The Queensland Government is leading research into ways to reduce shark depredation affecting fishers off the state’s coastline.
Shark depredation occurs when a fish caught in fishing apparatus is completely or partially consumed by a shark before it can be caught.
It can have negative socio-economic impacts on fishers in certain fishing sectors due to the loss of target catch and fishing gear.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said, “We’ve listened to commercial, recreational and charter fishers who’ve nominated shark depredation as a major concern.”
“Nobody likes their catch being taken by a shark, so developing effective mitigation methods to reduce shark depredation is a ‘win-win’ for all.
“It will allow for better co-existence between fishers and sharks, while ensuring our world-class fisheries continue to thrive.
“I look forward to seeing the outcomes of this important research, and the positive impacts it will have for fishers and industry.”
Researchers from Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are leading the project, which is co-funded by the Australian Government through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).
The project, running from March 2024 to October 2026, involves three phases:
Phase 1: The identification of potential solutions from measures currently or previously trialled around the world, utilising information from scientific papers, technical reports and fishers. Stakeholders in Indigenous, commercial, recreational and charter fisheries will be invited to participate in a national online survey to gather additional information about potentially suitable solutions.
Phase 2: A series of stakeholder workshops will be conducted at regional centres in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales (where shark depredation has been identified as a common issue). The workshops will involve fishers, fishery managers, researchers, Indigenous representatives and other stakeholders, and explore the impacts of shark depredation on fishing, and what mitigation measures have been or are currently being tested or used. The workshops will develop a robust experimental design for testing potential mitigation solutions in a quantitative and comparable way. Anyone interested in taking part in the workshops can email jonathan.mitchell@daf.qld.gov.au.
Phase 3: If promising mitigation solutions are identified, trials will be considered in different states and under different fishing scenarios to assess their effectiveness.
Other partners in this project include Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the Northern Territory’s Department of Tourism, Industry and Trade, Bond University, James Cook University and Flinders University.
Queensland fishers have already been supporting the collection of data to try and quantify depredation through DAF’s Boat Ramp Survey program.
