Is the Dugong population in Bazaruto slowly recovering?

Dugong aerial count: population overwhelms expectations in Bazaruto

Maputo, Mozambique – Recent aerial counts performed in the Bazaruto bay, including the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP), brought out new expectations in terms of conservation of dugong population in this area: the frequency in appearance of the species has proven that the number of its population may be increasing or at least the fact that they are seen routinely could be a sign of success in its conservation.

Jane Provancha, a Senior Scientist at Dynamac Corporation (Florida) and a WWF Consultant, led the team which included the BANP as well as WWF Mozambique staff during the aerial counts. According to the experience gathered during this assignment, she could contentedly say that: “We saw a huge range in the numbers of dugongs – one of our “official surveys” resulted seeing only 9 dugongs, whereas on another of our “official surveys“(just two days later) – we saw 135 dugongs… we can comfortably say that our highest count was a minimum number of dugongs using the area: there are likely more than 135 dugongs here.”

When compared to SASOL report, the South African Oil and Gas Company, from last year in which their high count was around 69 dugongs, it can be said that: “This “change” may not indicate a real increase in the population, but is a good sign that animals are in fact routinely seen in the area and in higher numbers than reported thus far. I would say that conservation efforts are moving forward given WWF´s current emphasis on continued interaction and education of the local fishermen/women and tourists”, she completed. Results from the SASOL study pointed at an estimated number of 250 individuals in the Bazaruto bay.

On the other side, Helena Motta, the WWF Country Coordinator and herself participating in the aerial survey commented: “In 2001 the estimations pointed at a population of dugongs of around 100 individuals in total. Today, with the SASOL studies as well as these surveys that we conduct in conjunction with the BANP, we can say that things are looking much better for the dugong population. However, the findings also point out that a large proportion of individuals are being seen outside the Park area, a fact that we all need to address”.

This is in fact a critical issue despite these inspiring numbers. The area where the dugongs are seen has large fishing nets, both beach seine and gill nets. These are too dangerous to dugongs, marine turtles, dolphins and other endangered species, which could easily be entangled and incidentally killed. The regular disturbance of the underlying seagrass beds by these nets is also another worrying matter as they are a very important for the presence of dugongs.

This is the reason why WWF is now promoting activities beyond the Park borders. Together with the Fisheries Authorities of Mozambique it is working on several mitigation impacts of the use of non-recommended fishing gear in Vilankulo and Inhassoro districts, in the coast of the Bazaruto bay, and in the BANP. One of the activities which have been producing very good results is the continuous environmental education campaign targeting fishery associations and schools in the area.

Recently, WWF organized a football tournament which motto’s “I Protect Endangered Species of Bazaruto” called the attention for the conservation of 4 identified species: Dugongs, Turtles, Dolphins and Sharks. Four teams composed by fishermen associations, WWF staff, Fishery Authorities and students participated and helped raise awareness on the conservation of Bazaruto biodiversity. Flyers, banners, t-shirts and other informative material were produced specifically for this event.