Wanted Alive - Mermaids of the Sea

Not knowing what the massive creature was, fishermen hauled it ashore…and all the way to the office of a leading newspaper! It was Al Bayan, the Arabic daily, which alerted the Marine Environment and Sanctuaries Unit of Dubai Municipality.

The 'creature' was identified as a dugong, the much adored marine mammal and mythical mermaid of the sea. This was the first specimen-based report of dugong from Dubai waters. Back in 1996 there had been a dugong sighting, believed to be the first along the Dubai coast. An adult and calf were viewed along Jabal Ali during the filming of 'Arabia's Cycle of Life' by Jonathan Ali Khan, project director, Arabian Seas Expedition. Since then, the only news about Dubai's coastal zone has been on property development - beachside resorts, and ambitious reclamation projects offshore. Marine biological diversity has been viewed as 'also there.'

But then, the dugong made its presence known. Included in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora); and placed on the World Conservation Union's 'Red Data List of Threatened Animals' as being 'vulnerable to extinction', dugongs are in trouble all round the world. The Arabian Gulf has an estimated dugong population of 5,000, second highest in the world after Australia, which harbours some 80,000.

At least 40 per cent of the Arabian Gulf population of dugongs is along the Abu Dhabi coast, which has extensive sea grass beds, their staple food (this is why dugongs are also referred to as 'sea cows'). Today, we know that sea cows move into the coastal waters of Dubai as well. That means there are sea grass meadows here to sustain them.

The bulky sea cows are exclusively herbivorous and consume sea grass in generous quantities; each animal an estimated 25 kg a day. Underwater, dugongs are constantly foraging for food. Fortunately for them, the sea grass beds of UAE are perceived to be one of the most luxuriant in the entire Gulf area, so there is food a plenty. Moreover, dugongs are protected by law and hunting them is not allowed in the UAE. What then, are they vulnerable to?

Fishing nets are a major threat. Sea grass beds are also habitats of prawns and several commercial fish species, so fishing pressure around these areas is intense. Consequently, foraging dugongs often get entangled in nets, drowning quickly once this happens since they can hold their breath for 6 - 10 minutes only, and must surface to breathe. Boat propeller strikes are yet another cause of death.

But a major concern is the destruction of sea grasses, the sea cow's source of nourishment. Dredge wastes dumped in coastal waters and silt discharged from land reduces the amount of light available to sea grass communities, thus limiting their growth.

So where is the dead dugong that was recovered from Dubai's coastal waters? In a deep freezer of an abattoir awaiting action by a taxidermist to preserve it as a specimen.

The dugong may be processed, dissected and preserved. A survey of the dugongs of Dubai may be conducted, just as is underway in Abu Dhabi. Fishing may be banned in the area. Propeller boats may be prohibited. But can sea grasses, the dugong's food source, be saved? Can these survive the intensive coastal development?