Indigenous Use and Trade of Dugong (Dugong dugon) in Sabah, Malaysia

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Hugo Rafael Ferna
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ndez and
Carlos Molineri
CONICET,
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales,
UNT, Miguel Lillo 205,
4000 S. M. de Tucuma
´
n, Argentina
Synopsis
Indigenous Use and Trade of Dugong (Dugong
dugon) in Sabah, Malaysia
INTRODUCTION
Dugongs (Dugongidae: Dugong dugon) are
represented by relic populations separated
by areas where they are close to extinction
if they not already extinct (1). However, in
1999, the dugong was determined to still
exist in Malaysian waters after a spate of
dugong deaths was reported in waters near
Johors, in peninsular Malaysia. This in-
cident focused attention on the status of
dugongs in Malaysia, which has led to
renewed interest in conducting research on
dugongs. In eastern Malaysia, dugongs
exist in small fragmented populations
along the coastal seagrass regions of
Sandakan District, Teluk Brunei, and
Kudat District in Sabah (2, 3). In the past
and, to some extent in the present, the
dugong has been exploited by people for
various uses. The remaining dugong pop-
ulations are decreasing in Sabah due to
various threats; namely, incidental catch-
ing and fish bombing, habitat loss as
a result of land reclamation, and pollution
from palm oil plantations and sedimenta-
tion (2–4). This report provides informa-
tion on the traditional uses and
anthropogenic threats to the remaining
dugong populations in Sabah.
STUDY SITE AND METHODS
Sabah is a state in Malaysia located on the
island of Borneo, which covers an area of
74 500 km
2
with a coastline of approxi-
mately 1440 km (5). Sabah borders the
South China Sea on its west coast and the
Sulu Sea on its northeast coast. The state
territorial waters extend to 12 nautical
miles, whereas Malaysia m aintains an
Economic Exclusive Zone of 200 nautical
miles (5).
Banggi Island and Kudat Town were
the sites selected for the study. The senior
author conducts an ongoing dugong and
seagrass project on Banggi Island.
Interview Surveys and Monitoring
Program
Interview surveys and a dugong monitor-
ing program were used to obtain informa-
tion on dugong hunting, indigenous use,
and trade of dugongs. To facilitate the
study, in-depth focus group interview
surveys and individual interview surveys
were carried out in 2002 on Banggi Island
and Kudat Town to discuss topics related
to dugongs and threats to dugongs. Focus
groups are a form of group interview that
capitalizes on communication between re-
search participants to generate informa-
tion. This means t hat instead of the
researcher asking each person to respond
to a question in turn, focus group partic-
ipants are encouraged to talk to each other
by asking questions, exchanging anec-
dotes, and commenting on each others’
experiences and points of view (6). The
researchers interviewed a total of 23
groups of two to seven fishermen from
12 villages (kampong, or Kg.): Kg. Lumais,
Kg. Log Tohog, Kg. Kobong, Kg. Sing-
gahmata, Kg. Meliangin, Kg. Perpaduan,
Kg. Karakit, Kg. Kaligau, Kg. Indalupi,
Kg. Timbang Dayang, and Kg. Garib on
southern Banggi Island. Sometimes in-
dividual interview surveys were carried
out when group interviews could not be
arranged. The interviews were informal
and semistructured. Where it was possible
to do so, the interviews were audio-
recorded, after which the interviews were
transcribed. The recorded and transcribed
data were then qualitatively analyzed to
develop major themes such as dugong
hunting, threats to dugong, and traditional
use of dugong. Interview surveys in Banggi
also showed that dugong trade may be
occurring between Banggi and Kudat
Town. This subsequently led to further
interviews in January 2003 in Kudat Town
with traders representing Chinese tradi-
tional medicinal shops, antique shops, and
local markets. In Kudat Town, sometimes
the researchers followed no specific in-
terview format when shopkeepers and
vendors from local markets were inter-
viewed.
The senior author initiated a program
of monitoring dugong on Banggi Island by
adopting simplified methods of those
conducted by Marsh et al. in 1997 (7). In
all cases the community was willing to
participate and the monitoring program
lasted for 2 years. The task was designed
to be simple because some members of the
266 Ambio Vol. 35, No. 5, August 2006Ó Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2006
http://www.ambio.kva.se

community were illiterate; it involved the
use of a simple map of Banggi to inquire
whether any incidences of dugong hunting
and incidental catch had occurred. A
representative member of the village was
chosen to keep the map of Banggi, and key
informants would update him with in-
formation.
Dugong Hunting
In the Banggi and Kudat areas there is
significant evidence to believe that du-
gongs are eaten opportunistically when
they are incidentally caught in fishing nets
or during fish bombing. Dugongs are
usually caught in prawn nets (pukat
udang), fishing traps (kelong), and gill nets
(pukat rantau, pukat tenggelam, and pukat
tangsi). Illegal fish bombing is still prev-
alent in parts of Sabah, and appears to be
a major cause of dugong mortality.
Dugongs may sometimes be in the vicinity
when fishermen throw bombs to kill fish,
and once fishermen are aware that du-
gongs are in the vicinity they may throw
two to three bombs in the water to kill
dugongs. When dugongs are caught, they
are either consumed locally or sold to
merchants on other islands near Banggi or
in the Philippines, where dugong is con-
sidered a delicacy, particularly for special
occasions such as wedding feasts.
Informants from the monitoring pro-
gram reported two cases of dugong
hunting in 2002. The animals were caught
during an illegal fish bombing exercise. In
both incidents the entire dugong was sold
on Mangsee Island in the Philippines, and
on Sibogo Island (Banggi). The dugong at
Sibogo was sold at a price of US$105.00.
All parts of the animal were used, in-
cluding the intestines and organs. The
senior author was also offered dried meat
on Banggi Island at no cost from a local
woman who claimed to be the wife of
a fisherman who worked on a Chinese
fishing trawler. The dugong was said to
have been incidentally caught in a net used
by a fishing trawler from Kudat. Whether
the meat was that of dugong was not
verified.
The authors learned that in the 1980s
and 1990s dugong meat was often sold in
the Kudat fish market. Dugong meat is
favored by Chinese inhabitants of Kudat
District, likening the dugong to that of
a sea pig. However, greater awareness of
the penalties associated with dugong hunt-
ing and that dugong numbers are de-
creasing, means that the meat is now sold
discreetly and only on rare occasions.
Indigenous Use of Dugong Products
Traditionally, the local Ubian and Bajau
communities have used dugong parts in
the treatment of various ailments. The
tusks and bones of the dugong are
reported to be used for the treatment of
asthma, back pain, and shock. The shav-
ings of dugong tusks are mixed with
lukewarm water to form a concoction that
a person drinks. The dugong tusks are also
said to be used as an aphrodisiac in the
same way as the well-known herbal root
Tongkat Ali is used. Dugong tusks are also
known to be used as amulets to ward off
wild boars from agriculture plots, being
placed in the farthest corners of the plot to
keep the wild pigs away.
The Chinese from Kudat also use the
tusks and bones of dugongs for purposes
not completely known to the authors.
Accounts by villagers indicate that the
bones are used for medicinal purposes. In
September 2002, one male dugong was
reported washed up on shore and stranded
at Tanjung Periok on Balambangan Is-
land. The local people took its tusks and
sold it to Chinese traders from Kudat, and
then buried the dugong. The body of the
dugong could not be found. It was unclear
for what purpose the tusks were used. The
Chinese in Kudat have been known to
fashion dugong tusks into pipes for
smoking, claiming that the fumes emitted
during smoking have medicinal and ther-
apeutic values. However, this practi ce
seems to be outdated and was more
common among the older generations of
Chinese who lived in Kudat.
The dugong’s tears are also reputed to
be used as a love potion, especially when
a man or woman wants to win the heart of
a beloved. A medicine man (locally known
as pawang) from the village of Singgahma-
ta located on Banggi Island related how he
used to obtain the tears. Apparently, when
a client approaches a pawang for a love
potion he will go to sea and use a fish net
to catch a dugong. When a dugong is
caught in the net it sheds tears, which the
pawang soaks up with cotton wool and
then stores them in a vial. (When a du-
gong’s eyes are exposed to air, the lacrimal
glands secrete tears.) After the tears have
been collected, the pawang must free the
dugong. The pawang reads a spell, but the
love potion will work only if the suitor is
sincerely interested in pursuing a serious
relationship with their beloved.
Trade in Kudat
There are conflicting reports of the use of
dugong tusks in traditional Chinese med-
icine in Kudat. Locals from Banggi had
claimed that the Chinese in Kudat used the
tusks for medicine. However, when shop-
keepers from Chinese traditional medicine
shops were consulted they stated that they
had not used dugong bones or tusks in
medicine, nor did they sell dugong parts,
nor did they recommend using dugong
parts. It could be possible that Chinese
traders bought dugong tusks out of
curiosity and used them for ornamental
purposes.
Antique shops and local markets in
Kudat still sell dugong bones and tusks,
albeit discreetly. When one antique dealer
was asked about dugong tusks he pro-
duced four tusks; two from the same
dugong and two from two different
dugongs. He was apparently given the
tusks 20 years ago. He commented that the
tusks were now rare and offered to sell
Figure 1. Location of study sites in Sabah, Malaysia.
Ambio Vol. 35, No. 5, August 2006 267Ó Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2006
http://www.ambio.kva.se

them to the senior author for a price of
US$26.30.
At Kudat market dugong bones, tusks,
and tears may still be sold for ornamental
and medicinal purposes. A street vendor
claimed that he knew of a dugong bone
and showed it to the senior author at the
next market day. He explained that he had
obtained it from a Dusun (an ethnic group
in Sabah) villager in Paitan (Sandakan) 1
to 2 y ago. The tusk had apparently been
leveled off using a pestle to grind off chips
to mix with water and milk. This concoc-
tion was subsequently fed to children who
had suffered from shock. Perfume is being
sold at the Kudat night market with claims
that it contains dugong tears. It remains
unclear whether the perfume actually
contains dugong tears.
Conservation Issues
There is significant evidence from this
study to believe dugong hunting and
dugong trade are still occurring on Banggi
Island with some demand for it in the
neighboring islands of Mangsee and
Sibogo, a nd in mainland Kudat. The
results of this survey confirm the previous
findings of Jaaman and Lah Anyi (2) who
also learned that dugongs have been
hunted tradition ally, especially in the
districts of Sandakan, Tawau, and Kudat.
Bajau Laut communities are especially
known to take part in dugong hunting.
Jaaman and Lah Anyi (2) described that
dugong hunters would leave at dawn in
quiet sailboats to search for dugong
feeding grounds and use harpoons to
spear the animals. The fishermen would
enlist the help of indigenous medicine men
(pawang) who would cast spells to locate
dugongs. Once the dugongs were caught
they would be t aken home for local
consumption or sold in Sandakan, Kudat,
and Semporna. Jaaman (2) also described
the various indigenous uses of the dugong
in medicine and in amulets to protect
farmers from evil spirits.
Dugong num bers are perceived as
continuing to decrease in Sabah. Dugongs
are k-selected species, which are charac-
terized by relatively large size, long life,
low rep roductive output, and require
a high degree of homeostatic control to
maintain a stable population (8). Popula-
tion simulations indicate that even with
the most optimistic combinations of life
history parameters (e.g. low natural mor-
tality and no human-induced mortality)
dugong populations are unlikely to in-
crease at more than 5 percent per year (9,
10). This means that dugongs are even
more vulnerable to anthropogenic pres-
sure. Therefore, it is imperative th at
serious approaches need to be taken to
ensure that dugong hunting and dugong
trade are discontinued. Trade movements
need to be monitored more carefully in
Banggi Island and Kudat, especially by
fishing trawlers, which use large trawl and
prawn nets that are capable of catching
large animals such as dugongs. It is
recommended that an on-board observer
program be initiated with fishing trawlers
and fishin g boats (kapal) to observe
whether dugongs and other marine ani-
mals are incidentally caught, and to pro-
vide information on the numbers, extent,
and frequency of dugong hunting. Further
interviews and investigations could be
conducted with the owners and workers
of fishing trawlers, local fishermen, and
the local Chinese community in Kudat to
confirm whether dugongs have been used
for consumption, medicinal purposes, or
ornamental purposes. Similarly, further
interview surveys could also be conducted
in Sandakan and Tawau to learn of
dugong hunting and its trade.
The dugong is already protected under
Malaysian law, and international, nation-
al, and state regulations are in place to
improve the status of the species. The
dugong has been classified as vulnerable
to extinction since 1996 (11). The dugong
is also listed in Appendix I of the
Conv ention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild
Fauna and Flora. In Sabah, the dugong
is protected under the Wildlife Conserva-
tion Enactment of 1997. Under Section 25
(1) of the Wildlife Conservation Enact-
ment dugongs are entirely protected ani-
mals under Part 1 of Schedule 1. A person
who is caught hunting dugong is subject
to a term of imprisonment for not less
than 6 mo but not exceeding 5 y. If an
animal is caught or taken unavoidably
during fishing, and if it is alive, it is to be
released immediately. If it is dead, the
catching and taking thereof is to be
reported to the authorities. The Wildlife
Conservation Enactment of 1997 takes
effect outside the boundaries of all Sabah
parks and the three islands of Labuan.
The three islands of Labuan are under the
jurisdiction of the Fisheries Act 1985. The
Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997
is applicable only in the state of Sabah.
Different enactments to protect the du-
gong are used in Sarawak (Wildlife Pro-
tection Ordinance 1998) and peninsular
Malaysia (Fisheries Act 1985).
Stringent efforts should be made to
educate, encourage, and equip the enforce-
ment authorities to discourage fishermen
from fish bombing. Incentives for alterna-
tive livelihoods that are suitable for local
fishing communities should be encour-
aged.
Finally, it is recommended that a com-
munity education program to assist local
fishermen and others on Banggi Island
and Kudat to increase awareness, and to
promote an understanding of the laws and
penalties involved in illegal dugong trade.
The community also needs an explanation
of the importance of adhering to the laws
and the indirect benefit of protecting
endangered species such as the dugong.
This program could also extend to other
endangered species in Sabah.
References and Notes
1. Marsh, H. 1993. The Status of the Dugong. Sirenews,
Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Sirenia Specialist Group.
20, 14.
2. Jaaman, S.A. and Lah Anyi, Y.U. 2003. Dugongs in
east Malaysian waters (Dugong Dugon Muller, 1776).
ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental
Conservation (ARBEC), (http://www.arbec.com.my/
dugongs).
3. Rajamani, L. 2004. The Last of the Sirenians: The
Status of Dugongs and their seagrass habitats in Sabah,
Malaysia. Final report submitted to WWF-Malaysia
under the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME)
Conservation Program, 75 pp.
4. Marsh, H., Penrose, H., Eros, C., Hugues, J. 2002.
Dugong Status Reports and Action Plans for Countries
and Territories. UNEP Early Warning and Assessment
Report Series. The World Conservation Union, Gland,
Switzerland.
5. Sabah ICZM Spatial Plan. 1999. The ICZM Spatial
Work Plan Group. Sabah ICZM Task Force. Town and
Regional Planning Department, Sabah, Malaysia.
6. Kitzinger, J. 1994. The methodology of focus groups:
the importance of interaction between research partic-
ipants. Sociol. Health Illness 16, (1), 103–121.
7. Marsh, H., Harris, A.N.M., Lawler, I.R. 1997. The
sustainability of the indigenous dugong fishe ry in
Torres Strait, Australia/Papua New Guinea. Conserv.
Biol. 11, 1375–1386.
8. Begon, M., Harper, J.L., Townsend, C.R. 1990.
Ecology (2nd ed.). Blackwell Scientific Publications,
Boston.
9. Marsh, H. 1995. The life history, pattern of breeding
and population dynamics of the dugong. In: Population
Biology of the Florida Manatee. O’Shea, T.J., Acker-
mann, B.B., Percival, H.F., (eds.). US Department of
the Interior, National Biological Service, Information
and Technology Report No. 1, 75–83.
10. Marsh, H. 1999. Reproduction in Sirenians. In: Re-
production in Marine Mammals. Boyd, I.L., Lockyer,
C., Marsh, H.D., (eds.). In: Marine Mammals. Rey-
nolds, J.E., Twiss, J.R., (eds.). Smithsonian Institution
Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 243–256.
11. IUCN. 2003. IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Gland,
Switzerland.
12. We thank the Dugong Seagrass and Fisheries Integrated
Management project (IRPA 08-10–0017 [95124]) and
the SSME—Mobilize Conservation at an Eco-egional
scale (MYS 486/02) for providing the funding for our
interview surveys in Banggi Island, Kudat District, and
in Kota Kinabalu. We also thank the Department of
Wildlife Sabah, and especially Mr. Edward Tangon, for
their assistance in our project. Thanks also to the
numerous anonymous informants in Banggi Island and
Kudat Town.
Leela Rajamani
Borneo Marine Research Institute,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked
Bag 2073, Sabah 88999 Kota
Kinabalu, Malaysia.
leelarajamani@myjaring.net
Dr. Annabel S. Cabanban
Sulu-Sulawesi: Marine Ecoregion
Manager, WWF-Malaysia,
Suite 1-6-W11, 6th Floor, Jalan
Centre Point, 88000 Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah, Malaysia.
ridzwan@ums.edu.my
Dr. Ridzwan Abdul Rahman
Borneo Marine Research Institute,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked
Bag 2073, 88999 Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
ridzwan@ums.edu.my
268 Ambio Vol. 35, No. 5, August 2006Ó Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2006
http://www.ambio.kva.se