Pattimura University fights to save 'mermaids'

Pattimura University fights to save 'mermaids'

By John Mayaut

MALUKU (Antara): A warning has been sounded for the dugong,
also called sea cows, the gentle mammal of the Pacific Ocean
which may have been the mermaid of fisherman's lore.

Dugongs, closely related to the manatee, are now the subject
of research and breeding efforts at the Center for Environment
Studies of Pattimura University in Ambon.

Bob Wenno of the studies center said the research was aimed at
saving the species from extinction caused by illegal hunting of
traditional fishermen in Maluku and Irian Jaya.

The "mermaid" of the East reportedly sheds tears when caught
in fishermen's nets.

Their population in the Maluku and Irian Jaya waters has
dwindled due to hunting for their flesh, bones and teeth which
fetch high prices on local and international markets.

Only 300 dugongs were detected in the Aru islands in recent
telemetric and satellite studies, according to Elisabeth
Ferdinandus, chairperson of Pattimura University's Center for
Environment Studies.

The Center for Environment Studies' concern in conducting
research and efforts to save the animal had led the United
Nations Development Program, the World Wide Fund for Nature and
the European Union to donate funds and equipment for studies, Bob
said.

"The European Union recently allocated funds of Rp 1 billion,"
added the lecturer of the School of Fishery at Pattimura
University. It has also provided telemetric equipment which
allows marine and fishery experts at the university to monitor
the development and population of the mammals.

Uncontrolled capture of dugongs "is the cause of the growing
difficulty in obtaining the sea animals for breeding to maintain
the balance of the marine environment", Bob said.

Dugongs live around islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans,
mainly in shallow waters with marine plants, such as seaweed, as
their principal source of food.

Recent WWF studies on dugongs in the Maluku and Irian Jaya
seas concluded their population had declined.

In Maluku, the dugongs are found in the seas of Aru, Kei,
Tanimbar and Babar in Southeast Maluku and in the waters around
Ceram, Ambon and the Lease islands of Saparua, Haruku and
Nusalaut in Central Maluku.

A resident of Southeast Maluku, M. Waremra, said dugongs
around Aru, Kei and Tanimbar, were an inseparable part of the
fishermen's life and the community's custom and culture.

Souvenirs

"Dugong hunting in the fishing community here supports their
livelihood," Waremra said.

"There is a mutually beneficial bond between dugong hunters
and the handicraftsmen," added the secretary of the Golkar
faction at the regional house of representatives in southeast
Maluku.

Dugong meat is sold on the market and artisans make the
mammal's teeth and bones into high-priced souvenirs for local and
international markets, Waremra said.

A former local environment official, N. Nomay, said: "It means
that as long as the handicraft industry is active, it is
difficult to stop dugong hunting due to the existing cooperation
supporting the fishermen's and handicraft-maker's livelihood.

"It is time the regional administration.. banned excessive
capture of dugongs," he added.

Dugongs mate under the full moon, but many have moved away due
to disturbance of their habitat.

The animals usually like shallow but expansive waters where
they can find lamun plants, seaweed and other marine biotic
sources around coral reefs, said Fredy Leatemia, marine expert of
the Oceanology Research and Development Center of the Indonesian
Scientific Institute (LIPI) in Ambon.

Ferdinandus said the center had initiated efforts to breed
dugongs by constructing a mini natural aquarium in Waai village
on the coast of Ambon island.

In the aquarium, development and behavior of dugongs were
researched and monitored to enable the return of them to their
natural environment.

Continued slaughtering of dugongs off the Aru, Kei and
Tanimbar islands is hard to detect, according to regent Husein
Rahayaan. The hunting goes on despite warnings to the fishing
communities in the isolated islands.

Dugongs caught by fishermen in the Southeast Maluku islands
are usually consumed by traditional fishermen and sold at the
Dobo, Tual and Saumlaki markets.

Dugongs' teeth are sold to pipe-makers for about Rp 5,000 per
centimeter, while the ribs are used for souvenirs, including
batons commanding prices of several hundred thousand rupiah.

The culling has ceased in some areas.

In Saparua, locals are pulling in extra income through dugong
tours of local waters for domestic and foreign tourists.

"We have always tried to guard, save and conserve the
protected sea animals from extinction," said local fisherman,
Julianus, 72.