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Summary
The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, was protected under the Wildlife Act in 2013. This study documents and describes its interactions with commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters, and locates and describes the available population information relevant to assessing the risk to this species. Information on catches was obtained from the literature, commercial catch statistics, and observer records. The catch distribution, seasonality, fishing method, and reported totals are described. Population and biological characteristics are reviewed.
The oceanic whitetip shark is a tropical species that is rarely seen or caught in northern New Zealand. Only 19 observer and two commercial fishery records were located (one of which occurred in both datasets). All records came from surface longlines set in the Kermadec Fisheries Management Area or off the northeastern coast of North Island. Captures around North Island were made in the warmer months of the year whereas captures in the Kermadec FMA were made mainly in the cooler months. Most (84%) of the observed sharks were alive when hauled to the vessel, and about half were processed in some way with the remainder being discarded. Few of the observed sharks were sexed or measured, but those that were comprised equal numbers of males and females, and ranged between 158 and 190 cm fork length.
Given the low commercial reporting rate (1 out of 19 observed sharks) and the low observer coverage of domestic surface longliners, our estimate of the interaction of the surface longline fisheries with oceanic whitetips is substantially under-estimated. Despite that, oceanic whitetips are clearly not caught very often, and are not regarded as a high priority species for research or management.
Publication information
Francis, M. P., and Lyon, W. S. 2014. Review of commercial fishery interactions and population information for the oceanic whitetip shark, a protected New Zealand species. Report prepared by the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere for the Department of Conservation, Wellington. 15 p.