Legislation to protect Great White Shark to be enacted soon

8/10/97

The Great White Shark will soon be protected from all fishing in Western Australian waters, Fisheries Minister Monty House announced today.

Mr House said legislation would soon be enacted to ban both commercial and recreational catches of the shark species.

The Minister said the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee supported a ban on the take of the Great White for anglers. This followed moves in June to list the shark as a commercially protected species.

Mr House said shark fishermen would also develop a code of conduct for the commercial fishing sector for handling Great White sharks.

"The Great White Shark is a relatively rare species and there has been concern for a number of years about the health of its stocks," he said.

"We know they are vulnerable to overfishing as they take about 10 years to reach maturity.

"Research suggests that both the numbers and average size of the Great White have recently declined.

"Protection of the species is a precautionary approach and the best step we can take to safeguard its future."

Mr House said the Great White was commercially protected from the beginning of this month and was expected to be enforced recreationally by the end of November.

Fishing for Great White sharks was also banned in Tasmania, Queensland and NSW.