Gladstone Fish Health Investigation 2011 - 2012 - Western Basin ...

Sharks and raysThe monitoring program collected information on shark species, size, sex, presence andseverity of observed signs of ill health, as well as commercial catch information supplied byfishers via commercial logbooks.During Phase 1, no candidate species of shark had been identified, therefore all sharks andrays encountered during routine, at sea observing or targeted sampling events wereobserved for signs of ill health. During Phase 2, the sampling identified bull sharks as thecandidate species given they were the dominant species in the catch during Phase 1 (Figure34).Figure 34. Bull sharkSampling sites for shark during Phase 1 included the Calliope River, Rodds Bay, SpoilGround and nearby offshore waters, the Narrows, Hamilton Point, the upper and lowerreaches of the Boyne River, as well as the Fitzroy River and Bundaberg (reference sites).Sampling sites for shark during Phase 2 included the Calliope River, Boyne River (upper andlower reaches), Rodds Bay, as well as the Fitzroy River and Bundaberg (reference sites).Commercial catchThe commercial catch of shark species in the Gladstone region (CFish grid S30, as reportedin commercial logbooks for both line and net combined) between 2000 and 2011 peaked in2008 at 157.40 t. The recorded catch then declined sharply to 44.55 t in 2009 and hascontinued to fall to 26.32 t in 2011 (Figure 35). In 2012, minimal catch was reported (0.44 t).54