Seagrass Feeding Dugong Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Dugongs are large marine mammals entirely dependent on seagrass meadows for food, making their welfare inseparable from seagrass ecosystem health.

Key Facts

Dugongs eat up to 40kg of seagrass daily — entirely dependent on meadow quality and availability
Their population has declined by 95% in Queensland waters over the last 100 years
Boat strikes, entanglement in shark nets, and seagrass loss are the primary threats
Dugongs are long-lived (up to 70 years) and slow-reproducing — populations recover slowly
Moreton Bay Research Station monitors the largest remaining Australian dugong population

Welfare Considerations

Dugong welfare is an ecosystem welfare story: an animal that can only eat one food type has welfare entirely determined by that food's availability. Seagrass loss from turbidity, coastal development, and climate-driven storm damage directly translates to dugong starvation and declining body condition. Individual dugongs in areas of seagrass degradation experience nutritional stress that reduces reproductive success and longevity. Protecting and restoring seagrass meadows is not merely a conservation act — it is a direct welfare intervention for every dugong that depends on them.

What You Can Do

Support World Wide Fund for Nature dugong and seagrass conservation programmes
Advocate for water quality improvements protecting coastal seagrass meadows
Donate to Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project research
Oppose coastal development that destroys seagrass meadow habitat
Support removal of shark nets in dugong range where alternative shark mitigation exists