The call for the protected areas come after an injured dugong was found on a beach at Phi Phi Island last night and died today whilst being cared for at the PMBC this morning (June 19).
The dugong, which was two metres long and weighed more than 40 kilograms, was found by residents on a beach at Phi Phi Island in Krabi by local residents who said that it has a large wound on its tail.
Officials from the PMBC were called to the area where they administered antibiotics and a saline drip before bring it back to the PMBC where this morning it was pronounced dead.
Director of PMBC, Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, said “We tried to help the dugong as much as we could, but we were unsuccessful.
“We believed the dugong had been cut by something sharp, perhaps a boat engine propeller something similar,” he said.
“It had been sick for a while and became so weak it was unavailable to swim. It was brought to the beach by a wave.
“We will now conduct an autopsy to see if its organs were infected and to find the cause of death.
“There are a large number of dugongs dying and there numbers are decreasing. Most of those dead have been killed by propellers and fishing nets.
“It is now time for us to set up dugong protection areas starting in Trang province. We have asked fishermen for cooperation,” he added.