Dugong - or mannates are a very different species. Dugong are mammals whereas whale sharks are cartilagenous fish.... Completely unrelated. Btw, dugongs never school so seeing "many" is quite unprecedented?!? and they are a rare sight in Qatari water, though they have been spotted. 2nd largest worldwide dugong population (after Australia's coral sea) lives in the Persian gulf - around 7,000. They are concentrated in the southernmost coast of qatar and extending toward Abu-Dhabi.