Dugongs Information valid as of June 2014 mortality from boat strike, or chronic indirect Summary pressures on seagrass meadows resulting from declining water quality. Boat strike is more likely to Diversity occur in areas adjacent to population centres and Single species – dugong (Dugong dugon, last entrances to busy ports that may also be important remaining species of the family Dugongidae; Order: foraging grounds for dugongs. These areas might Sirenia) also be exposed to declining water quality from catchment run-off and habitat degradation due to Susceptibility increased coastal and marine development. The Life-history traits that predispose dugongs to threats combination of these pressures over time can cause include being long-lived with low reproductive impacts on dugong health, the availability or health of potential, delayed sexual maturity, high female their food (primarily seagrasses) and eventually the investment in each offspring, migratory (they range status of the population. across international boundaries into areas where they Applied or assessed separately, these pressures may are highly targeted and less protected), and a reliance not seem significant, but research indicates the on inshore habitats which increases their exposure to combined and cumulative impact of these major human-related and land-based threats. pressures present significant concerns for the conservation and management of dugongs in the Major pressures World Heritage Area. Impacts of greatest significance to dugongs south of Cooktown are habitat loss and degradation from Management in the Great Barrier Reef cyclone activity and extreme weather, sediment, Legislative management tools for the conservation of nutrient and pesticides from catchment run-off, dugongs that are in force in the World Heritage Area clearing or modifying of coastal habitats, coastal include: reclamation, dredging and dumping and re- The Environment Protection and Biodiversity suspension of dredge material, disease, boat strike Conservation Act 1999 and vessel disturbance, death from incidental capture in nets (commercial net fishery and shark control Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (including program), and marine debris. statutory plans of management such as those for Cairns, Hinchinbrook and Whitsundays) and North of Cooktown, seagrass is exposed to fewer subordinate legislation water quality-related impacts. There, impacts identified include habitat loss and degradation from The Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) and cyclone activity and extreme weather, disease, subordinate legislation incidental capture in nets (commercial net fishery), Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld) and subordinate legislation illegal fishing and poaching, and hunting for traditional Spatial protection via the Great Barrier Reef Marine use. Park Zoning Plan 2003 (34 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is closed to extractive Cumulative pressures use), which along with the Marine Parks (Great Commonly, pressures experienced by dugongs in the Barrier Reef Coast) Zoning Plan 2004 (Qld) Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (the World provides complementary protection of coastal and Heritage Area) can vary in severity, spatially and/or some estuarine waters over time (perhaps seasonally or simply cumulatively Dugong Protection Area Regulations under the as a function of time). Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld), (with complementary Pressures can be acute direct pressures such as provisions under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Dugong mother and calf 1 A Vulnerability Assessment for the Great Barrier Reef Dugongs Act Species Conservation (dugong protection) Special Management Areas) and Fish Habitat Areas (under the Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld)), provide protection for dugongs and their supporting habitats Trawling strip closures under Queensland Fisheries Regulations 2008 complement habitat protection provided by Marine Park zoning plans The regulation of land management practices for Dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park mostly inhabit shallow, turbid inshore waters the improvement of water quality that enters the catchment under the Great Barrier Reef Protection Agreements. Traditional use of dugongs south of Amendment Act 2009 (Qld) Cardwell has virtually halted as a voluntary Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 (Qld) conservation measure initiated by Traditional Owner The Queensland Coastal Plan guides coastal groups development Indigenous Land Use Agreements (that can include Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld) provisions for agreement on the traditional use of marine resources) Others (see management table, page 15). Targeted compliance and enforcement through the Existing management actions joint Queensland Government and Great Barrier Management actions in the World Heritage Area aim Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Field to be outcomes focused and in part put legislative Management Program and Indigenous Eyes and management tools into effect. They also provide Ears compliance program. strategic direction or additional guidance to The Marine Wildlife Strandings Program reports on management operations in the Marine Park. strandings and causes of mortality of dugongs in In 2014, a comprehensive strategic assessment of Queensland (and other protected marine species) the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and and is provided with information from Queensland adjacent coastal zone was completed. There are two Fisheries' on fisheries interactions with species of components to the assessment, a marine component conservation interest through mandatory logbook and a coastal component, which were undertaken by reporting under the Fisheries Regulations 2008 the Australian and Queensland governments, Regular aerial surveys have been able to inform respectively. large-scale ecosystem planning and management Recommendations from the marine component of the by identifying areas of high dugong relative strategic assessment report informed a separate abundance Program Report for the Great Barrier Reef Region. Queensland Fisheries Regulations 2008 make it The Program Report is a detailed description of the mandatory for trawlers to be fitted with satellite- GBRMPA's management arrangements and future linked vessel monitoring systems to track their commitments to protect and manage the Great movements which increases compliance with Barrier Reef. The Program Report details how the zoning plans and Fisheries Regulations GBRMPA’s current foundational management will Voluntary vessel transit lanes in important dugong continue to adapt and be strengthened to achieve its habitat (for example Missionary Bay, Hinchinbrook responsibilities over the next 25 years. channel) 1 The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014 Public education of management actions through highlights threats to the Great Barrier Reef and programs such as GBRMPA's Reef Guardians and reports dugongs as being exposed to a range of listing of responsible reef practices for dugong pressures. Regional and local solutions to these protection within the Tourism Operator's Handbook; pressures will be guided by the Program Report and Looking after protected species in Queensland: a strategic direction provided by planning documents to comprehensive guide for commercial fishers improve conservation outcomes for dugongs. These (Fisheries Queensland) planning documents include: Code of practice for the sustainable management of Reef Water Quality Protection Plan 2013 dugong and marine turtle tourism in Australia Great Barrier Reef Biodiversity Conservation Stewardship, education and awareness programs Strategy 2013 that enable industry, organisations and individuals Great Barrier Reef Climate Change Adaptation to minimise their impacts on the environment, such Strategy and Action Plan 2012–2017 as the Reef Guardian program. Queensland Department of Environment and Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014 Heritage Protection’s Back on Track Actions for 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 assessment: Poor Biodiversity documents 2010 A number of other management actions are in place Vulnerability assessment: high in the World Heritage Area. These include: The Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships The dugong population in the Great Barrier Reef Program — Traditional Use of Marine Resources World Heritage Area (south of Cooktown) is 2 A Vulnerability Assessment for the Great Barrier Reef Dugongs believed to be only a small fraction of pre-European significant dimension to this pressure for animals levels.9 This situation has occurred due to a variety inhabiting the remote north coast, Torres Strait and of factors: commercial harvest of dugongs for oil Papua New Guinea) and other by-products (1847–1969); incidental Indigenous traditional harvest where management drowning in commercial set mesh nets and nets set is yet to be well-established and/or there is illegal for bather safety; declining water quality; habitat poaching/hunting. loss and degradation; Indigenous traditional use It is currently considered that the dugong population and illegal poaching. residing within the World Heritage Area may be Dugongs are susceptible to a range of threats that stable, although confidence in this trend information impact on the recovery of their population in the is relatively low when large-scale movements of World Heritage Area due to a combination of dugongs and sight ability bias (of observers) and conservative life-history traits (they are long-lived, availability bias (of dugong during transect passes) slow to mature, and have