At-vessel mortality of tawny nurse sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus) caught in the Queensland Shark Control Program

Matthew J. Campbell; Tracey B. Scott-Holland; Samuel J. Fary; Matthew N. McMillan

doi:10.1071/MF25015

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Contents Vol 76(10)

At-vessel mortality of tawny nurse sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus) caught in the Queensland Shark Control Program

Matthew J. Campbell

^A ^* , Tracey B. Scott-Holland ^B , Samuel J. Fary ^C and Matthew N. McMillan ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Animal Science, GPO Box 267, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.

^B Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries Queensland, GPO Box 46, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.

^C Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries Queensland, PO Box 199, Mooloolaba, Qld 4557, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: matthew.campbell@dpi.qld.gov.au

Handling Editor: Bradley Wetherbee

Marine and Freshwater Research 76, MF25015 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF25015

Submitted: 22 January 2025 Accepted: 14 June 2025 Published: 10 July 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

The Queensland Shark Control Program (QSCP) targets potentially dangerous sharks, using a combination of large-mesh nets and baited drumlines at beaches in Queensland, Australia. The tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) is caught incidentally by the QSCP, and shark control programs have been identified as a moderate threat to the species in Australia.

Aims

Assessing at-vessel mortality (AVM) is an important first step in determining the actual impact of the QSCP on the N. ferrugineus population.

Methods

Data collected by QSCP contractors were used to determine factors affecting AVM of N. ferrugineus and data were analysed using generalised linear mixed modelling.

Key results

Mean AVM was 5.95 and 30.1% for those animals caught on drumlines and in nets respectively. At-vessel mortality was found to increase with total length for net-caught N. ferrugineus. Sea-surface temperature and sex had no effect on AVM.

Conclusions

Animals caught on drumlines are more likely to survive capture than are those caught in nets.

Implications

The reduction in the number of nets deployed, and the introduction of alternative methods, such as catch alert (or SMART) drumlines and drone surveillance of beaches, is likely to have reduced the impact of the QSCP on the N. ferrugineus population.

Keywords: at-vessel mortality, AVM, baited drumlines, chondrichthyans, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Nebrius ferrugineus, QSCP, Queensland Shark Control Program, respiratory mode, shark nets.

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