Pursuit times ranged from 2.5 to 10 min, which followed the usual protocol of no pursuit extending past 10 min (Lanyon et al., 2006b). In-water sampling times ranged from 3.3 to 9.3 min; this included taking measurements, tagging, and some biopsy in addition to manoeuvring the animal into the stretcher. The duration of the stretcher transport phase (3.5 to 32.6 min) was dependent on the distance of the capture location to RV Sea World One. This large vessel drew ~2 m water, so it was positioned in deep waters just off the edge of the shallow seagrass banks as close as possible to the capture site. All dugongs, except ID 08687, were orientated in the stretcher tail-first. This was the preferred position because the animal’s breathing was unaffected by oncoming waves as the transport boats moved forward. When positioned head-first, transport was necessarily slower to avoid wash over the dugong’s head which might impede breathing