In conducting our surveys and analysing our data, the entire coastline of Sabah was divided into 5 areas and Sarawak into 8 areas (Table 1).

Table 1: Survey areas in Sabah and Sarawak.

Sighting
No dugong was sighted during boat surveys either in Sabah or Sarawak. Due to the facts that dugongs are slow swimmers, shy and evasive (Yaptinchay 1996b), the noisy engine of survey boats has probably disturbed and kept the animal away.

A total of 7 sightings, which involved 18 dugongs, were made during aerial surveys. Dugongs were sighted 6 times in Kudat and in the Interior Divisions of Sabah and once in Limbang Division, Sarawak. In the whole aerial surveys, dugong sighting rate is 1.2 sightings per 10 hours of search effort or 1.6 sightings per 1000 nm surveyed. In Kudat Division, all the animals were recorded singly and observed feeding in the shallow waters close to shore, north-east of Balambangan Island (Lung Bay) and west of Malawali Islands on 19 May 2000, and north-west of Banggi Island (Lung Bay) on 26 May 2000. Apparently, these are sheltered areas associated with coral reefs and seagrass beds. A single adult dugong was also recorded in the shallow coastal waters west of Labuan Island on 29 May 2000.

In the morning of 27 April 2001, a total of 14 dugongs were sighted from the air at three different locations in the shallow murky coastal waters of Brunei Bay, in the Interior Division, Sabah and Limbang Division, Sarawak (Jaaman et al. 2001). Four adult dugongs and 2 calves were seen swimming slowly near the mouth of Batang Lawas. Another 2 groups of single and 7 adult dugongs were observed resting on the surface (probably feeding), close to the mouth of Sungai Padas. Observations were brief (< 5 minutes) but in each sighting, the torpedo-shaped body and whale-like tail fluke were very distinctive from above. The animals were observed to have greyish-brown coloration.

Although the coastal water of Kota Kinabalu is relatively busy with fishing and boating/shipping activities, dugongs have been sighted occasionally by the public in the area (Jaaman 2000). On April 1999, an adult dugong was reported to stray within the harbour area for almost a week period. It frequently came close to shore near Kg. Kabagu to feed and was observed from the village’s jetty, especially during the early morning or late evening. However, several attempts by the villagers and officers from the Department of Wildlife Sabah to approach the dugong were unsuccessful. The animal dove and swam away whenever it heard the noise of an approaching boat. This observation had received vast media coverage and attracted the public to frequent the village in hoped to catch a glimpse of the rare animal. In addition, an adult dugong was also reported to have been observed near Kota Kinabalu Waterfront and Sabah Parks Base Camp at Pulau Gaya by officers of the Sabah Parks on 25 June 2000 and in Malahom Bay near Gayana Resort by the resort’s staffs within the same month. In early 2002, a pair of mother and calf dugong has been observed on a regular basis around the Mantanani Island on the west coast of Sabah (Gillian Elliott pers. comm.; Daily Express 22 February 2002, front page). A summary of the sighting record of dugong by aerial survey and the public is shown in Table 2.

During interview surveys in Sabah, 39 (26%) groups of respondents reported to have sighted live dugongs. Most sightings were reported by respondents in the Kudat Division (18), followed by the Interior (8), Tawau (8), and Sandakan (5) Divisions, but none in the West Coast Division (0). Respondents described the dugong as having a torpedo-shaped body with small and short flippers, absence of a dorsal fin, greyish bronze colour, and a significantly pig-liked mouth. Most of them considered dugongs as shy animals, and though the animals were relatively huge as a marine animal, it never posed any danger to the fishermen. Dugongs have been seen swimming over sandy substrate or grazing in seagrass beds near their villages.

The interview survey also indicated that the local dugong population has significantly declined. Many respondents gave variable responses as to the number of times they have encountered dugong. In general, most of the respondents have only seen dugongs once to three times in the last 20 years and the majority of the sightings (75%) were of single animal. In Kudat Division, almost all respondents (17) claimed that today a small number of dugongs could still be found in shallow waters within Balambangan, Banggi, and Malawali Islands, particularly in Lung Bay and Cape Inaruntong where seagrass were reported common. The animals were reported to come close to shore to feed during the early morning or late evening. No season in which dugongs were most commonly seen was identified. Nevertheless, they claimed that dugongs often keep close to shore during the northeast monsoon (October to February) when the sea was relatively rough.

Although the most number of dugongs sighted during the aerial surveys were in the Brunei Bay, respondents in the Interior Division described the frequency of sighting a dugong as rare in their localities. Historically, according to them, the dugong population was much greater but the numbers have been declining as the abundance of seagrass decreased. Before the 1970s, dugongs and seagrass were reported abundant around Daat Island, and the shallow coastal waters of Menumbok and Weston. According to many respondents in the area, a large sandy shore near Kuala Padas, Weston was named “Pasir Duyung” because it used to be famous for dugong feeding ground. Sometimes, groups of 10-20 dugongs were reported seen at any one time in the area.

In Tawau Division, respondents reported areas where a small number of dugongs could still be found, namely Cape Unsang, Cape Labian and Tungku in Lahad Datu, and around Ampalan, Menampilik, and Silungun Islands, and between Simpan and Nusa Lalang Islands in Semporna. Dugong sightings were reported seasonal, often during the month of January to June, concurrently with the seasonal occurrence of “lunsai” or a kind of small leaf seagrass (probably Halophila or Halodule) in the areas.

Respondents in Sandakan Division reported to have seen dugongs within the vicinity of their villages (Jaaman et al. 2000b). They indicated that dugong populations have declined significantly in the past few decades. However, the animals were believed to still present in a very small number near Mumiang Tengah, Lubokan, Sarabut, and Tronglit in Sandakan Bay, Kaniogan in Labuk Bay, Cape Semangat near Jambongan Island, and around Nunuyan and Tambisan Islands. They reported that historically, “lamun”, a local name for seagrass, grew extensively in the inner part of Sandakan Bay but a severe flood in 1955 decreased the water salinity to zero for a few weeks, hence killed all the seagrass and most of the stenohaline fish.

During interview surveys in Sarawak, 8 (9.5%) out of 84 groups of respondents reported to have sighted live dugongs. Only respondents in Kuching (2) and Limbang (6) Divisions have reported historical sighting of dugongs in their localities. According to Jaaman et al. (2000a), dugongs were reported before the 1960s in Serabang Bay, near Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, but have not been seen there since. In Limbang Division, especially in Lawas, dugongs were reported still to exist, albeit in very small numbers. Many respondents in Sarawak claimed that the non-existence of dugongs was probably due to very little seagrass area left in their coastal waters.

In general, the decline of dugongs in East Malaysia is evident by comparing historical records and accounts of old timers with current information.

Stranding
Between 1996 and 2001, there were 18 marine mammal strandings investigated in East Malaysia and half (9) of that had involved dugongs (Lah-Anyi and Jaaman 2002). All dugong strandings occurred in Sabah. The size of stranded animals ranged from 1.6 - 2.6 m, with mean size of 2.26 ± 0.43 SD (n = 10) meter. The majority (8) of the strandings occurred on the west coast of Sabah and only one stranding occurred in Tawau Division. This data is relatively biased because dugong strandings that probably had occurred in other places were not reported and investigated by the authorities. In most of the strandings, the true cause could not be determined but the death seemed likely due to starvation, vessel collisions, dynamite fishing, entanglement in fishing gear, disease and degradation of seagrass areas caused by sedimentation and pollution from coastal development and palm oil plantations.

Incidental Catch
Gillnets and kelongs are widely used by traditional fishermen in shallow coastal waters of East Malaysia. According to Jaaman (2000) and Jaaman et al. (2000a; 2000b), incidental catches of dugongs and dolphins are known to occur regularly in these fishing operations and to a lesser extent in trawls. Since 1999, four dugongs that were incidentally caught by fishermen in Sabah were examined. A summary of the incidentally caught dugong cases is shown in Table 3.

All caught dugongs were adult animals. Except in one case, which occurred at Ongkilan River near Kota Marudu, Sabah on 24 March 1999, where the live caught dugong was released back to sea, the other caught dugongs were taken for local consumption. These had involved the indigenous Bajau Laut communities who are known to regard dugong meat as a traditional food item (Jaaman and Lah-Anyi 2002).

During interview surveys in Sabah, 35 (23.5%) groups of respondents reported to have incidentally caught dugongs during fishing. Most cases were reported by respondents in the Kudat Division (14), followed by the Interior (11), Tawau (8), and Sandakan (2) Divisions, but none in the West Coast Division (0). Respondents claimed that dugongs often being caught in kelong and gillnet, particularly ‘pukat rantau’ and ‘pukat tiga lapis’. These gillnets were reportedly set at night so when dugongs became entangled, the animals usually have died before being detected. Dugongs were also reported to have been caught in abandoned kelongs around Sandakan (Jaaman et al. 2000b) and Kudat. A majority of the respondents from all divisions in Sabah noted that on the average at least one dugong was caught in the last 5 years. Furthermore, none of the Bajau Laut respondents from Kudat, Sandakan and Semporna were in favour to release a live caught dugong but instead would slaughter the animal for family consumption.

In Sarawak, all 6 groups of respondents from Limbang Division who reported to have seen live dugongs also admitted that they had once incidentally caught the animals during fishing in Brunei Bay. Although the sighting of a dugong could be considered rare today, they reported that incidental catches of dugongs in gillnets still occur occasionally (Jaaman et al. 2000a). Nevertheless, most of the old Kedayan and Brunei respondents considered dugong as food and would slaughter the incidentally caught animals for family consumption.

In Malaysia, marine mammal incidental catches in fishing gears are currently not being monitored. Furthermore, the number of reported cases has always been considered much lower than the actual number of unreported cases (Jaaman 2002).

Hunting

Dugongs have been hunted traditionally in Sabah (Jaaman 2000). Though a majority of the respondents were aware that dugong is a protected animal, during interview surveys in Sabah, 14 (9.4%) groups of respondents admitted had known or had practice dugong hunting activities in the past. Most of this information was gathered from Bajau Laut respondents in Sandakan (5), Tawau (5) and Kudat (2) Divisions. According to most respondents, dugongs were hunted seasonally. They used sailboat to hunt and usually arrived at the hunting ground at almost dawn when dugong came near to shore to feed seagrass. A specially made harpoon, called ‘bujak’, ‘tempuling’ or ‘sangkir’ depending on localities, and tied to the bow of the boat with a long rope, was used to catch dugong. Usually, a harpooned dugong will struggle to escape by diving and swimming away as it pulled the boat. They waited for about 15 - 30 minutes before the animal eventually tired. Then it could be hauled slowly near the boat and slaughtered. Normally, a caught dugong was skinned and cut into small pieces, either on the boat or on the beach, before they took the meat home.

Many respondents claimed to use the help of indigenous medicine men called ‘pawang’ who have specialised methods in catching dugongs (Jaaman 2000). Three pawang (each from Kudat, Sandakan and Semporna) who admitted to have been active dugong hunters until recent years, were interviewed. They claimed to read spells to locate and call the animals to the surface. Several recalled historical dugong hunting grounds, namely Rancha-Rancha and Kg. Pemukat in Labuan Island, Lung Bay and Malawali Island in Kudat, Kaniogan, Cape Semangat, and Nunuyan Island in Sandakan, and Tambisan, Timbun Mata, and Gaya Islands and Tungku in Tawau Division. The pawang from Semporna also claimed that before 1980s, he used to make 10 hunting trips in a month with a catch of 1 - 5 dugongs per trip, but about half of the trips were without any catch. In Sandakan, older respondents reported that an average of one dugong a month had been caught in the area before 1955 (Jaaman et al. 2000b).

According to Jaaman and Lah-Anyi (2002), beside taken home for family consumption, meat of an incidentally caught or hunted dugong was sold to locals in certain areas, such as Kudat, Sandakan, and Semporna. A three- to five-inch piece or a kilogram of dugong meat is reported to fetch between RM5 and RM10, and a whole dugong can be sold for up to RM400, depending on its weight. A majority of the Bajau Laut respondents admitted that the number of dugong has dropped significantly over the years. Today, almost all catches are incidental, although sometimes they will not pass off any opportunity to catch a dugong. Nevertheless, they showed concern for the youngsters who never had the opportunity and chance to see the magnificent creature.

Dynamite fishing was likewise cited as a contributory factor to dugong mortality (Jaaman 2002). Many respondents expressed concern over the number of sustenance fishermen employing this illegal and destructive fishing method. In Kudat Division, the 2 groups of respondents admitted that in several occasions in the past, they have used homemade bomb (dynamite) as a substitute to harpoon to catch dugongs.

In Sarawak, locals before 1980s hunted dugongs in Limbang, Lawas, and probably Sematan areas (Jaaman et al. 2000a).

Local Uses
Jaaman and Lah-Anyi (2002) have discussed in details of local beliefs and attitudes towards dugongs and dolphins in East Malaysia. The majority of the Bajau Laut respondents in Sabah reported that landed dugong is primarily slaughtered for their meat. Those who have tasted dugong meat attest that it is tastier than beef. The meat is usually shared among the villagers. Historically, cooked or grilled dugong meat was a must in Bajau Laut’s important celebrations, such as a wedding. In Kudat, Sandakan and Semporna, there were also reports that dugong meat is sold secretly, either in the fish market or in the village. According to Jaaman (2002), the meat is secretly sold because people are aware of the protected status of dugongs and stricter enforcement of laws by the authorities.

Aside from the economic importance of dugong meat, it is also a common belief among old respondents in Sabah and in Limbang Division, Sarawak, that certain parts of the dugong can be used for various purposes (Table 4). The belief of these parts held medicinal value lack any scientific basis.