A. Species
Scientific name: Carcharhinus longimanus
Common name(s): Oceanic whitetip shark
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Australia
- Indian Ocean - eastern
- 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 unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This CITES NDF report.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: On the basis of the information available on the population of C. longimanus within Australian waters and within the Oceania region, and the threats posed to the species, the CITES Scientific Authority of Australia has found that any catch of C. longimanus is likely to be detrimental to the species. This conclusion is arrived at on the basis of assessments by the WCPFC and IOTC indicating the species is currently overfished and overfishing is continuing.
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):
Australian Government, Department of the Environment.
Date of record entry: 2023-10-05