The Last Dugongs of Mayotte, and the Volunteers Watching Over Them

Ceta'Maore was founded in October 2021 to study and protect marine mammals around Mayotte, where 27 species have been observed: 6 baleen whales, 20 toothed cetaceans and the dugong. Through its Wujua participatory monitoring programme, it has trained 126 volunteer sea observers to collect sightings and photo-identifications, and since 2025 it co-runs REMMAT, Mayotte's marine mammal and sea turtle stranding network, with Oulanga na Nyamba. In 2025 it teamed up with Les Naturalistes, which leads the national dugong action plan, to combine volunteer sea surveys with drone and seagrass monitoring; local press reported fewer than 10 dugongs remain in Mayotte. The association also launched the Ceta'Mallette school toolkit in January 2026 and a first Whale Festival in 2025.