Bahrain home to largest dugong herds, says study
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain plays home to the largest herds of dugongs found in the world in terms of number and density, a new study has found. The study led by the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage found that there are more dugongs in the territorial waters of Bahrain than anywhere in the world.
The more than three-yearlong study was carried out by a Bahraini research team under the supervision of Dr Abdul Qader Khamis with the support of international experts.
The study included extensive air and marine surveys, using satellite images and modern technologies to monitor seagrass mulches, the staple food for dugongs. Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, said the study reflects Bahrain’s natural and cultural heritage, highlighting the urgent need for concerted efforts to preserve these rare mammals.
Shaikha Mai said the project in the next phase would go for extensive field studies to understand the extent of the impact of human activities on the dugong population. "This would help frame guidelines to ensure these marine mammals are unaffected by the proposed eco-tourism activities," said Shaikha Mail.
Bahrain spotted dugongs first in 1986 in the northwest of the Hawar Islands. In the latest survey, the research team succeeded in monitoring 700 dugongs in the territorial waters of Bahrain - the largest recorded so far in the world.
Dugongs are herbivorous marine mammals that inhabit the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The Arabian Gulf is home to the second-largest herd after Australia for these endangered animals.
According to Science direct, the Arabian Gulf supports a population of around 5800 dugongs (Dugong dugon), which is the largest known outside Australia. Dugongs, also called hunting cows and mermaids, are mostly non-social mammals, but in rare cases, they congregate very densely, forming groups of a few hundred individuals.
In Bahrain, Decree No 4/1986 prohibits catching the dugongs, decree no. (4) of 2010 regulates fishing on the Hawar Islands and territorial waters and Decree no 16/1996 declare Hawar Island and territorial seas as a protected area.
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