Dugongs are faring better than feared in the Andaman Sea

Bangkok Post 25 Jan 10;

TRANG : The population of rare dugongs (sea cows) living in Trang waters has slightly dropped by 5-10 sea animals from last year, the latest aerial survey has found.

The population of rare dugongs, plural correct known as sea cows, in Trang waters has dropped slightly by between five and 10 from last year, allaying fears of a serious decline, a survey has revealed.
A team of Thai and foreign marine biologists conducted an aerial survey of the animals' population in the Andaman Sea near Libong and Muk islands. About 120 to 130 dugongs have been sighted were spotted during the 10-day survey, said marine biologist Kanchana Adulyanukosol of the Institute for Research and Development of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket.

Chek Jawa (16 Jan)

Happy New Year from TeamSeagrass as we start our first monitoring session at Chek Jawa for 2010!
It was really nice to see some familiar faces back with us after a long absence. And we also welcomed some new members on the Team!

Dugong blimp cam survey at Sungai Pulai

Sit on the boat below the great balloon.
Observe the CCTV screen.
Record data when a dugong appears.

This is what you need to do to help out in the Dugong Blimp Cam Survey at Sungai Pulai Johor running 23 Jan - 1 Feb.

TeamSeagrass featured in My Green Space

The latest issue of My Green Space by NParks has a feature about TeamSeagrass!
Wei Ling and Siti have contributed an article entitled Seagrass: Dugong Food for Thought which shares fascinating facts about our seagrasses. For example, we have 12 species of seagrasses. That's a good portion of the 23 species found in the Indo-Pacific Region!

TeamSeagrass effort on Cyrene Reef featured in Nature Watch

Our seagrasses and TeamSeagrass is featured in an article on Cyrene Reef in Nature Watch, the magazine of the Nature Society (Singapore).