
%0 Journal Article
%A Pepperell, JG 
%T Trends in the distribution, species composition and size of sharks caught by Gamefish Anglers off South-eastern Australia, 1961-90
%J Marine and Freshwater Research
%D 1992/02/01
%V 43
%N 1
%P 213-225
%K 
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9920213
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF9920213 
%X Records of shark captures were extracted from the archives of 10 of the major New South Wales  gamefishing clubs that operate from ports located between latitudes 33ºs and 37ºs. Although  organized game fishing began off eastern Australia in 1936, the majority of catches were made  after 1960. Data normally recorded by these clubs included common name of shark, whole weight,  locality of capture, boat name and angler. Recognized single species of sharks recorded by these  clubs were blue (Prionace glauca), tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), white (Carcharodon carcharias),  shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) and grey nurse (Carcharias taurus). Species identified only to  generic level, and recorded by clubs, were whalers or requiem sharks (Carcharhinus spp.),  hammerheads (Sphyrna spp.) and threshers (Alopias spp.). Analysis of catch records indicated  that the mako shark was the most common species caught overall, although whaler sharks  dominated the catch in the northern part of the study area and hammerhead sharks dominated  the catch in the south. Grey nurse and white sharks were relatively rare in the southern part of the  study area. Whaler sharks dominated the catch in the 1960s, and the proportions of blue and tiger  sharks in the catch increased in the 1980s. Size ranges and distributions of some species also  varied through time and by area. Some of the observed changes could be attributed to changed  fishing practices, particularly the increasing popularity of tag-and-release and an increasing tendency  to fish further from the coast. A marked decline in the number and proportion of white sharks in the  catch since the 1970s gives cause for some concern regarding the status of that species off  south-eastern Australia. 
