With growing concerns for the status of shark and ray populations world-wide, and increasing pressure to ensure Australia’s 320 species are effectively managed and conserved, there is a need for decision makers in government, conservation advocates, scientists and the public to have access to comprehensive and accurate information. One of the greatest challenges for the sharks and rays is that more than any other taxa they exist across the spectrum of interests from sustainable fisheries resources to threatened species requiring conservation. Further complicating the assessment and management of these species is the fact that many species’ ranges extend beyond Australia’s territorial waters, where management is implemented differently and populations may have a very different status. Australia’s abilities both in management of sharks and rays, and the science that underpins it, are recognised as world-leading. Despite this, there remain challenges for our sharks and rays, but they may not always be those that are faced by other nations in our region. Available information is often fragmentary and difficult to access, and most assessment is focused on only a few species targeted by fisheries. The growing information needs of initiatives such as Shark-Plan 2, CITES, CMS, ESD/WTO and EPBC listing struggle to be met because of the lack of a synthesis of information across this group. Locally relevant information on the status of sharks and rays, and the synthesis of knowledge about them is thus critical to identifying and addressing the challenges that face this group in Australian waters, and for demonstrating the successes of Australia’s management of this group. With the publication of the Shark Report Card these deficiencies have been partly addressed. However, that project covered only a small portion of the ray species that occur in Australian waters. This project is a step in synthesizing this knowledge and developing a report card for Australia’s rays that is a companion to the Shark Report Card.
Final report
In response to increasing concerns for the status of shark and ray populations world-wide, and increasing pressure to ensure Australia’s shark and ray species are effectively managed and conserved, this project synthesised the scattered information, assessed individual species’ status and provided a clear and concise overview of the state of Australia’s shark and rays. Project staff from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania collected available data from peer-reviewed literature, government reports, observer programs and fellow scientists to produce comprehensive databases on species and management measures with input from CSIRO on the most recent taxonomy of this diverse group. The Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS)-aligned status assessments were undertaken for all 331 species, and 341 stocks of Australian shark, ray and chimaera. A workshop of experts reviewed the proposed status all species before they were finalised to ensure consistent and peer-reviewed outcomes. A Report Card overview indicates that the majority of species are sustainable and in a healthy state; and while Australia’s approach to managing its shark stocks has to date been very good, this needs to be maintained and supported by ongoing research, monitoring and assessment. The significant resources generated by the project will be available publicly to ensure wide uptake of the outputs.