z2013-04-07T20:13:15ZIn the name of culture: dugong hunting is simply cruel<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20966/original/thtbymw7-1362457400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The endangered dugong is being hunted unsustainably using a cruel harpoon technique.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicola Sfondrini</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians are rightly appalled by the slaughter conducted by the Japanese whaling fleet under the guise of “scientific research”. This is not only because whaling is cruel but also because whales are iconic, have high mammalian intelligence and are endangered due to historic over-hunting. Whale meat is also unnecessary for human existence, no matter what veneers of cultural labels are attached to this activity. We either don’t believe the Japanese cultural argument or, if we are prepared to accept that it is tradition, we think the Japanese need to get over it.</p>
<p>Australians love whales, but what about the other large, iconic sea-mammal killed cruelly and unsustainably, as a cultural practice – this time in our northern waters? Why does dugong hunting not concern us? </p>
<h2>Cruel and unsustainable</h2>
<p>Every year in Australian waters, thousands of dugongs are speared, dragged by the spear line and then drowned in a process that takes between 15 minutes and two hours. While we deplore the use of harpoons by Japanese whalers, regulations made under the <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2010C00310">Torres Strait Fisheries Act</a> prohibit the taking of dugongs by any method other than with the use of a spear thrown by hand.</p>
<p>Even though the <a href="http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/A/AnimalCaPrA01.pdf">Queensland Animal Care and Protection Act</a> was recently amended to provide that traditional killing be “done in a way that causes the animal as little pain as is reasonable”, the harpooning and drowning of dugongs will continue to be considered reasonable under the law since it is the only authorised option, at least in the Torres Strait where the majority of the hunting takes place.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://nailsma.org.au/sites/default/files/publications/Dugong%20and%20marine%20turtle%20handbook_0.pdf">Dugong and Turtle Knowledge Handbook</a> (pp. 51-53) indicates that there is little reliable information on the number of dugongs hunted in Australian waters but that the number killed in the Torres Strait approaches or exceeds 1000 dugongs per year. According to world-leading dugong experts, legal Indigenous hunting is the <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521888288&ss=indhttp://example.com/">greatest source of dugong mortality</a> in northern Australia and is <a href="http://people.anu.edu.au/robert.heinsohn/download/DugongHeinsohnetal.pdf">not sustainable</a> in the Torres Strait and Cape York.</p>
<h2>Traditional hunting - a legal right</h2>
<p>Under section 211 of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/s211.html">Native Title Act</a>, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are entitled to hunt dugongs for personal, domestic or non-commercial communal needs. State and Territory laws also allow the practice, but this right is not unfettered. Both the Commonwealth and the States have the power to regulate the killing of dugongs to ensure its sustainability. In addition, the States can regulate hunting to ensure it is conducted humanely. Yet these powers have not been exercised in a meaningful way.</p>
<p>Since native title rights do not extend to commercial activities, serious allegations of a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3448943.htm">substantial black market</a> in dugong meat from the Torres Strait Islands to Islanders living on mainland Australia concerning. Given the remoteness of the Torres Strait, adequate law enforcement in relation to dugong hunting is difficult to maintain. </p>
<h2>Cultural excuse</h2>
<p>Much of the <em>laissez-faire</em> dugong management in Australia has been based on the deeply-rooted principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples know best and that their practices are sustainable. It is time however to set aside romanticised beliefs of Indigenous people as good custodians of the land merely by virtue of their race or ancestry. </p>
<p>Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples all over the world have exploited their environment, sometimes causing mass extinctions. It is now well accepted that over-hunting by Indigenous peoples caused, or at least significantly contributed to, the extinction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hunting-or-climate-change-megafauna-extinction-debate-narrows-10602">mega-fauna in Australia and of the moa in New Zealand</a> as well as of <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521888288&ss=indhttp://example.com/">Steller’s sea cow</a>, a species related to the dugong, in the North Pacific. </p>
<p>People are people, and eat what they can, when they can. It is the history of humanity. Pre-European contact, Indigenous Australians would only have been able to hunt small numbers of dugongs - because it was arduous to do so in dugout canoes. Nowadays, with boats equipped with outboard motors, hunters go faster and further out to sea and are capable of killing the animals in larger numbers.</p>
<p>Pregnant dugongs were and still are targeted because people like the taste of their fatty meat better, and young calves are routinely killed, even though killing the next generation before it has had time to reproduce is the antithesis of sustainability.</p>
<h2>Cultural change</h2>
<p>Dugong hunting is justified because of its cultural and social value. But culture is fluid and changes with time. Dog fighting, bear baiting and sending children down the mines are no longer part of Western culture because these practices offend our morals. Indigenous cultures change too. For instance the marriage of underage girls is no longer tolerated in Indigenous communities. </p>
<p>Some Indigenous communities have <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/traditional-hunters-agree-to-dugong-bans-20110922-1kmsy.html">discontinued</a> traditional hunting of dugongs and turtles already because they understand that this practice is no longer sustainable. When a cultural practice is inconsistent with human rights, sustainability, humane standards, or with other deeply entrenched principles, it is time to ask whether that practice is worth maintaining. </p>
<p>People are rightly upset about the barbaric Japanese whale slaughter. Dugongs, harpooned and forced to suffer as much if not more than the whales and killed at unsustainable rates, deserve the same concern and outrage. If it cannot be conducted in a manner that is both sustainable and humane, dugong hunting, along with whale hunting, must stop. </p>
<p>Ideally people of the Torres Strait will follow the example of progressive Indigenous communities and stop dugong hunting before it is too late. If not it will require State and Commonwealth governments to introduce strict quotas and standards of humaneness to meet community concerns. Importantly, enforcement mechanisms will need to be substantially improved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many Australians are rightly appalled by the slaughter conducted by the Japanese whaling fleet under the guise of “scientific research”. This is not only because whaling is cruel but also because whales…Dominique Thiriet, Lecturer, School of Law, James Cook UniversityRebecca Smith, Student - legal research, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.