Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01506:reg:2013:p6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01506
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2013 (pt 6/32)
Character Range: 15078–18461

2000, Section 135(2), Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995, in 1998 and declared vulnerable under the Fisheries
                    (General and Fees) Regulations 1996, in 2005.
Victoria:           Protected under Schedule 71, Fisheries Act 1995, in 1998.
Western Australia:  Listed as rare or likely to become extinct under Schedule 5 of the
                    Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, in 1999 and protected under
                    Schedule 46 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994, in 1997.
International:       • Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in 2004.
                     • Appendices I and II of the Convention on the Conservation
                     of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in 2002.
                     • 2012 International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
                     Red List, listed as vulnerable, in 1996.

4 Reasons for listing under the EPBC Act

The white shark was listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act on 16 July 1999. This listing
was based on a number of factors, including evidence of a declining population; its life
history characteristics (long-lived and low levels of reproduction); limited local distribution
and abundance; and, at the time of listing, significant ongoing pressure from the Australian commercial fishing industry. At the time of listing the available data strongly suggested a significant decline in the size of white shark populations in Australian waters (Table 1).

Table 1: Data available at time of listing on abundance
and size of white shark populations in Australian waters
Year       Location                 Data Used                                                            Trend                      Data Source
1950–1999  New South Wales          Annual catch per unit effort in beach protection nets                70% decline                Reid & Krogh, 1992; Malcolm
                                                                                                                                    et al., 2001
1950–1970  New South Wales          Average length of sharks caught in nets                              Decline from 2.5–1.7m      NSW Fisheries, 1997
1962–1998  Queensland               Annual catch per unit effort in beach protection nets and drumlines  60–75% decline since 1962  Malcolm et al., 2001
1961–1999  South eastern Australia  Capture in sports fishery relative to other large sharks             95% decline                Pepperell, 1992
1980–1990  South Australia          Annual game fishing catch                                            94% decline                Presser & Allen, 1995

5 Evaluation of performance of the previous Recovery Plan for the White Shark

A recovery plan for the white shark in Australia was made in July 2002 (EA, 2002).
Under the EPBC Act (section 279 (2)), recovery plans need to be reviewed every
five years. The purpose of the review is to summarise the actions undertaken against
those specified in the 2002 White Shark Recovery Plan, and to assess whether:
   * there is an ongoing need for a recovery plan under the EPBC Act
   * the recovery plan needs to be varied to ensure further protection for the species.

A review of the 2002 White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Recovery Plan was completed in