Dugongs and Seagrass Decline: Welfare Impacts of Habitat Loss

Dugongs are gentle marine herbivores whose entire existence depends on seagrass meadows, making them acutely vulnerable to coastal development, water quality decline and climate-driven seagrass loss.

Key Facts

Dugongs are the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal, feeding almost exclusively on seagrass
They consume 25-40 kg of seagrass daily and must dive repeatedly across large areas to meet this need
Seagrass meadows have declined by 30% globally since the 1980s, driven by nutrient runoff, dredging and warming
Dugongs are listed as Vulnerable globally and Endangered in many regional populations
They have low reproductive rates — females produce one calf every 3-7 years
Boat strikes and net entanglement are major sources of direct mortality
Dugongs can live for 70 years but populations are very slow to recover from disturbances
The Great Barrier Reef dugong population has declined dramatically due to habitat degradation

Welfare Considerations

Seagrass loss forces dugongs to travel much greater distances to find adequate food, increasing energetic expenditure and reducing body condition. Malnourished animals have lower reproductive success and calves born to food-stressed mothers have reduced survival prospects. Entanglement in fishing gear causes panic, physical injury and drowning. Boat strikes cause traumatic wounds that are often fatal. Even surviving animals may carry propeller scars and boat-strike injuries that impair movement and feeding. Coastal noise and vessel traffic disrupt dugong communication and foraging behaviour, causing chronic stress.

What You Can Do

Support coastal restoration projects that restore seagrass meadows in dugong habitat
Choose seafood from fisheries with bycatch reduction measures for air-breathing megafauna
Reduce garden and agricultural fertiliser use to lower nutrient runoff into coastal waters
Advocate for vessel speed restrictions in known dugong habitat areas
Support marine protected areas that include dugong feeding grounds
Donate to organisations monitoring and protecting dugong populations in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific