Report to government on actions necessary for dugong conservation in the Great Barrier Reef and Hervey Bay/ Great Sandy Strait

Abstract

[Extract] Surveys indicate that, while dugong populations appear to be stable in the Far Northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the populations have declined in the southern Great Barrier Reef and the adjacent Hervey Bay by over 50% in the period between 1986-87 and 1994. The maximum loss from unnatural causes that could be sustained by the dugong population in the southern GBR and still allow the population to recover could be as few as 3.3 dugongs per annum, and in Hervey Bay 1.6 dugongs per annum (H. Marsh, personal communication). The corresponding figure for the Far Northern Section of the Great Barrier Reef is between 105 and 162 dugongs per annum. Carcass reports during 1996 indicate that human related deaths are continuing at unsustainable levels in the southern Great Barrier Reef and Hervey Bay. The Great Barrier Reef Ministerial Council has directed the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to report on actions necessary for dugong conservation in the Great Barrier Reef and Hervey Bay/Great Sandy Strait.