NESP A3: DNA sequencing and population assessment of White Sharks

Brief description

White sharks are listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and actions to assist their recovery and long-term viability are prescribed in a national recovery plan for the species.

A priority action is to develop an effective means of estimating the size of white shark populations and monitor their status (population trend). This would provide a scientific basis for assessing recovery actions, and for local policies governing human-shark interactions: an issue of significant public concern.

NESP Project A3 provides a national assessment of the southern-western adult white shark population abundance and an update of the total eastern Australasian white shark population abundance and status in order to establish the efficacy of existing recovery actions and provide a scientifically sound and rational basis from which to inform policies that aim to balance conservation objectives and public safety.

This record describes the individual DNA sequencing of over 500 animals for CK-MR analyses of SA/WA population tissue samples.

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded

Statement: Tissue samples were collected from white sharks using a biopsy needle designed for the use on large fish and elasmobranchs. The biopsy and sampling methods have been described in the literature (references can be found in the final report for project A3, see Supplementary Info). The DNA was extracted from approx 500 tissue samples, encompassing both the eastern and southern-western Australian populations of white sharks, and sequenced at Diversity Arrays Technology.

Notes

Credit
National Environmental Science Program (NESP), Department of the Environment and Energy (DoEE)

Credit
This project was funded by the Australian Government through the National Environmental Science Program’s Marine Biodiversity Hub, with equal co-investment from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. In NSW samples were collected under NSW DPI Animal Care and Ethics Committee permit number 12/07-CSIRO and NSW DPI Scientific Collection Permit P07/0099- 6.0 (and their precursors). In South Australia samples were collected under SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources Scientific collection permit U26255-4, Marine Parks Permit to Undertake Scientific Research MR00025-1, and Ministerial Exemption ME9902940 (including all precursors). An overarching Animal Ethics Permit was granted by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (AEC 22/2015-16), along with an authority to possess biological material from a listed species under the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 (permit 17109, and all precursors) and a Permit to Take Threatened Fauna for Scientific Purposes (permit TFA 17150, and all precursors). This work would not have been possible without the immense assistance and collaboration shown throughout Australia and New Zealand. NSW DPI staff, including Dr Paul Butcher, Christopher Gallen, Roger Liard, Kate Lee, and many more, facilitated by Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj (Director of Fisheries Research, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries) have provided substantial support (people + infrastructure) in order to obtain samples and monitor acoustic arrays along the eastern Australian seaboard. Dr Malcolm Francis (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand) and Dr Clinton Duffy (Department of Conservation and University of Auckland) have provided tissue samples from white sharks tagged in New Zealand waters as well as provided acoustic data from tagged white sharks detected in New Zealand. Dr Rory McAuley, Silas Mountford, Ian Keay and Dani Waltrick (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia) have provided samples from Western Australia and data from acoustic and satellite tagged sharks. Dr Paul Rogers (South Australia Research and Development Institute Aquatic Sciences) and Dr Charlie Huveneers (Flinders University, South Australia) have provided samples from South Australia and data from acoustic and satellite tagged sharks. Dr Jonathan Werry provided samples from Queensland. Finally (but definitely not least), we are immensely grateful to the South Australian Shark Cage Dive Industry, in particular Andrew Wright (Calypso Star Charters) and Andrew Fox (Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions) for their assistance in the field with collecting tissue samples and the maintenance of acoustic receivers at the Neptune Islands.

Purpose
To provide a national assessment of white shark population size, and develop national strategies for population monitoring.