Thursday, Apr 6th 2017 at 13:34
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KWS, Fisheries officials and locals at Mwaembe village in Kwale County looking at the rare fish
A carcass of the endangered dugong fish species has been trapped by a fishman’s net in Mwaembe village, Kwale, sparking excitement among locals and marine experts.
Marine scientists said the endangered fish species, which was caught on Tuesday, had not been sighted in Kenya’s coastal waters for years.
About 30 dugongs are believed to live in these waters but a recent census found none.
Dugongs, sea cows or Nguva in Kiswahili, are related to elephants. The fish breastfeeds its calf with its two tits.
A dugong is a large grey mammal measuring three metres and weighing 400kg with a whale-like tail that moves up and down. The fish is also known as marine cow as it feeds on sea grass.
Single calf
Dugongs give birth under water to a single calf at three to seven-year intervals and the calf stays with the mother drinking milk from her tits. Dugongs reach their adult size between four and 17 years.
Hassan Juma, the fisherman who netted the dead fish, said it got entangled in a fishing net that he had set the night before.
“We had gone to the sea to look for our net but on reaching there we realised that it had moved deeper and was heavier,” he said.
When he looked closely, he saw the animal, which he had never seen before and alerted elders who helped him to drag it offshore.
BakariHamis, the chairperson of Mwaembe Beach Management Unit, said locals wanted to eat the mammal, which is a protected fish species.
MchambiJuma, a Mwaembe village resident who demanded to be given a piece of the fish, said the last time the animal was sighted in the area was in 1975.
“Let them give us this fish, which is so sweet. Let them not make us cry. The last time we caught this kind of fish was in 1975. The fish is usually cooked with its own oil and it is better than any other food I have ever eaten,” he said.
Dr Judith Nyunja, head of research in the Kenya Wildlife Service Coast conservation area, said dugongs were rarely found in East Africa’s coastal line.
“Recently we did an aerial survey of the dugong along the coastline but we didn’t see any and therefore we are very fortunate to spot this one. It is however unfortunate that we have caught it dead but all in all we are happy that we have found it,” said Dr Nyunja.
She said the animal would be kept in a museum in Mombasa. According to the Wildlife Act, anyone found with the mammal should be fined Sh20 million or be imprisoned for life.
And as the animal was loaded onto a boat to start its journey to Shimoni and then Mombasa, Mwaembe residents were disappointed for being denied a chance to taste the fish, which one of the oldest residents termed the best food ever.
FREDY MATIBA 