 The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the bignose shark as Data Deficient overall, due to inadequate population and fishery monitoring. The species is considered to be of concern, however, given it is slow-reproducing and faces widespread heavy fishing pressure. There is evidence that its numbers have recently declined in the Maldives. Furthermore, most bignose shark bycatch occurs in international waters, where a single stock may be affected by multiple fisheries. It is listed as a "highly migratory species" under the 1995 UN Agreement on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, but thus far this has not led to significant conservation measures. Regionally, the IUCN has assessed the bignose shark as Near Threatened in the northwestern Atlantic. Though specific data are lacking, it is suspected to have declined there because it is commonly misidentified as the sandbar shark, thus the known decline in sandbar shark numbers resulting from US longline fishing may represent a decline in bignose shark numbers, as well. This species has been assessed as Least Concern in Australian waters, where it faces no significant threats.
