Pinoy Fisherman Save Beached Dugong in Puerto Princessa

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Two brave fishermen started the year in the most extraordinary of ways - by saving the life of a trapped dugong.

Henry Barlas, a fisherman from the coastal barangay of Maruyogon in Puerto Princesa, noticed something unusual as he gazed at the shallow lagoon fronting his home. Less than ten meters from shore, a 2.6 meter long dugong lay trapped and weakened by the tide - clearly fighting for life. It was a Thursday afternoon, the end of the first day of 2009.

Without hesitation he called upon colleague Paquito Abia, and with the aid of volunteers pushed the refrigerator-sized animal to safety. Since the creature was too weak to fight the ebb tide - the recession of sea levels caused by the gravitational pull of both the moon and sun, both men fastened a rope around its midriff - if it was to survive the swells that constantly drove it ashore, the animal needed to recuperate in waist-high water. Dusk fell and everyone hoped for the best.

The chill of dawn awoke both fishermen. Barlas immediately notified both local officials and WWF-Philippines of the stranding before heading off to check on the dugong, now nicknamed ‘Enero’ after the first month of the year. When WWF assessed that the animal was fit enough for release, its ropes were untied and the animal was gradually coaxed out of the lagoon. Cheering onlookers flocked ashore to bid farewell to the wondrous creature brought in by the tide.

Not until the gentle creature was but a speck on the horizon did the two fishermen depart, broad smiles etched on their faces for having welcomed the year in the best way possible - to have given back to the sea.

Says WWF Project Manager Mavic Matillano, “The best part was that we barely needed to do anything. Both Henry and Paquito acted out of instinct and for this we are doubly proud. It seems that the long years of conducting dugong awareness campaigns have once again paid off.”

Trapped under similar conditions, another dugong was rescued by a 15-year old boy in 2007.

Adds resident WWF dugong expert Sheila Albasin, “Marine mammal strandings are uncommon occurrences but they do happen. Fortunately it seems the people know what to do when a stranding does take place. Though the original dugong project was based in Roxas, about 180km north of Puerto Princesa, it seems the lessons we imparted have travelled far and wide.”

The gentle dugong or sea cow inhabits shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, wherever seagrass is most abundant. It is the fourth member of the order Sirenia, alongside the three manatee species. A fifth, the gigantic 8-meter long steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was completely wiped out in 1768, just 30 years after being discovered.

Sizeable herds of dugong - the source of popular mermaid lore - once plied the Philippine archipelago until hunting and habitat degradation reduced overall numbers. Thriving populations are now protected in Isabela, Southern Mindanao and Palawan, keeping seagrass meadows cropped, healthy and productive.

Dugongs are thought to live up to 70 years, but give birth to a only single calf every three to five years. They are classified by the IUCN as vulnerable and are protected under DENR Administrative Order No. 55, Series of 1991. It is one of the flagship species that WWF protects in the Philippines.

In the last decade WWF helped establish a Roxas-based marine-mammal rescue network which has been monitoring strandings and spearheading rescues of dugongs accidentally entangled in fishing gear. Awareness drives to protect not just dugongs, but dolphins and whales, are still conducted regularly.

Through the combined efforts of WWF and the local government, residents of Philippine coasts are becoming more active in saving the Philippines’ endangered species, including Palawan's gentle dugongs.


source: WWF Philippines