The National Policy and Planning Committee on Marine and Coastal Resources Management met on Monday to discuss the dugong crisis after an alarming increase in the dugong death rate over the past month.
Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong led the panel, with relevant agencies, including the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, joining the discussion.
The committee’s most urgent items included accelerating surveys of dugong populations and seagrass sites along the Andaman coast and assessing how seagrass deterioration impacts the ecosystem.
According to recent reports, ten dugongs were found dead in Thailand from Oct 1 to Nov 5 — three each in Satun, Phuket, and Trang, and another in Krabi provinces.
Malnutrition, starvation and being entangled in fishing nets were reported as their cause of death, reflecting the animal’s struggle to find food and adapt to the biodiversity in the Andaman Sea, said marine experts.
Mr Prasert said that the number of dugongs in Thailand has decreased from 280 last year to 267 this year.
According to department chief Pinsak Surasawadi, 24,149 rai of seagrass beds along the lower Andaman coasts in Krabi, Trang and Satun provinces are becoming depleted. The area is the main habitat for domestic dugong and also the animal’s most abundant food source.
The situation has led to dugong migration to Phuket and Phangnga as they search for new food sources.
According to Mr Prasert, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Chaloemchai Sri-on had ordered the department to set up a dugong protection plan.
The department then developed a proactive solution including training courses on basic dugong rescue for villagers and local agencies and providing equipment for rescue operations in the areas where the animals live and were found stranded.
The department also used an oceanographic model to locate the area where dugongs died to set up recovery ponds to prevent more species loss, said Mr Prasert.
The department also devised the idea of feeding dugongs with vegetables that have similar chemical compounds to seagrasses, such as morning glory and some seaweed species, as a substitute during the food crisis.
Its pilot project on Phuket’s Rawai Beach saw the dugongs eat all the vegetables placed on the seagrass bed.
Despite the successful feeding experiment, Mr Pinsak said the vegetables are considered supplements, highlighting the necessity of seagrass recovery.