Vanuatu dugong encounter guide
Stay calm. Give it room to breathe. Let the dugong decide whether there is an encounter at all.
Vanuatu rules first; current international guidance added. This is a plain-English summary of the Vanuatu Environmental Science Society guidelines, its tourism-operator code and the later 2024 CMS international guidance. It is not a claim of VESS or CMS endorsement.
Sources checked 5 August 2026. Current Vanuatu law, written permit conditions and a trained local guide's directions take priority. Where guidance overlaps, use the more protective rule.
If a dugong appears now
They protect the dugong while you work out which detailed rule applies to your activity.
Do not deliberately swim, paddle or drive closer. Hold position or manoeuvre only as safety requires, then let the animal choose.
Move slowly, minimise splashing and noise, and avoid sudden direction changes.
Never place a swimmer, diver or craft between a dugong and the air it needs to breathe.
Never pass between a mother and calf. Their special separation distances are larger.
Never touch, feed, ride, chase, corner, prod or hold a dugong - even if it approaches.
If it repeatedly swims away, stop the encounter and restore the VESS retreat distance.
The dugong controls the encounter. A close pass initiated by the animal is not permission to follow it, touch it or prevent it leaving.
Distances at a glance
VESS provides the local operational distances below. The later 2024 CMS guidance adds a general sirenian minimum of one body length or 3 m, whichever is greater, and recommends that any authorised in-water interaction be surface-only. These are protective boundaries, never targets for getting closer.
Important: These numbers are conservation guidance, not permission to approach; written permit conditions may make them stricter or legally binding. “Five people within 10 metres” is a crowd limit, not an invitation to swim closer. If the animal approaches, avoid contact and restore the more protective applicable distance.
| Situation | Distance or limit | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| General in-water spacing | One body length or 3 m, whichever is greater | CMS 2024 guidance for all sirenians. Do not swim closer; Vanuatu and permit conditions may be stricter. |
| Purposeful in-water interaction | Surface only; maximum 30 minutes | CMS recommends calm surface swimming or snorkelling only, no freediving or scuba, with a 30-minute ceiling per group per trip. |
| Swimmer or diver near the tail | At least 2 m | Stay clear of the powerful tail. |
| Swimmer or diver near mother and calf | At least 5 m | Move away to restore 5 m if either approaches. |
| People around one dugong | Maximum 5 within 10 m | On a guided tour, that means four guests plus one guide. |
| When five people are already close | Others stay at least 20 m away | Do not add another person to the close group. |
| Dugong repeatedly swims away from people | Retreat at least 50 m | End the in-water encounter and give it space. |
| Powered craft near any dugong | At least 10 m | Remain farther away when conditions require it. |
| Powered craft near mother and calf | At least 20 m | Never pass between them. |
| Powered craft within 100 m | No wake / maximum 5 knots | Also use this speed over seagrass where dugongs occur. |
| Powered craft within 50 m | Engine in neutral | Do not re-engage until the known dugong and any others nearby are clear, unless remaining in neutral creates an immediate safety risk. |
| Three powered craft already within 50 m | Next craft stays at least 200 m away | Three is the maximum within the 50 m zone. |
| Dugong disturbed by powered craft | Retreat at least 100 m | The powered-vessel retreat is larger than the swimmer retreat. |
| Kayak, canoe, SUP or surfboard | At least 5 m | Approach from the side only if movement is necessary; travel parallel. |
| Three unpowered craft already within 10 m | Next craft stays at least 50 m away | Do not crowd the animal with more craft. |
| Drone above a dugong | At least 50 m high | This welfare minimum does not replace Vanuatu flight approval. |
Swimming, snorkelling and diving
VESS places swimmers, snorkellers and divers under the same local encounter rules. The later CMS guidance is more precautionary: any authorised, purposeful interaction with a sirenian should remain at the surface, with calm swimming or snorkelling only—not freediving or scuba.
Do not swim towards the animal. If it wants to investigate, it can choose to come closer.
Swim slowly and calmly. Reduce fin noise, surface splashing and excited group movement.
No more than five people may be within 10 m. If that zone is full, everyone else remains at least 20 m away.
Never be between the dugong and the surface. Never divide a mother and calf.
Stay at least 2 m from the tail and at least 5 m from a mother and calf.
If it repeatedly swims away, stop and move at least 50 m from the animal.
Motorboats and powered craft
Propellers, speed and poor positioning create the greatest immediate vessel risks. Look ahead over seagrass and treat every surfacing point as unpredictable.
Use the same slow speed over seagrass meadows where dugongs often occur.
Only move away after checking the known dugong and any others nearby are clear. If remaining in neutral creates an immediate risk to the boat or passengers, engage gear only with extreme care.
If a dugong comes closer, stay in neutral and wait for it to move away.
Keep the larger distance and never let the vessel divide the pair.
Kayaks, canoes, SUPs and surfboards
Being unpowered removes propeller risk, but a dugong can still be crowded, separated from a calf or blocked from leaving.
Stay at least five metres from any dugong.
If you must move, use the animal's side rather than its front or rear.
No more than three unpowered craft within 10 m.
A fourth craft stays this far away; use the same retreat if the dugong is disturbed.
Mother and calf
Do not paddle between them, drift across their line or use multiple craft to contain them. If your group cannot preserve an open route, the encounter is over.
The diagram shows the relationship only; it is not a scale drawing or a substitute for the VESS distances.
Photography, video and drones
A photograph does not earn a closer approach, an extra person in the group or another pass by the boat.
A swimmer keeps the in-water limits; a boat keeps the vessel limits. Do not chase, crowd, touch or reposition the animal for a selfie or a cleaner frame.
Protecting the dugong and people comes before the perfect image.
Plain-English summary of the VESS principleVESS does not publish a separate flash, video-light or selfie-stick rule. The CMS 30-minute interaction ceiling still applies; photography never extends the encounter.
VESS says a drone should remain at least 50 m above a dugong. Stop immediately if the animal changes direction, dive pattern or behaviour. This minimum does not itself make a flight lawful.
Vanuatu requires drone registration and written approval before flight. Check the current process with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu and the Vanuatu Tourism Office; official tourism guidance advises allowing at least five business days. Foreign film and audio productions may also need a Vanuatu Cultural Centre production permit.
VESS states no special lateral distance or drone encounter-time limit. Separate aviation, cultural-site, landowner and permit conditions may be stricter.
For tourism operators
VESS asks operators to brief, supervise and actively enforce the guidelines - not simply show guests a poster after the event.
Maximum within 10 m of a dugong. The guide is the fifth person.
Display it or give it to customers before activities in dugong habitat.
Explain behaviour, distances, tail safety, mothers and calves, and the stop signal.
A trained guide should be present whenever tourists are in the water with a dugong under an authorised activity.
Use calm surface swimming or snorkelling only. Do not build a dugong encounter around freediving or scuba.
CMS sets a 30-minute ceiling per group per trip, no more than two consecutive attempts, at least 30 minutes between attempts, and at least one-third of the day and area free from interaction.
Manage the people waiting outside the close zone as carefully as those inside it.
Do not let expectations, schedules or camera pressure override the animal's response.
A commercial operation whose purpose is marine-mammal viewing or watching requires a Fisheries permit.
This page does not announce a permitted Abyss dugong tour. Dugongs are present in Havannah Harbour and a sighting is genuinely possible, but neither Abyss Vanuatu dive trip includes or guarantees an encounter. Any future purposeful product would need written Fisheries permission and a surface-based operating design consistent with the later CMS guidance.
Vanuatu law and permits
VESS provides Vanuatu-specific conservation guidance. CMS 2024 is later international best practice, not Vanuatu legislation or a local permit. Both sit alongside the Fisheries Act, customary access, local rules and any written permit conditions.
The Fisheries Act protects dugongs across Vanuatu waters. It prohibits killing, harming, harassing, taking or moving a marine mammal, and prohibits possessing it, holding it in captivity or restricting its movement.
The Director of Fisheries may issue a permit for a commercial operation whose purpose is viewing or watching marine mammals and may attach conditions to it.
A systematic dugong research or drone-survey programme should be cleared in writing with Fisheries under the non-lethal research provisions. Aviation or filming approval does not replace research permission.
Ask Vanuatu Fisheries whether the proposed activity falls within section 97, and obtain written approval before presenting it as a dugong-viewing product.
VESS says an accidental injury or death must be reported immediately to the Vanuatu Fisheries Department. A sick, injured or dead animal can also be reported to VESS. Use current official contact details rather than an old saved poster.
Why restraint matters
VESS explains that dugongs can remember unpleasant encounters and may avoid people or places afterwards. Disturbing a feeding animal can reduce the time it spends eating, with consequences for health and reproduction.
The habitat matters too. Slow down over seagrass, keep propellers clear and anchor away from meadows. Around Moso Island and Havannah Harbour, responsible behaviour protects both the animal and the food source it depends on.
Before you book
Use this checklist for any activity deliberately promoted around dugongs.
They provide a clear VESS-based briefing before anyone enters the water.
They can explain their Fisheries permission when marine-mammal watching is the purpose.
They use a trained in-water guide and cap the close group at four guests plus that guide.
Any purposeful in-water activity is surface-only: calm swimming or snorkelling, with no freediving or scuba pursuit.
They set a short interaction limit, protected rest periods and no-interaction space, then obey any stricter permit condition.
They manage speed, neutral zones, boat numbers and seagrass-safe anchoring.
They never guarantee a wild dugong, pressure it for photos or continue after avoidance.
They are willing to cancel the encounter when conditions, numbers or animal behaviour are wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions that most often cause confusion.
No. Stay where you are, move calmly and let the dugong decide whether it comes closer. Following an animal that is leaving turns an encounter into pursuit.
Do not swim towards a dugong. CMS 2024 gives a general sirenian minimum of one body length or 3 m, whichever is greater. VESS also requires at least 2 m from the tail, at least 5 m from a mother and calf, no more than five people within 10 m, and a 20 m stand-back when that close group is full.
Stay calm, do not touch it and preserve its open route to the surface. Move gently to restore one body length or 3 m, whichever is greater, or at least 5 m for a mother and calf. Its approach is not permission to follow when it leaves.
No more than five people within 10 m. On a guided tourism encounter, that means four tourists plus one trained guide. If five people are already there, others stay at least 20 m away.
Yes for a purposeful encounter. CMS 2024 recommends surface swimming or snorkelling only and says scuba interaction with sirenians should not be allowed. If a dugong appears incidentally during an ordinary dive, hold position, do not pursue it, keep its route to the surface open and follow your guide.
Use no-wake speed or no more than 5 knots within 100 m, put the engine in neutral within 50 m, and keep at least 10 m away—or 20 m from a mother and calf. Never drive over, chase or corner a dugong. If neutral creates an immediate safety risk, engage gear only with extreme care.
No. Photography provides no exemption from the swimmer, diver or vessel rule that already applies. The dugong's welfare and people's safety come before the image.
VESS says a drone should remain at least 50 m above a dugong. You must also complete the current Vanuatu drone registration and approval process; the 50 m welfare height is not flight permission.
Section 97 of the Fisheries Act provides for a permit when the purpose of a commercial operation is viewing or watching marine mammals. Operators should confirm the exact activity with Vanuatu Fisheries and comply with all permit and tourism conditions.
No. Dugongs are present in Havannah Harbour and a sighting is genuinely possible, but they are wild, mobile animals. Neither Abyss Vanuatu dive trip includes or guarantees an encounter.
Primary sources
This page paraphrases the sources for accessibility. Use the original documents when briefing staff, writing procedures, planning flights or applying for permission.
Dive Vanuatu
Warm water, island pace and a complete dive escape are reasons to travel. Dugongs are present in Havannah Harbour and a sighting is genuinely possible, but neither Abyss trip includes or guarantees an encounter.
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