Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01763:reg:2:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01763
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2 (pt 2/5)
Character Range: 11384–14287

the dwarf sawfish's Australian distribution has been considered to extend from the Pilbara coast in Western Australia across northern Australia and into the Gulf of Carpentaria (Last & Stevens, 1994; Stevens et al., 2008). Distribution on the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula is contested (Kyne et al., 2013a).
Based on available data from immature animals, there are three geographically distinct locations in which speartooth sharks occur or did occur. These are: Van Diemen Gulf drainage in the Northern Territory, including the Adelaide River, South, East and West Alligator Rivers and Murganella Creek; Port Musgrave in Queensland, including the Wenlock and Ducie Rivers; and the Princess Charlotte Bay area of Eastern Cape York in Queensland, though the species has not been recorded on the east coast since the mid-1980's (Pillans et al., 2009). Photographs of one specimen captured in the Ord River in Western Australia resemble this species, however the specimen was released and this record cannot be verified (R. Pillans, pers. comm).
Northern river sharks have been recorded in rivers and estuaries, as well as the marine environment, within Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In Western Australia, records have come from both the west and east Kimberley, including King Sound, the Ord and King Rivers, the west arm of Cambridge Gulf and also from Joseph Bonaparte Gulf (Thorburn & Morgan, 2004; Stevens et al., 2005; Thorburn, 2006; Field et al., 2008; Pillans et al., 2008; Whitty et al., 2008; Wynen et al., 2009). In the Northern Territory, records have come from the Adelaide, South and East Alligator Rivers, and the Wessel Islands.
The largetooth and green sawfish have suffered severe global declines since the 1960s and are considered to be locally extinct throughout much of their former range. The dwarf sawfish is now possibly restricted to Australia. The two river shark species are only found in Australia and Papua New Guinea (Compagno et al., 2008).
Australia probably represents the last secure populations of green sawfish, dwarf sawfish, speartooth sharks and northern river sharks across their global ranges (Stevens et al., 2005; Phillips, 2012). For largetooth sawfish in the Indo-west Pacific region, Australia may represent the last viable population stronghold and may be a globally important population centre (Kyne et al., 2013b).

Figure 1. Australian distributions of the three sawfish and two river shark species (a) largetooth sawfish, (b) green sawfish, (c) dwarf sawfish, (d) speartooth shark, (e) northern river shark.

     2.3                Habitat use and diet
All of these species inhabit inshore coastal areas including rivers and estuaries. Largetooth sawfish live in freshwater rivers and upper estuarine areas as juveniles, before moving into estuarine and marine areas as adults. The other four species spend much of their lives