The Grey Nurse Shark
The grey nurse shark is the state's most
critically endangered fish. With less than 500 individuals left
along the east coast of Australia, time is running out for this
magnificent and harmless creature.
The critically endangered Grey Nurse Shark has been dealt a severe
blow by the Carr government's failure to offer genuine protection
to its most critical habitats. Numbers are still declining and
new research has indicated that without immediate action, this
species may go quasi-extinct (less than 50 females) within the
next 10 years.
Although often perceived as scary, the grey nurse is a harmless
shark, which has never been responsible for a shark-related death.
It has narrow, inward pointing teeth that are only suited to catching
fish.
Government Failure
To date, the government's protection measures, which, while banning
some practices such as moored fishing with wire trace, have left
the critical habitats open to a considerable range of both recreational
and commercial fishing. The measures ignored recommendations from
scientific experts, professional divers and conservationists that
sanctuaries around their key habitat sites. In doing so, the NSW
Government has failed to adequately protect the Grey Nurse, their
young and their food resources from the major threat to their
survival - fishing.
Fishing is a Threat
Accidental hookings are killing Grey Nurse Sharks. The Commonwealth
Grey Nurse Shark Recovery Plan identifies: "Fishing activity,
particularly recreational line fishing are thought to be impacting
severely on the existing Grey Nurse Shark population", and;
"It is suspected that recreational fishers often kill juvenile
Grey Nurse Sharks without realising the species identity".
Dive surveys coordinated by NSW Fisheries recorded approximately
206 Grey Nurses impaled by hooks, of which 184, or 90.64%, were
identified as recreational hooks and 22, or 9.36%, were identified
as commercial hooks.
To reduce the number of Grey Nurse deaths from fishing,
Environment Australia (2002) recommends: "It is obviously
necessary to protect key Grey Nurse Shark areas from the risk
of incidental catch.
This protection should include establishment of effective marine
protected areas and seasonal or permanent closure to commercial
and recreational fishers for these important sites".
Unlike the NSW Government, the Queensland and Commonwealth Government
have acted on these recommendations by working to protect their
key Grey Nurse habitat sites.
Real Protection to Save the Grey Nurse
Real Protection means fully protected. NPA and fellow conservation
groups are asking for 1500m no-take sanctuaries at each of the
16 identified key Grey Nurse habitats in NSW. This will provide
the necessary first step in giving this harmless species a chance
at survival - homes without hooks.
Previously NPA had campaigned for 1000m no-take zones around
critical habitats and a surrounding 500m buffer zone circling
this in which certain fishing practices were restricted to protect
the sharks' food resources. This would have banned all fishing
in less than 0.38% of NSW marine waters and delivered a
high degree of protection to a large percentage of the known Grey
Nurse population - approximately 72.4% as averaged across
NSW Fisheries dive surveys.
NPA has now recognised the need to enforce a 1500m
no-take sanctuary around the critical sites.
The creation of these 1500m no-take zones are justified as recent
CSIRO tagging studies indicate that mature Grey Nurses can travel
up to 1300m from their key habitats for feeding. Previously it
was thought that Grey Nurses were strictly bottom dwellers yet
this has been shown to be untrue with juveniles moving higher
in the water column. Therefore trolling, along with all other
forms of fishing, both surface and bottom, within 1500m of their
Critical Habitat Areas, will continue to hook and kill the Grey
Nurse.
Benefits of No-Take Sanctuaries
Recreational and commercial fishers will adapt to the restricted
access and, as scientific evidence suggests, will benefit greatly
from the increase in fish from sanctuary areas. Detailed scientific
investigations have concluded that population densities in the
sanctuaries were on average 91% higher than in fished areas; the
average size of species was 31% higher; and species diversity
23% higher. It has also been demonstrated that fishers in adjacent
waters receive the tangible benefits of this recovery through
the "spillover effect".
More information.
Community Support
NSW Fisheries received over 1000 submissions on the NSW Draft
Recovery Plan for the Grey Nurse. It was expected that the Government
would respond to extensive community support for the shark, which
according to both the Fisheries Minister's office and the Department
head, contained "a lot of support for sanctuaries".
NSW Fisheries acknowledge: "all threatening processes would
need to be effectively addressed if the species' population decline
is to be halted and recovery achieved".
Implementing 1500m no-take sanctuaries around the critical habitats
would be the most effective and simplest way to achieve this.
Back to Grey Nurse Home
|
