Identification of Western Australian Grey Nurse Shark aggregation sites
Final Report to the Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Heritage
Justin Chidlow, Dan Gaughan and Rory McAuley
Shark Research Section, Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia, July 2005
About the report
Surveys conducted in NSW have identified 14 (including two in Commonwealth waters) aggregation sites that were utilised by Grey Nurse Sharks for substantial periods of time (Otway et al., 2003). Ten of these sites were declared as Critical Habitat by the NSW Government in 2002. Surveys to monitor the abundance and distribution of populations have been conducted at these and other sites in southeast Australian waters (Pollard et al. 1996; Otway and Parker, 2000; Otway et al., 2003). Five aggregation sites have also been identified in Queensland. However, as no sites have been identified in WA, this monitoring method has not been used.
This study aims to determine if Grey Nurse Shark aggregation sites occur in WA waters and, if so, the most appropriate method to monitor these sites.