Conservation and management of sharks and rays

In 1999 the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation released the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. This plan called upon all member nations to produce national plans to conserve and manage sharks and rays. In response to the International Plan, the Commonwealth Government released the Australian National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks in May 2004. The national plan lists 43 actions ranging from increasing scientific research on sharks and rays and improving fisheries management, to programs to educate the public about the need for shark conservation.

In recent years, the Commonwealth Government and State Governments have also listed threatened sharks such as the grey nurse shark and the great white shark as protected species. Recovery plans have also been developed for threatened sharks to promote the conservation of these species. In Queensland and New South Wales, certain types of fishing have been banned in areas where endangered grey nurse sharks congregate.

Concern over the practice of shark finning has led to several major shark fishing nations such as Brazil, South Africa, the USA, Palau, Oman, India, and Costa Rica, introducing shark finning bans. In Nov 2004, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna agreed on the first international shark finning ban, which will apply to the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In Australia, fishers must keep both the fins and the shark carcass in all Commonwealth waters and most state waters including Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Australian fishers targeting tuna and billfish cannot keep more than 20 sharks per fishing trip, but this does not apply in the Coral Sea. While these shark finning bans are beneficial, they can be very difficult to enforce. In spite of shark finning bans, the trade of shark fins remains very difficult to regulate and monitor, and illegal shark finning is still a major problem around the world.

Protecting sharks and rays in the Great Barrier Reef

Commercial fishing is the greatest pressure on sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, with over 90% of the reported shark catch taken by the commercial net fishery.  The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is working closely with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to implement a new plan for managing this fishery. Other efforts to conserve sharks and rays in the Great Barrier Reef include the following:

• In 1999, long line fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was prohibited due to concerns about the bycatch of animals such as sharks.
• Since 2000, scientists have been conducting new research to identify the species being caught by the commercial net fishery, and to assess the risk the fishery poses to these species.
• In 2002, the Queensland Government introduced controls to limit the practice of shark finning. Shark finning is now restricted in most state waters and all Commonwealth waters.
• Threatened species such the whale shark, great white shark and grey nurse shark are also listed as protected species in the legislation covering the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Protecting shark habitats and ecosystems in the Great Barrier Reef

In July 2004, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority released a new Zoning Plan for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Under the plan, the area of highly protected 'no-take' zones increased from 4.6% to 33% of the Marine Park. This plan was introduced to protect the Reef's biodiversity, and preserve the ecological functions and biological connections that support the Reef's animals, plants and habitats. The new zoning system will help to maintain the habitats and ecological systems that the Reef's sharks and rays depend on, and for some sharks and rays, directly reduce the level of fishing pressure on them.