Heinsohn et al., 2004:

"Dugong hunting is culturally significant to both Torres Strait Islanders and Aborigines who catch the animals for meat and oil (Marsh, Gardner & Heinsohn, 1981; Smith & Marsh, 1990; Johannes & MacFarlane, 1991).

The Torres Strait, between Australia and Papua New Guinea, is the most important dugong habitat in the world (Marsh et al., 2002).

The authors assessed the sustainability of the Torres Strait dugong fishery in a population viability analysis (PVA) based on published data on surveys and hunting rates.  The PVA models predict severe and imminent reductions in dugong numbers and confirm the contention of Marsh et al. (1997, 2004) that dugongs in the Torres Strait are being harvested in an unsustainable manner.

The analysis suggests that even large reserves will have limited effect in protecting local populations if harvests are high in neighbouring areas.  The authors urge a target reduction of harvesting to no more than 100 dugongs per annum in the Torres Strait,  bearing in mind that even these rates of harvest entail a high risk of quasi-extinction if the dugongs breed at the slower rate used in the models. This is similar to the sustainable harvest estimated by Marsh et al. (2004) using the Potential Biological Removal technique (Wade,1998).

Until better data are available, the authors suggest that harvests at each of the Cape York communities be kept at less than 20 dugongs per year as recommended by Marsh (2003) for Hope Vale and prescribed in the ‘A Guugu Yimithirr Bama Wii – Girrbithi and Ngawiya – A Turtle and Dugong Hunting Management Plan’ (HVAC,1999)."

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Citation and/or URL

Heinsohn, R., Lacy, R.C., Lindenmayer, D.B., Marsh, H., Kwan, D. and Lawler, I.R. (2004). Unsustainable harvest of dugongs in Torres Strait and Cape York (Australia) waters: two case studies using population viability analysis. Animal Conservation 7, 417-425.  

Spatial Coverage

Cape York and Torres Strait 

Temporal Coverage

Not applicable

Update Frequency

Not applicable 

Other Information

Marsh, H., Lawler, I.R., Kwan, D., Delean, S. Pollock, K. and Alldredge, M., 2004,. Aerial surveys and the potential biological removal technique indicate that the Torres Strait dugong fishery is unsustainable. Animal Conservation 7, 435-443.