Mermaids? Oh, yes. The Okinawa Dugong were once believed to have been Mermaids or Sirens. That's why they are in the order Sirenia. But, if you look at the Okinawa Dugong, they are far from our images of Mermaids. The Okinawa Dugong looks more like a "sea-cow" as they commonly are called. Also, the name "dugong" is said to be derived from the word meaning "sea-pig" in Malayan-Javanese. In those days folks must have had an extraordinary imagination to described dugongs as Mermaids. Even Christopher Columbus first saw dugongs near the Hispaniola Island after his long voyage, he said that they were far less beautiful than he had imagined.
The Okinawa dugong has been listed by the government of Japan since 1972 as a Natural Monument under Japan’s Cultural Properties Protection Law. Since 1955, the dugong has been protected as a cultural monument by the autonomous Ryukyu Prefecture due to its status as a revered and sacred animal among native Okinawans. The Okinawa dugong is also listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
For Okinawans, the dugong compares only to the American bald eagle in terms of cultural and historical significance.
The Okinawa Dugong does not look like the beautiful mermaids as in legends, but they have lovely little eyes and charming protruding upper lip. Dugongs usually live in the tropic coastal waters where temperatures usually are around 18°C. They can be found in shallow coastal waters of Indian Ocean to West Pacific and its northeastern limit is around Okinawa or the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Marine biologists estimate that only 100,000 dugongs remain worldwide and about 50 of them live in the coastal waters of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. Dugongs are included in the IUCN Red List rated vulnerable.
Adult dugongs weigh more than 400kg and up to three meters in length. They live around 50 to 70 years and take 10 years to reach maturity. A female dugong takes a year to give birth to a single calf in three or five years cycles. They are relatively slow to reproduce. The Okinawa Dugong traditionally feed on only the sea grasses. The Okinawa Dugong eat 8 to 10% of their weight a day. The shallow sea around the Ryukyu Islands is abundant with their favorite seaweed. The size of the seaweed bed is about 1,329 hectare and feeding trenches of dugongs have been found in the sea of Ryukyu Islands.
Okinawa Dugong has lived in the seas around Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands for a long time. They have been hunted for its meat in the past. Now another threat is jeopardizing their lives. Okinawa Dugong have been victims of gill net fishing or defense net for sharks and found dead on the shore. Also, silt run off damages their favorite seaweed bed. The Seaweed beds are not only for dugongs but also plays a substantial role in the marine ecosystem. Seaweed bed subdues drift of the tide, and stabilizes the sediments that make sea water clean and clear. Furthermore, lots of other seaweeds, small fishes, and other marine life are closely bond with the seaweed beds. The most recent threat is the new civilian-military airport plan in Nago. The plan would destroy the seaweed beds and the delicate ecosystem of the shallow water surrounding Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands.
Despite the current situation, little is known about this harmless sea mammal. Further research is needed to determine its role in the marine ecosystem. Toba aquarium is the only known zoo keeping dugongs. Also, in some areas, aerial surveys and satellite telemetry are used study the Okinawa Dugong. The problem is not the only for dugongs, but the whole ecosystem of the earth. We don't want to let mermaids live only in the legends, do we?
This is a very hot topic here on okinawa and dates back to the early 90'sand is still making headlines in several newspapers today (Jan 2008). The locals are still winning the battle but I don't know how much longer they call continue pushing back at the Japanese Gov and US military. As the economy here continues to take a nose dive, at some point I am sure that subsidies from the Japanese Gov will become extremely hard to ignore.
A new U.S. heliport is to be built on top of a coral reef on the east coast of Okinawa, Japan in a town called Henoko which hosts Camp Schwab. Many folks believe this construction will destroy the feeding ground of the last few remaining Okinawa dugongs.
Local residents voted against the base in a referendum, but Japanese and U.S. authorities have paid scant attention to the vote.
The new air station would be built about two miles offshore on reclaimed land and the reef to replace the Marine Corps Air Station currently located at Futenma, in the middle of urban Ginowan in central Okinawa.
In 1996 the United States and Japan agreed to close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma once an alternative site is provided as part of a plan to reduce by 21 percent the land area occupied by U.S. bases on Okinawa, which cover one-fifth of the island.
The alternative site chosen was off Henoko village in rural northern Okinawa, on top of the coral reef. The new facility would be connected by a causeway with the Marines’ Camp Schwab.
Many locals and scientist believe that the 1.5 mile long airbase would permanently disrupt one of the most biologically diverse areas in the Pacific, inhabited by the Okinawa dugong. This marine mammal is genetically isolated yet related to the manatee. Also that area of the Henoko reef is inhabited by three species of sea turtles, nearly 400 types of coral and hundreds of fish species.
In a report compiled by the AP and Kyodo news agencies (Jan 2008), a U.S. Federal Judge in San Francisco sided with environmental groups and ordered the U.S. Defense Department to consider the environmental impact of the construction of a Marine Corps air Facility in the waters off Henoko on Okinawa. Specifically, the judge ruled that the construction of the facility must take into consideration the impact that construction would have on the endangered dugong. The dugong feed on the sea grasses in and around the waters of Okinawa and is considered a critically endangered species. They are also protected as a Japanese Monument on the Register of Cultural Properties. But there is much more to the saga of the dugong than meets the eye.
Get a great inside view at Keith's Blog
