Beheaded dugong found tied to seabed rocks off Yao Noi

Police have launched a hunt for those responsible for the beheading of an adult dugong, the remains of which were found tied to an undersea rock formation off Yao Noi Island in the southern province of Phang Nga.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the dead dugong measured 2.2 metres in length and weighed 120kg.

The mammal’s body was covered with barnacles, bore cut wounds, and its tail had been bound with a rope to undersea rocks.

Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, said yesterday that the dugong’s carcass has been retrieved and sent to a research centre in Phuket for close examination. He added that a complaint has been filed with Ko Yao district police.

So far this year, two dugongs have washed ashore, one of which was found headless and the other had its tusks removed.

Since 2023, a total of 112 dugongs have washed ashore along the western coast of the Andaman Sea, with eight found to have had their tusks removed or to have been beheaded.

Pinsak said that the department has launched an educational campaign to address the misconception, held by many fishermen, that dugong tusks have significant cultural, medicinal, or even mystical value.