Common Names: Duyongin,  Baboy-dagat (Tagalog regions), Dugong
Discoverer:  Muller, 1776
Category: VULNERABLE
Status: Resident. Population in the Philippines is undergoing local movement only. Population probably shared in the south with the Island of Borneo.
Habitat/Distribution: According to Marsh and Lefebvre (1994), over much of the dugong's range, it is now represented by relic populations separated by large areas where it is close to extinction if not already extinct. Widely distributed in the coastal and island waters of the Indian and Pacific region. Limited to a latitudinal range between 27o north and 27o south (Marsh and Lefebvre, 1994) and a longitudinal range between 170o east in the New Hebrides and 30o east at the head of the Gulf of Suez (Bertram, 1981). As of 1997, they have been seen and confirmed only from the Palawan Province, Romblon Island, Guimaras Island, and Pujada Bay in Davao Oriental (with only one specimen from the last three areas). Viable populations may still be present in the eastern Luzon coast (Isabela to Quezon) and southern Mindanao to the Tawi-Tawi Islands. They are probably extinct and extremely rare in the western coast of Luzon, northern Mindanao, and the Visayas (Kataoka et al., 1995 and Pawikan Conservation Project Reports). There are indications that dugongs were still present in most regions of the Philippines until the late 1970s. Most information are only anecdotal reports from fishing communities.
Historical Accounts:  Dugongs were commonly found throughout the Philippine Archipelago as early as 1990 by Bautista.
Threats:  Hunting, and accidental capture using fishing nets.
Reproduction Information: Dugongs can live for about seventy years. They breed very slowly and females don't usually start having young until they are about ten to seventeen years old. Pregnancy lasts about thirteen months and dugongs only have one calf at a time. When a calf is born it swims to the surface for its first breath. It stays with its mother for eighteen months or more, suckling on the large teats situated at the base of each of her flippers. Female dugongs usually wait at least three years before they breed again. Most calves are born in the months from September to November, and reports indicate that calving occurs in specialised areas. These are often in shallow waters, away from seagrass beds.
Feeding/Diet:  Dugongs can consume more than 25 kg of seagrass in a day (Lanyon et al., 1989 and Heinsohn et al., 1977) spending most of its day feeding. Softer, younger, and smaller species of seagrasses, e.g., Halophila and Halodule which are low in fiber and high in available nitrogen are preferred to more robust species, e.g., Enhalus (Lanyon, 1993). Feeding trenches or trails are usually marked in seagrass beds where dugongs have fed. Seagrass of the families Potamogetonaceae and Hydro- cahritaceae (Husar, 1978) also algae and some macroinvertebrates.
Utilization: Dugongs have been slaughtered because they provide high quality meat which tastes like veal. The meat is usually sun dried or is cooked immediately. The meat is priced from PHP 10 to 30 per kilogram. Meat was previously sold openly until it became prohibited, but  obscure veding still persists.
Conservation Activities: Agencies involved in dugong research and conservation are the DENR ( Department of Environment and Natural Resources), University of the Philippines and the Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas (WWF-Philippines).
~Japanese scientists conducted surveys and capture operations in the country in the late '70s (Kamiya et al., 1979; Kataoka and Asano, 1980).
~Studies on dugongs in the country in the '80s include unpublished reports by Alcala (1986) and Aragones (1990).
~In 1985 , Toba Aquarium in collaboration with the Pawikan Conservation Project (PCP), Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted survey and capture operations in northern Palawan. Two dugongs captured from these activities are currently displayed and studied in the Aquarium in Toba City, Japan (Kataoka et al., 1995).
~Aerial surveys and interviews were conducted throughout Palawan which contributed significantly to the limited information available on dugongs (Trono, 1985). With the available data, the grievousness of the condition of the dugong population in the country was evident. And this is aggravated by the lack of more information and the continued exploitation of the animal.
~In 1991 , dugong conservation took a leap with the issuance of DENR Administrative Order No. 55, which made the dugong the first marine mammal protected in Philippine waters. As stipulated in this AO, any person who shall hunt, kill, wound, take away, possess, transport and/or disposes of a dugong, dead or alive, its meat or any of its by-products shall be punished by imprisonment from 6 months to 4 years or fined Php 500 to 5,000 or both.
~The order mandated the PCP to spearhead the implementation of a nationwide program to conserve dugongs. The PCP embarked on the following major activities: Research, Resource Management, and Information Education Campaigns (Palma and Yaptinchay, 1995). To date, information and education seminars have been conducted in the whole province of Palawan and some other regions, posters and primers have been produced and distributed (de Veyra, 1995), and surveys are carried out throughout the country. Rescues of live captured dugongs have been carried out with the successful release of at least 6 dugongs in Palawan back to the wild between 1992 and 1996 (Yaptinchay, 1995).
~Several fishermen were also fined for the slaughter of dugongs in Palawan. Most important, two bays in Palawan with high sighting and capture reports have been proposed as dugong sanctuaries.

Photograph Information: Courtesy of the GBRMPA