Species Use Database

Smooth hammerhead shark
Sphyrna zygaena

Used for Food and feed in Australia and Pacific - southwest

A. Species

Scientific name: Sphyrna zygaena

Common name(s): Smooth hammerhead shark

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Australia
  • Pacific - southwest

Country/Region:


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: National Level

Name/Details of location: Australia


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2001

End Year: 2012


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Targeted fishing harvesting/exploiting or collecting wild aquatic resources

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed

Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Recreational

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF report.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The CITES Scientific Authority of Australia has found that current levels of catch of S. zygaena is unlikely to be detrimental to the species. The current catch level accepted as non-detrimental to S. zygaena is 70 tonnes per year.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined

Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF report.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Currently there is very little or no recording of any discarded sharks due to trip limits, the ‘no take’ of some species and the lack of recording space in logsheets.


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

 Species level reporting in log books  Further measures to reduce incidental capture and post release mortality as practically appropriate to specific fisheries and gear types  Landing of sharks with fins naturally attached  Reporting of discards to species level  Maximum size limits  Trip limits  An improved understanding and management focus on IUU.


Record source

Information about the record source: grey_lit

Date of publication/issue/production: 2014-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Non-Detriment Finding for the export of shark species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and harvested from Australian waters (2014).
Australian Government, Department of the Environment.

Date of record entry: 2023-10-04


Records from the same source material: