Urgent government action is needed to protect the dugong from extinction, according to a national association of lawyers who presented a petition in Tokyo on Monday calling for immediate surveys of the animal, its habitat and conservation measures.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations called on the Environment Agency, the Fisheries Agency and the Okinawa Prefectural Government to step up efforts to protect the endangered mammal, whose northernmost habitat is Okinawa's main island.

The petition, which describes the government's attitude toward preserving the sea mammal as "very passive," calls for a detailed investigation into the dugong population and its ecosystem.

It also demands an assessment of the impact a proposed new airfield for the U.S. military off the east coast of Okinawa Island would have on the animal, as well as restrictions on fishing nets that sometimes drown dugong after they become entangled in them.

But the prognosis for action is not good, said Eiji Yamamoto vice-chairman of the JFBA's committee on pollution policy and environmental preservation, because sea creatures do not come under the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency, and the Fisheries Agency is dedicated to promoting fishing, not preservation.

Experts estimate that the Okinawa dugong population has dropped to below 50. The population of the sea-grass eating creature is estimated at 100,000 globally, with most of its number found off the coast of Australia. It inhabits the shallow coastal waters from Africa's east coast to Australia.