Draft national recovery plan for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
Department of the Environment Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2010
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- Draft national recovery plan for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) (PDF - 692 KB) | (RTF - 733 KB)
- White shark issues paper - July 2008 (PDF - 507 KB) | (RTF - 899 KB)
- Review of the white shark recovery plan 2002 - November 2008 (PDF - 514 KB) | (RTF - 815 KB)
The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the great white shark or the white pointer, is a close relative of the mako and porbeagle sharks in the family Lamnidae. White sharks are long-lived, living for 30 years or more, and are found throughout temperate and sub-tropical regions in the northern and southern hemisphere. In Australia, the white shark has a range extending from central Queensland, around the southern coastline, and up to the North West Cape in Western Australia.
Although no reliable estimates exist on white shark numbers, either internationally or in Australian waters, evidence from game fishing records and the beach meshing programs indicate a historical population decline over the past sixty years. Direct threats to white sharks include: being caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries and by recreational fishers; mortality related to shark control activities; impacts from ecotourism and cage diving; and illegal trade in body parts.
The white shark was listed as threatened (vulnerable) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) on 16 July 1999. A recovery plan for the white shark in Australia was made in July 2002. A review of the White Shark Recovery Plan was completed in 2008. The review concluded that although many of the actions identified in the original recovery plan had been completed or partially completed there was insufficient data to suggest population levels had changed since the species received protection in 1999. The review also concluded that a new recovery plan should be developed for the white shark to remove the completed actions and include new conservation priorities.
The present (revised) recovery plan builds on the original White Shark Recovery Plan and was developed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) and representatives from the National Shark Recovery Group.
An accompanying issues paper was also developed to provide detailed background information on the biology, population status and threats to the white shark.
Open for public comment
You are invited to comment on this draft recovery plan in accordance with the provisions of section 275 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The public comment period closes 29th July 2010.
If you wish to comment on a draft recovery plan, please send your comments, quoting the title of the plan, to:
Email: Temperate.West@environment.gov.au
Mail:
Director
Temperate West Marine Conservation Section
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Fax: 03 6229 7470
Draft recovery plans are available in hard copy from the Department's Community Information Unit
- Email: ciu@environment.gov.au
- Freecall: 1800 803 772
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