In a rare sighting, a mother and baby dugong were seen swimming together in Phuket's Pa Khlok Bay, further encouraging the Department of National Parks and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in their efforts to protect these marine mammals and restore their seagrass habitats.
Department of National Parks Director-General Atthaphon Charoenchansa and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Director-General Pinsak Suraswadi visited the site today, to assess the situation and watch the installation of buoys, designed to slow boats down in the protected dugong and seagrass area of Bang Khwan Bay, near the Sarasin Bridge.
This action is aimed at preventing harm to dugongs that have migrated there to feed on the rich seagrass.
After using drones for surveillance, the team discovered around seven dugongs in the area, including the mother and baby. A large male dugong was also spotted grazing on seagrass near Rawai Pier.
Atthaphon expressed concern over the significant shrinkage of seagrass meadows in Trang province, where more than 50% of the area, previously lush and abundant, has been lost. To address this, discussions have begun with relevant agencies to establish dugong initial care enclosures at Rawai and Bang Khwan beaches.
This initiative will eventually be extended to include other areas, especially around Phang Nga Bay, where dugong migrations have been noted.
Meanwhile, officials have been alerted to the death of a dugong in the Ban Bang Rong area, in Phuket’s Thalang District. This is the fourth dugong death reported in Phuket in the past few months. The carcass cannot, however, be found, despite extensive searches using drones.
