Saving the Gentle Giants of the Sea

I’m sure he’s smiling at me as he glides by, perhaps laughing at my attempts to get out of the way. My efforts aren’t out of fear, but a desire not to cause the hulking grey marine mammal undue distress. After all, the dugong, also called the sea cow, is among the most placid animals on Earth, hence their moniker as the “gentle giants” of the sea.

Unfortunately, due to human activities and climate events, dugongs are now classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A Haven for Gentle Giants

While the largest population of dugongs can be found in Australia, they’re also present in Palawan, one of the Philippines’ 7,000 or so islands, where rare but unforgettable opportunities to dive or snorkel close to these majestic beasts are still possible.

The largest population of dugongs in the Philippines is around Calauit Island, in northern Busuanga, according to Dugong Seagrass Hub, an online platform for conservation researchers.

Dirk Fahrenbach, owner of the Dugong Dive Center at El Rio Y Mar Resort, who has owned dive centres in the Maldives, Germany and Croatia, says this is one of the best places in the world to see dugongs in their wild ocean habitat. He says dugongs like the seas that surround Calauit because of the remoteness — there isn’t too much boat traffic.

Ideal Conditions for Conservation

Seagrass is the dugong’s primary food source, and Fahrenbach says the shallow sandy areas in Busuanga are the ideal conditions for seagrass, with the coastline’s many mangroves protecting water from sedimentation, which can negatively affect seagrass health. In a beautiful cycle, dugongs help maintain the health of seagrass habitats by grazing on them.

The main threats to dugongs in Busuanga are illegal fishing operations, such as dynamite fishing, and getting caught in fishing nets. Other threats include increasing coastal development in Palawan and seagrass habitat loss. According to the Dugong Seagrass Hub, there have also been recent reports of dugongs being trapped by ropes used by seaweed farms in Busuanga.

Sadly, this vital seagrass is also under global threat, with Project Seagrass, a global marine conservation organisation, reporting that the dugong’s favourite food is often destroyed by inappropriate moorings, anchors and boat propellers. Other threats include increased sedimentation, poor water quality and unsustainable overfishing.

Fahrenbach started working on dugong conservation here in 1997, which included setting up the Coast Guard Auxiliary to help law enforcement. The recent addition of Horizon Sun Charter operations for island scenic flight tours also helps, as pilots report dugong sightings and illegal fishing boats to Fahrenbach and his team.

It’s a careful balance. While illegal fishing still occurs, tourism educates locals about dugong protection and deters illegal fishing vessels looking to operate under the radar.

A Collective Effort

“We have more than 40 dugongs in our area, which stretches from Tara Island to Calauit,” says Fahrenbach. Two of them are known to consistently show up in one area, Aban Aban Beach, and have been named by the local indigenous Tagbanua community, who manage Calauit Island, one as “Pingas” because of his scar, and the other “Aban” after the beach. The two “resident” dugongs make for an 80% chance for tourists to encounter a dugong in the wild.

Dugong watching tour activities are managed by the Tagbanua people, and C3 Philippines, a non-profit organisation, has worked closely with the community on conservation since 2011. These efforts have included training local members as dugong protection guards and developing official guidelines for responsible dugong watching. Guidelines include a limit of four visitors to each dugong, maintaining a five-metre distance, no chasing or touching, avoiding swimming in front of them, and keeping boats at a safe distance.

Knowing is Protecting

To create effective conservation plans, understanding dugong numbers and mapping their seagrass habitats is important. However, Helene Marsh, emeritus professor in Environmental Science at James Cook University, says that while there is local information, there is limited scientific data on dugong populations across the Philippines and much of Southeast Asia. “We don’t know how many dugongs there are in that region and where they go,” says Marsh.

Project Seagrass uses SeagrassSpotter, an online platform that solicits photos of seagrass from the public, as a tool to create a database that’s then used by scientists and conservationists to create a protection policy.

NGO C3 Philippines has also turned to technology, developing the Dugong Watch App, which has allowed the public and tourism operators to report dugong sightings in Busuanga since 2016. They even provided fishermen with phones with the app so that they can become part of the solution rather than the problem.

Magical Moments for the Next Generation

During my dugong excursion, I was expecting to have to wait for a gentle giant to appear, but one was already gracefully grazing seagrass on the sea floor when we arrived. The dugongs rise to the surface for air every five minutes, then drift back down again in rhythmic cycles like a slow-motion dance performance. Fortunately, with the help of local communities and researchers, more and more travellers will be able to have their own dugong close encounter in the future.

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