Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01506:reg:2013:p4
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01506
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2013 (pt 4/32)
Character Range: 9664–12507

is also commonly found in inshore waters in the vicinity of islands, and often
near seal colonies (Malcolm et al., 2001). These areas include locations such as the Neptune Islands off the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia; Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (particularly juveniles); the coastal region between Newcastle and Port Stephens, New South Wales (particularly juveniles) and the Recherche Archipelago and the islands off the lower west
coast of Western Australia (Malcolm et al., 2001; EA, 2002).

2.2 Population trends

Determining trends in the Australian white shark population is difficult because the species
is a widely dispersed, low density, highly mobile apex predator. In addition, it is not targeted
by fishers in Australian waters, limiting catch reports as an index of population status. Recent evidence from the New South Wales Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program suggests that white shark numbers may have stabilised over the last 30 years in that state. There is, however, historical evidence of a greater decline in white shark numbers Australia-wide over the last
60 years, and no evidence to suggest that white shark numbers have recovered substantially since receiving protection (Reid et al., 2011). However, it is difficult to distinguish population change from the high rates of inter-annual variability in the numbers observed within any one site or region (Cliff et al., 1996). This high level of inter-annual variability means that what may be seen as a decline or increase in numbers over a stretch of a few years may actually be the

result of changes in the distribution of white sharks from one place to another (Bruce, 2008).
In addition to this variability caused by movements of white sharks, any rate of increase in the population size of white sharks will be inherently low because of their life history characteristics and will therefore be difficult to detect.

2.3 Habitat critical to the survival of the white shark

The white shark is widely but not evenly distributed in Australian waters, with observations more frequent in some areas (Appendix 1). These areas include waters in and around some fur seal and Australian sea lion colonies such as: the Neptune Islands (South Australia); areas of the Great Australian Bight as well as the Recherche Archipelago and the islands off the lower west coast of Western Australia (Malcolm et al., 2001; EA, 2002). Juveniles appear to aggregate seasonally in certain key areas including the Corner Inlet−90 Mile Beach area of eastern Victoria and the coastal region between Newcastle and Forster in New South Wales, with particular concentrations in the Port Stephens area (Bruce & Bradford, 2008, 2012). The data collected by Bruce & Bradford (2012) demonstrate that these areas were utilised repeatedly on a seasonal basis across different years and