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Marine Species Conservation
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The Great White Shark is listed as vulnerable and migratory under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
In 2002 the then Minister for the Environment and Heritage made the White Shark Recovery Plan. This Plan sets out recovery objectives and actions to achieve those objectives. View the White Shark Recovery Plan.
A number of recovery-targeted projects for the Great White Shark have been funded by the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT). See the NHT funded Great White Shark reports.
In 2004 the Australian Government, in cooperation with the Government of Madagascar, successfully listed the Great White Shark on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). The listing aims to prevent the highly lucrative illegal trade in Great White Shark products such as teeth, jaws and fins. View the Great White Shark CITES nomination.
In 2002 the Australian Government successfully listed the Great White Shark on Appendices I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). The listing will facilitate the development of a conservation and management agreement between range states for this species. View the CMS nomination of the Great White Shark.
Great White Sharks are large, rare, warm-blooded apex marine predators. It is estimated that they mature at 12-18 years for females and 8-10 years for males. Maximum length is 6.4 metres, though specimens of up to 7 metres may exist. Great White Sharks reproduce only one every two to three years and produce between two and ten pups per litter. Further information and references on the biology and ecology of the species can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
The Great White Shark is widely distributed throughout temperate and sub-tropical regions in the northern and southern hemispheres. It is most frequently found off Southern Australia, South Africa, northern California and the north-eastern United States. In Australian waters the Great White Shark's range extends primarily from southern Queensland, around the southern coastline and to the North West Cape in Western Australia. Further information and references on the distribution of this species can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
Despite a general scarcity of data on the Great White Shark's population size, there appears to be an overall, long-term decline in abundance of Great White Sharks in Australian waters. Globally, there has been a reported decline of between 60-95% in Great White Shark numbers in the last 50 years. Detailed information and references on the population status and trends of the species can be found in Australia and Madagascar's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II nomination. Read the Great White Shark CITES nomination.
The main threats faced by Great White Sharks in Australian waters include interactions with commercial and recreational fisheries, shark control activities, trade, tourism and tag and release activities. Detailed information and references on these threats can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
Further information on Great White Sharks is available from:
For further information about this and other shark species, please refer to our shark links.