As such, they are susceptible to over-exploitation. Their vulnerability increased by the dependence on a specialised environment, the sea grass habitat. Dugong distribution is mainly confined to sea grass beds, which occur in calm and shallow coastal areas, such as embayment and lagoons. There is an increasing demand to use coastal zone for residential, recreational, and agricultural purposes. These activities will make the coastal zone more susceptible to the pollution, which cause the destruction and degradation of the sea grass beds.
Pollution can also affect dugong physiologically through the bio accumulation of toxic compounds.
The authority that manages the dugongs' population has limited capacity to control pollution because of their jurisdiction is confined to areas in the sea and most of the pollution sources are land based, which is outside their jurisdiction. Although present-day ATSI communities are not dependent upon the harvesting of dugongs, these animals are highly prized as traditional food items. Since there is no regulation to restrict the use of modern equipment, efficient hunting is possible. With the trend of ATSI people to return to their homelands, more of the coastlines may be hunted along the traditional lines. The range of dugongs distribution is huge and scattered, making the population census difficult and costly.