Decline in dugong population prompts calls for action in Gulf of Carpentaria

In short:

The commercial fishing industry has rejected calls for further bans on gillnets after research found there has been a 50 per cent decline in dugong numbers in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Fishers and a regional council mayor have called for a clampdown on dugong poaching, which some believe is contributing to the population decline.

What's next?

The federal, Queensland and NT governments say they are working with researchers to fund possible solutions.

Fishing industry and Indigenous community leaders in Australia's north are calling for further investigation into why dugong numbers appear to have declined by 50 per cent in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and what can be done to stop it.

Researchers from James Cook and Charles Darwin universities working with Indigenous ranger groups revealed two weeks ago that aerial surveys they carried out found dugong numbers had dropped in the gulf, from 10,000 in 2007 to 5,000 in 2025.

The surveys showed there had been a large reduction in Queensland waters, while the NT population appeared stable.

The scientists said floods and storms smothering the seagrass meadows that dugongs depend on for food, entanglements in gillnets, boat strikes and marine debris could be causes for the population decline.

Industry rejects gillnetting criticism

Some of the Indigenous ranger groups involved in the research have called for gillnetting to be banned in the gulf, by expanding closures Queensland brought into five areas in 2024, and hastening the NT's upcoming total ban — currently due to come into effect by the end of 2027.

The call for further gillnet restrictions has angered some in the Queensland fishing industry, including Queensland Seafood Industry Association chief executive David Bobberman.

"We are not the cause of dugong populations reducing by 5,000, so stop blaming commercial fishermen and go out and look at all other reasons for decline, whether it be loss of seagrass, traditional hunting or boat strikes," he said.

"We need to have a clear rebuilding strategy for this species, and I don't understand why we can't get there with that, because without having a plan we're just boxing at shadows."

NT mackerel fisherman Tiger Davey said his business had stopped using gillnets in the gulf years ago, but that he doubted the practice was killing dugongs, saying he thought it was not the "core cause of the problem".

"We are seeing the phase-out of the gillnetting; the reality is, it's happening," he said.

But Roper Gulf Regional Council Mayor and Robinson River traditional owner Tony Jack said he wanted all gillnetting stopped now.

"I'd like to see it banned altogether. I reckon we'd be better off without it," he said.

Fishers question impacts of dugong hunting and poaching

Mr Bobbermen called for a "mature conversation" about Indigenous traditional hunting of dugongs, and, more urgently, illegal hunting for meat sales, as potential causes of the decline.

"We have to be very open that, while traditional hunting for dugong is permitted under the Native Title Act — and we, as an industry, totally support that — the commercialisation of the sale of dugong meat is something that needs to be stopped," he said.

"The elephant in the room here is the illegal, non-native title hunting of dugong that is occurring."

However, Mr Jack said the remote gulf communities he had travelled around since news of the decline broke had been shocked, saying: 'They're all asking the question, 'Why?'"

He said he did not believe traditional hunting was having an impact on declining dugong numbers.

"I take onboard what the fishing industry is saying, but it's a really big cultural animal that everybody is connected to for songlines, ceremony, and for food for special occasions," he said.

"You can't just go out hunting and just wipe them out — so we pull up and do it in season, we manage it and keep it in line."

Mayor of the Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council on Cape York, Ronaldo Guivarra, also said he did not believe traditional hunting was reducing dugong numbers.

"When we hunt for a dugong, it's for a special ceremony, it's not a matter of one dugong per family, so we don't believe that local hunting is the cause of the decline," he said.

"I believe that it's climate change and we are seeing the pollution impact the seagrass areas."

But Mr Guivarra said he thought poaching was a problem.

"I believe that happens in communities," he said.

"We have stringent rules, so there should be some sort of consequence for selling dugong meat."

The Queensland environment department said it had received "no reports about the illegal selling or killing of dugongs in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the past 12 months".

The NT Police Force said it had no active investigations into the illegal trade of dugong meat.

Calls for seagrass and climate impacts investigation

Both the fishing industry and Indigenous leaders are calling for more government-funded investigation into how the loss of seagrass and other environmental impacts have affected dugongs, and potential solutions.

"We have been saying for quite some time that the seagrass and the habitat is changing and we need to do something about it," Mr Bobbermen said.

"Loss of seagrass and mangroves is of concern for our industry because we then don't have the area for juveniles to grow, for larvae to be dispersed.

"Whether that is because of global warming, urban development or the use of herbicides going into the ocean, we don't know, but all we can do is report it to the bureaucracy, then [it is] up to those people to find out why that has occurred."

Mr Davey said his family had seen big changes in seagrass coverage over more than three decades.

"We need more data on what's happening up here, and the only way to get that is to have more funding to do more research," he said.

"We're going to need and rely heavily on government funding. We can all do this together to find out what the issue is and to find a solution."

Mr Jack said the communities he represents also wanted governments to fund more research, limit mining impacts and do more to tackle climate change.

"The governments need to wake up now … they need to listen to this now, the traditional owners and the rangers on the ground, and then all the science that we are doing with the universities," he said.

"There are signs there that the environment is telling us … it's showing us that we have a problem now with the decline of dugong numbers.

"So I would encourage any funding available that government can put out, so that we can monitor going forward."

Governments 'committed to protection'

In a statement, Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the state government was "committed to protecting dugongs and the habitats they rely on".

"We continue to support dugong conservation through habitat protection, monitoring and research, with grant funding available to help universities, Indigenous ranger groups and other organisations deliver threatened species research and recovery projects," he said.

The NT's environment, fisheries and tourism departments provided a joint statement, in which they said they had carried out not-yet-published research in 2015 and 2019 showing dugong numbers remain stable in Territory waters.

But they noted "rangers and traditional owners have also reported unusual numbers of dead dugongs washing up".

The departments said the NT government would work with the university researchers to "to get a better understanding of any recent changes in the NT dugong population".

They also said the government would soon extend the Limmen Bight Marine Park, which "will protect one of the largest and most diverse seagrass systems in the region, critical to dugong survival".

The federal government said in a statement it was "committed to the conservation of dugongs and their habitats, including through support for dugong research".

"Over the last four years, the government has provided over $5.25 million for projects supporting dugong conservation, research and monitoring, and related seagrass habitat across the species range in northern Australia, from Moreton Bay to Shark Bay," the statement said.

"The Albanese Government remains committed to action on climate change and our net-zero targets."