As an original on the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park Advisory Council in 2007 I was one of the members who was informed by Fisheries that the Grey Nurse shark was on the verge of extinction, with only 300 sharks off our coast.
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We were later to find that this information was misleading.
Today, for some reason, the misinformation continues.
Never have I heard such nonsense as promoted by NSW Fisheries relating to Grey Nurse sharks.
Because recreational fishers are excluded, or restricted, from fishing in certain areas due to the presence of the Grey Nurse sharks, I asked the question at a recent meeting of the advisory council: "How are recreational fishers in the local marine park a threat to the future of the Grey Nurse shark?"
No one present could answer the question.
Which leads me to my next question.
According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries this is due to:
1 Hook and line fishing in areas important for the survival of the species has been identified as a key threat affecting Grey Nurse sharks.
Identified by who, and on what evidence?
I have met with the leading Grey Nurse shark scientist and asked for evidence to support this claim. What was shown to me, and others, was statistically insignificant and far from convincing - a couple of sharks with hooks, which were old commercial set line hooks. Set lining is banned in the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park. Respected dive company Pro Dive visited the Grey Nurse shark aggregation sites on Broughton Island for a period of 35 years reported to me that, in their experience, they saw two sharks with hooks which appeared to be from a set line. The reason that compelling evidence to support the exclusion of recreational fishers from certain areas, where Grey Nurse sharks gather, is not forthcoming is because there isn't any.
2 Accidental hooking on commercial and recreational fishing gear can result in internal injuries and death.
Refer to point one.
3 Historical declines in numbers due to targeted fishing and hunting.
Agreed. I'm sure that certain fishing competitions and the use of power heads on spear guns and hand spears accounted for far too many sharks in the past, particularly in the 1960s. Fishing competitions have long banned the capture of Grey Nurse sharks and power heads have been illegal for years.
4 Capture in beach safety (shark) mesh nets.
Agree again. However, within the boundaries of Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park there are no safety mesh nets.
5 Illegal capture for sale of shark fins.
I have no local evidence to support this claim. If DPI has the recent evidence of this practice, I would like to see it.
6 The species very low potential for population recovery.
On Fisheries figures the Grey Nurse sharks population has risen from 300 in 2007 to approximately 3000 today. Take into account that only a very small percentage of the coastline has been visited by DPI and no figures are available from deep water. The figure of approximately 3000 is a very rubbery guesstimation and could well be the 'tip of the ice berg'. DPI only counted where they looked.
I remain a supporter of Marine Parks and a strong protector of the environment. I would encourage DPI to deal with realities if they expect the fishing public to believe them.
John 'Stinker' Clarke is a Port Stephens-based fishing advocate and historian. He has had more than 1800 fishing columns published in the Examiner since 1987.
