26 Jul 2007 - A WWF campaign
in two southern districts in Mozambique is
helping to raise awareness of the endangered
dugong, once found in large numbers off the
country's coast.
The campaign — targeted at local fishing
communities and associations, schools, governmental
authorities, tourism operators and the general
public — is being conducted in the districts
of Inhassoro and Vilankulos, in an area surrounding
the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. It
is believed that this is the only place along
the East African cost that still hosts a significant
dugong population.
Dugongs, or sea cows as they are sometimes
called, are marine animals which can grow
to about 3m in length and weigh as much as
400kg. They inhabit shallow, tropical waters
throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
According to local fishermen, it was once
very common to see dugongs in large numbers
in Mozambique's waters, but those numbers
are declining due to bycatch — the accidental
capture of fish and other marine animals in
fishing gear — as well as their intentional
capture for meat.
“Thanks to pervious campaigns, the local
population, especially fishermen, is aware
of the importance of the species and the prohibition
of catching and consuming it,” said WWF-Mozambique’s
marine programme coordinator, Marcos Pereira,
who is leading the dugong campaign.
“More work needs to be done. We need to identify
the reasons why the practice [of catching
dugongs for meat] continues despite the fact
that there is information available.”
A recent village debate in Vilankulo on the
dugong issue, organized by WWF-Mozambique,
concluded that urgent law enforcement was
needed to protect dugongs from poachers.
“Law enforcement is still a big problem.
People here pretend they don’t know about
the legislation or simply ignore it,” said
Bendito Banze, a ranger at the Bazaruto Archipelago
National Park.
“I have in my house heaps of bones of about
11 dugongs, which I found in the homes of
fishermen. The offenders remain unpunished
and continue capturing dugongs.”
Many believe that one of the best tools to
mitigate the impact of this problem is what
WWF is currently doing in the field — awareness
and education campaigns.
The WWF dugong campaign runs until the end
of 2007.
Lécio Munguambe, Communication Officer
WWF-Mozambique
