Indigenous Use and Trade of Dugong (Dugong dugon) in Sabah, Malaysia

Indigenous use and trade of Dugong in Sabah, Malaysia are presented. Dugongs are represented by relic populations separated by areas where they are close to extinction if they not already extinct. Eastern Malaysia has led to renewed interest in conducting research on dugongs. In eastern Malaysia, dugongs exit in small fragmented populations along the coastal seagrass regions of Sandakan District, Teluk Brunei, and Kudat District in Sabah. The remaining dugong populations are decreasing in Sabah due to various threats; namely, incidental catching and fish bombing, habitat loss as a result of land reclamation, and pollution from palm oil plantations and sedimentation.