WCC 2000 REC 072 - Activity Report

In March 2019, a female dugong was found dead on the west coast of Okinawa, Japan. The Ministry of the Environment has concluded that it was stabbed dead by a ray barb, presumably while bottom feeding. This dugong was the last known dugong in the waters of Okinawa, one of the Nansei Islands that occur in Japanese waters between Kyushu and Taiwan. The Save the Dugong Campaign Center, along with other NGOs in Okinawa, contacted international marine mammal experts to discuss the critical situation of the dugong in Okinawa. We then contacted the IUCN SSC Sirenia Special Group to take action.