Media
Below you can find dugong news from media around the World
as well as regional marine turtle news.
More rangers needed to stop
dugong deaths
Australia, 22 June 2010 - Authorities
say it is unclear who killed the mammals, but it appears
those responsible tried to conceal the deaths. [Read
on
ABC news article]
Dead dugongs found trapped
in illegal nets
Australia, 21 July 2010 - Authorities
in northern Queensland are asking for the public's help
to catch those responsible for the deaths of dugongs found
caught in a commercial fishing net. [Read
on ABC news article]
First ultrasound images of
pregnant wild dugongs
Australia 18 June 2010 - Scientists in
south-east Queensland have taken the first ultrasound images
of a pregnant dugong in the wild. [Read
on
ABC news article]
Team Effort to Investigate Moreton Bay’s Dugongs
Australia, 16 June 2010 – Biologists
from the University of Queensland (UQ) will team up with
Sea World, Sydney Aquarium and Taronga Western Plains Zoo
to assess the health and reproductive status of wild dugongs
in Moreton Bay this week. [Read
on]
Environment: the Pacific
Ocean, Our Lifeblood
13 June 2010 – 2010 is the Year of
Biodiversity – in the Pacific this is celebrated under
the theme of “Value Island Biodiversity – it’s
our Life”. [Read
on]
Expansion Threatens Sea
Habitat
Australia, 28 May 2010 – Today’s
decision to approve the $82.5 million port expansion at
Fisherman’s Landing in Gladstone is disastrous for
the area’s threatened dugongs and rare inshore dolphins.
[Read on]
Safeguarding Marine Life
Bahrain, 12 May 2010 – A marine wildlife
rescue centre could be set up in Bahrain, to deal with the
aftermath of oil spills or other calamities anywhere in
the region. It would also be used to train rescue teams
and would act as an information and education centre for
schools and visitors. [Read
on]
Dugong in Decline off
Phuket
Phuket, 4 May 2010 – The fishing
industry continues to take its toll on Thailand’s
highly endangered dugong population, with at least three
deaths so far this year. [Read
on]
Call to Protect Dugongs
Australia, 29 April 2010 – Complaints
about illegal fishing nets are falling on deaf ears, with
Cairns Regional Council demanding the State Government do
more to protect dugongs and turtles. [Read on]
Endangered Turtles begin
nesting on Bu Tinah Island Tinah
Abu Dhabi, 24 April 2010 – A group
of critically endangered sea turtles have begun nesting
on Bu Tinah Island, according to researchers from the Environment
Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) who are surveying the island’s
unique biodiversity.
[Read on]
Rare turtles home on
Bu Tinah
Abu Dhabi, 18 April 2010 – At least
five new nesting sites for endangered hawksbill turtles
were recorded by researchers with the Environment Agency
- Abu Dhabi (EAD) last week on the white banks of Bu Tinah
Island, 130km west of the capital.
[Read on]
Marine mammal bones from
3,500 BC
Umm Al Qaiwain, 10 April 2010 – Bones
of dugongs, large marine mammals of the sea cow family,
dating back to 3,500 BC, have been found on an island off
the coast of Umm Al Qaiwain in the United Arab Emirates.
[Read on]
They Weigh 300kg and
It’s All Down to Eating Their Greens
Australia, 2 April 2010 – If you
think your children are fussy eaters, you haven’t
met Pig and Waru. Sydney Aquarium’s dugongs are so
picky they eat only cos lettuce leaves, except on the rare
occasion they can be persuaded to try a bunch of spinach.
[Read on]
Dredging Threatens Dugongs
Australia, 1 April 2010 – Up to 55
million cubic metres of dredge spoil will be dumped on seagrass
beds in Gladstone harbor to allow the development of the
LNG export industry, despite the risks to the region’s
dugong population.
[Read on]
13 Threatened Animals
of the Ocean
30 March 2010 – There are currently
620 species of marine animals designated as threatened on
the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red
List. These animals are in danger of becoming extinct, and
are an important reminder as to why we humans need to clean
up our act and work to protect our oceans from pollution
and overfishing.
[Read on]
Aerial Monitoring of
Seagrass
Australia, 28 March 2010 – Fisheries
scientists, the TSRA and Indigenous rangers have teamed
up to deliver a new initiative to map and assess seagrass
habitat vital to local fisheries.
[Read on]
Tribes Sign Marine Conservation
Pacti
Australia, 27 March 2010 – Nine indigenous
groups will team up with conservationists to protect turtles,
dugongs and dolphins in the Great Barrier Reef.
[Read
on]
Strategic
Dugong Survey Design Workshop successful in Singapore
 Singapore,
3–4 March 2010 - Under the auspices of the
UNEP/CMS Dugong MoU, a workshop was convened in Singapore
to develop a standardized questionnaire survey format which
will be used in Dugong MoU-funded regional assessment projects.
Developed by a group of experts from around the world, the
survey aims to determine dugong population status, distribution,
and threats – particularly bycatch. The survey has
potential to enhance national, regional and international
information sharing and cooperation, a key action required
under the Conservation
and Management Plan.
UNEP/CMS Abu Dhabi Office, which hosts
the Secretariat for the Dugong MoU, also strives to fulfil
its responsibility to address the conservation of other
regionally important migratory species, including cetaceans
and marine turtles. The developed questionnaire survey is
adaptable for multiple species, can be used across regions,
is flexible and low-cost, and has scientific rigor. The
survey is already being trialled in a number of countries.
The complete article will be available on Sirenews
in April 2010
6-month Internship in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, 15 March 2010 – The CMS
Project Office in Abu Dhabi is seeking an intern for four
to six months duration, to assist with the organization
of the First Official Signatory State Meeting of the Memorandum
of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs
and their Habitats in their Range. The deadline for applications
is 31st March 2010. [Description][Application]
EAD Launches International
Vote Bu Tinah! Campaign
Abu Dhabi, 4 March 2010 – Off the
western coastline of Abu Dhabi lies a unique wonder of nature,
wild and undisturbed by human activity, known as Bu Tinah
Island. Vote for Bu Tinah Island to be one of the New 7
Wonders of Nature at www.butinah.ae.
[Read on]
Will growing seagrass
beds bring back rare sea cows to Chilika?
India, 1 March 2010 – Wild life experts
are hoping the highly endangered dugong or sea cow could
again come visiting Orissa’s Chilika Lake, thanks
to the expanding beds of sea grass growing in the shallow
waters – a critical requirement for the big marine
animal. [Read
on]
Lights, Camera, Action
for Bu Tinah
Abu Dhabi, 25 February 2010 – The
campaign to help Bu Tinah Island win election as one of
the new seven wonders of the natural world is getting some
slick help from Abu Dhabi’s environmental agency.
[Read
on]
Authorities offer net fishing
assurances
Queensland, 16 February 2010 – Tourism
operators have welcomed assurances from federal and state
management authorities that commercial netting will not resume
in the Hinchinbrook Channel in Queensland’s far north.
[Read
on]
Poachers Raiding Rich Barrier
Reef Zones
Australia, 24 February 2010 – Poachers
are raiding “no-take zones” on the Great Barrier
Reef as fish stocks more than double in protected areas, the
latest research shows. . [Read
on]
Seagrass friendly moorings trialled
in Queensland
Queensland, 11 February 2010 – New
boat moorings that do not damage seagrass are being trialled
in Queensland. [Read
on]
Dugongs hide from the developers
Abu Dhabi, 6 February 2010 – They
are the gentlest of creatures, a key feature of the capital’s
sealife, but environmental experts fear that the dugong
is being pushed into a corner by coastal development. [Read
on]
Dugongs are faring better than feared
Trang, 25 January 2010 – The population
of rare dugongs (sea cows) living in Trang waters has slightly
dropped by 5-10 sea animals from last year, the latest aerial
survey has found. [Read
on]
UNEP/CMS Office and EAD Meet to
Talk about Dugongs
Abu Dhabi, 23 December 2009 – UNEP/CMS
Abu Dhabi Office and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
(EAD) met for the first time on 23rd December, 2009. Being
located in the same building as EAD, the Secretariat will
be working closely with the agency to tackle major threats
and identify effective tools to secure a favourable status
for regionally important migratory species.
EAD and UNEP Sign Agreement to
Establish a UNEP/CMS Office in Abu Dhabi
 Abu
Dhabi , 12 October 2009 - The Environment Agency-Abu
Dhabi (EAD) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) have signed a Donor Agreement to establish a UNEP/Convention
on Migratory Species (CMS) office in Abu Dhabi.
H.E. Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary
General of EAD and Ms Elizabeth Mrema, CMS Officer-in-Charge
in UNEP, signed the agreement in a ceremony on 12 October
2009 at EAD's headquarters.
[Read
on]
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