Evaluating management initiatives aimed at reducing the mortality of dugongs in gill and mesh nets in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Marsh, Helene

Abstract

[Extract] A temporal series of aerial surveys (Marsh et al. 1996) indicated that the numbers of dugongs, Dugong dagon, have declined significantly along parts of the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, since the mid 1980s. This decline has occurred over more than one thousand kilometers of coastline in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, from Innisfail to the southern border of the Area near Bundaberg (Fig. 1). Anecdotal evidence suggests that this decline has been going on for decades (Marsh et al. 1996). The reasons for this decrease are complex and include habitat degradation, accidental mortality in both commercial and illegal gill and mesh nets and in shark nets set for bather protection, and traditional hunting (Marsh et al. 1996). The relative importance of these impacts has not been quantified. However, 15 of the 30 dugong carcasses necropsied between January and September 1 996 showed evidence of having been caught in a net (Marsh et al. 1997) suggesting that interaction with nets is a significant cause of dugong mortality.

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Marine Mammal Science

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1748-7692

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Wiley-Blackwell

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DOI

10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00965.x