Ocean Sentry
The new laws prohibit recreational fishers from taking whaler sharks with an interdorsal fin length exceeding 70cm, in the State’s West Coast and South Coast bioregions. The West Coast Bioregion extends from the Zuytdorp Cliffs, north of Kalbarri, to Black Point, east of Augusta, while the South Coast Bioregion stretches from there to the WA border.
Department of Fisheries shark scientist Dr Rory McAuley said WA’s new regulations would assist in the protection and, in some cases, the recovery of at-risk species within the Family Carcharhinidae, which all whaler sharks belonged to.
“Dusky whalers and sandbar sharks have been identified as being over-exploited in the past and are species that are particularly at risk,” Dr McAuley said.
“Because of the inherent difficulties in identification of the various species in the whaler family and their generally low reproduction rates, broader protection is a responsible approach.
“However, a limited quantity of large whaler sharks, greater than 70 cm, can still be taken in certain fisheries by commercial fishers and by recreational fishers in northern waters.”
Dr McAuley said that whaler sharks generally took a long time to reach reproductive maturity and produced few offspring.
“As older sharks are critical to the sustainability of these populations, the application of an upper size limit of 70cm interdorsal fin length for whaler sharks is important to conserve the breeding stocks of the at-risk species,” he said.
“The change is not expected to negatively impact the recreational catch of whaler sharks for personal consumption, as larger sharks are unsuitable for human consumption due to the potential for high levels of heavy metals to accumulate in the flesh.
“This amendment follows the introduction of a suite of measures to the commercial fishing sector over the past few years, including gear and fishing effort restrictions, to assist in the protection and recovery of breeding stocks of whaler sharks.
“It should also be noted that dusky sharks, with an interdorsal fin length greater than 70cm, are currently commercially protected, even within the few fisheries that are allowed to catch sharks.”
(From news.com.au,
