A lady you rarely see

SANCTUARY: Locals want Mermaid islands be turned into marine park to protect the dwindling dugong population

This friendly dugong was spotted in Mantanani waters during a dive near Mantanani Besar on Oct 9, 2005. Sightings of these mammals in Sabah waters have become extremely rare. Picture courtesy of Mantanani Paradise.

 KOTA BELUD: MANY visitors willingly take a 50-minute boat ride to Mantanani Islands near here with the hope of catching a glimpse of the famous "lady of the sea".

The best time to see a dugong is between October and February, but with the population slowly on the brink of extinction, such sightings are becoming rare.

These endangered dugongs, dubbed "seacows", are semi-nomadic, travelling long distances in search of food and occasionally found grazing on sea grass near here, 80km north of Kota Kinabalu, at a cluster of islands also known as Mermaid islands.

Mantanani Paradise human resources manager Zamzani P. Amin said the last dugong sighting was last year when a juvenile was spotted feeding on the seabed located north side of the island near Mantanani Kecil. However, no proper recording was done.

"Mantanani is blessed with them, but not any more.

"The dugongs were hunted for their meat and oil, and the fish bombing frightened them away."

Mantanani Paradise, established in 2004, is the second operator to operate in the island that currently boasts more than 13 dive sites.

He said many divers especially from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the United Kingdom would come during the diving seasons with the hope of an encounter with the unique marine mammal.

A recent issue of AsianDiver magazine carrying a picture of a diver patting a dugong in Mantanani helped fuel their interest.

"We will tell visitors to pray for a sighting, as the waters around Borneo are known to support a small population especially here.

"But with the dwindling population, we tell them that they would have to be extremely lucky.

"There have been claims of sightings but there was no proof."

A monitoring programme conducted by Universiti Malaysia Sabah and James Cook University in Australia from September 2001 to July 2003 recorded 88 sightings of a single dugong in Sabah waters.

The study also suggested that at least five dugongs were resident or transient at the island within the three years.

He said the authorities should consider gazetting the islands as a marine park to protect the dugong population.

"A female dugong gives birth to only one calf every three to seven years and the pregnancy lasts for 12 to 14 months.

"The creation of a marine park will be good for both humans and the marine population.

"Since the island relies on tourism, the protection of the marine life including the dugongs will boost the industry.

"The islanders should be taught to understand the importance of preserving the marine life as its depletion will drive the tourists away," he said.

Mantanani Islands comprising Mantanani Besar which is populated, Mantanani Kecil and Lungisan, is famed for dive spots.

"The recommended diving season is from January to October.

"For the dugong season, researchers find that dugongs often keep close to shore during the northeast monsoon (October to February) when the sea is relatively rough," he said.

News Straits Times

By AVILA GERALDINE | avila@nst.com.my

23 March, 2012