Shark fisheries on the Great Barrier Reef

Written by staff reporter Monday, 30 June 2008 00:00

Photo: Jane Morgan

These licences would also cover shark fishing in the marine parks of Moreton Bay and the Great Sandy Strait, and the publicity surrounding this decision has suggested that such a move would entrench the practice of shark fishing there for years to come.

Link that with a study that was published at the end of 2006 – showing that the Great Barrier Reef shark populations were already collapsing, with grey reef sharks disappearing at the rate of 17 per cent a year and white tip sharks going at seven per cent a year – and Queensland’s decision would appear to be the death knell for their sharks, with an inevitable negative knock-on effect from that for the whole ecosystem. Yet it would seem that that legislation, as appalling as it seems, is not quite what it has been painted to be.

The protests over the Queensland government’s decision were given even greater impetus when, shortly after, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published the results of its new study, which showed that over half the world’s pelagic sharks are under threat of extinction. The scientists found that 11 out of the 22 species of oceanic shark, including threshers, shortfin makos and silkies, are all at high risk. The reason for this is absolutely clear: shark fishing is largely unregulated and there are no international catch limits for sharks. As demand for shark fins from Asian markets continues to rise, the efforts to target sharks also increases.

The report also makes the solutions abundantly clear: set scientifically established catch limits, increase the monitoring of shark fisheries and enforce those limits, put an end to the practice of shark finning, and take steps to minimise shark bycatch.

And that is where the Queensland government’s decision to license shark fishing is revealed to be more benign than it first appeared. Rather than encouraging a shark-fishing free-for-all, the Queensland government is actually trying to implement exactly that type of regulation. What the government’s critics chose to ignore was that shark fishing takes place throughout Queensland waters at the moment, which means that sharks are fished quite legally, with no limits, throughout the Great Barrier Reef and in many of Queensland’s marine parks.

This legislation will establish how many boats are engaged in this practice and then regulate it. Shark fishing will become illegal without a licence, and then quotas can be set. We have seen time and time again that for conservation to be plausible and successful, it has to be based on a strong scientific background – and only then can governments be persuaded to introduce policies that will ensure that fishing practices become sustainable.

The Queensland government is to be congratulated on getting to grips with this situation and, at last, beginning to control shark fishing in its waters. You can contact Queensland premier Anna Bligh on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . It is always good to include a reminder both that the quotas need to be set at a level that allows shark populations to recover, and that the practice of cutting fins off live sharks and dumping the body at sea continues to be illegal.