Record of male Dugong (Dugong dugon, Müller, 1776) in East Halmahera North Maluku Indonesia

Muhammad Ichsan , Harimurti Asih Bimantara

Dugong (Dugong dugon Müller, 1776) of the Order Sirenia is the only species of marine mammal in the family Dugongidae that inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific (Nishiwaki and Marsh, 1985). Due to its slow life history and threats to its population, this species is listed as "Vulnerable" (VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Marsh and Sobtzick, 2019).
In Indonesia, scientific literature on dugong sightings and behaviour remains very limited, with only a few recorded sightings in North Maluku Province from Morotai, South Halmahera, and East Halmahera Regencies (Panyawai and Prathep, 2022).
We documented a dugong occurrence in Nyaolako Village, Central Wasile District, East Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, in September 2025. A single individual was swimming in a shallow coastal area (0-2 m depth) with dense seagrass coverage (Figure 1). From video documentation, the specimen was larger than 2.5 meters in total length (TL), indicating the individual was mature and had no visible scars or wounds. From Figure 2, the positions of the anus, genital slit and umbilicus confirmed that the individual is a male (Eros, 2007).
Dugong is fully protected by the Indonesian government (Ministry of Environment and Forestry Republic of Indonesia, 2018). This dugong has been a marine tourism attraction in East Halmahera for a few years, bringing income to the village. However, in the same regency, a pregnant dugong was recorded slaughtered in October 2011 (Nontji et al., 2012). Based on these historical circumstances, where dugongs in this region were utilised as food and a tourist attraction, the authors recommend improvements in surveillance, law enforcement, a stricter code of conduct for dugong interactions, and habitat protection in East Halmahera.