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.