Grey nurse sharks

The grey nurse shark Carcharias taurus is listed as endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Recent research estimates between 1800 and 2000 grey nurse sharks live along Australia’s east coast¹. Wolf Rock, located just north of Double Island Point in Great Sandy Marine Park is one of only four known key aggregation sites for the grey nurse shark in Queensland². It is the only known gestation site and the most northern known aggregation site for the species on the east Australian coast.

Grey nurse sharks are not prolific breeders. They produce only one or two pups every two years³. Because of this slow breeding rate, the grey nurse shark population will be slow to recover from past overfishing.

• Read more about the grey nurse shark designated area.

References

¹ Department of Environment, 2014, Issue Paper for the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus), Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

² Department of Environment, 2014, Recovery Plan for the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus), Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

³ Bennett M & and Bansemer C, 2004, Investigations of Grey Nurse Shark in Queensland to fulfil actions under the Recovery Plan for Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus) in Australia regarding impact of divers, and establishment of a photographic database to improve knowledge of migratorymovements, localised site movements and estimation of bycatch, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Grey nurse sharks, Wolf Rock.

Photo credit: © Amanda Delaforce