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Stock Structure of Exploited Shark Species in North-Eastern Australia

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Stock Structure of Exploited Shark Species in North-Eastern Australia Stock structure of exploited shark species in north-eastern Australia Fisheries Research & Development Corporation Project No. 2007/035 D J Welch1,2, J Ovenden3, C Simpfendorfer1, A Tobin1, J A T Morgan3, R Street3, J White1, A Harry1, R Schroeder1 and W G Macbeth4 1 Fishing & Fisheries Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4810 2 Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, PO Box 1085, Oonoonba, QLD 4810 3 Molecular Fisheries Laboratory, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072 4 New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence, PO Box 21, Cronulla, NSW 2230 Stock structure of exploited shark species in north-eastern Australia DJ Welch, J Ovenden, C Simpfendorfer, A Tobin, JAT Morgan, R Street, J White, A Harry, R Schroeder and WG Macbeth © 2011 Fisheries Research & Development Corporation, James Cook University and Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation. This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth), no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without the specific written permission of the copyright owners. Information may not be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. This publication should be cited as: Welch DJ, Ovenden J, Simpfendorfer C, Tobin A, Morgan JAT, Street R, White J, Harry A, Schroeder R and Macbeth WG (2011) Stock structure of exploited shark species in north-eastern Australia. Report to the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation, Project 2007/035. Fishing & Fisheries Research Centre Technical Report No. 12, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia (130pp.). ISBN 978-0-9808178-5-0 Disclaimer The authors do not warrant that the information in this document is free from errors or omissions. The authors do not accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious, or otherwise, for the contents of this document or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The information, opinions and advice contained in this document may not relate, or be relevant, to a reader’s particular circumstances. Opinions expressed by the authors are the individual opinions expressed by those persons and are not necessarily those of the publisher, research provider or the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation. The Fisheries Research & Development Corporation plans, invests in and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry. Corresponding author: David Welch Fishing & Fisheries Research Centre School of Earth & Environmental Sciences James Cook University Townsville, QLD 4810 Phone: +61 7 4781 5114 Email: [email protected] Artwork and Layout by ADELPHA Publishing & Design http://www.adelphapublishing.com Cover image (circled): Australian black tip shark, Carcharhinus tilstoni, identified as a hybrid crossed with a common black tip shark, C. limbatus. Photograph courtesy of Pascal Geraghty, NSW Department of Primary Industries. Stock structure of exploited shark species in north-eastern Australia Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... iii Non-Technical Summary .................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ................................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Need .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Species background .................................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2: Genetic fisheries stock structure of two commercial shark species (Rhizoprionodon acutus, Rüppell, 1837 and Sphyrna lewini, Griffith and Smith, 1834) on the eastern coast of Australia ............................................................ 11 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 Materials and methods ............................................................................................................. 13 2.3 Data Analyses .......................................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 19 2.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: Population structure of two inshore shark species (Sphyrna lewini and Rhizoprionodon acutus) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) along the east coast of Queensland, Australia ..... 39 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 39 3.2 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................. 41 3.3 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 43 3.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4: Examination of the stock structure of milk shark, Rhizoprionodon acutus, and scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, on the east coast of Australia using life history characteristics ............................................................................................. 49 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 49 4.2 Methods ................................................................................................................................... 50 4.3 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 51 4.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 5: Management units for scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, and milk shark, Rhizoprionodon taylori, on the Australian east coast: integrated analysis ........................................................................................................................... 61 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 61 i Stock structure of exploited shark species in north-eastern Australia 5.2 Methods ................................................................................................................................... 62 5.3 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 63 5.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 6: Diagnostic molecular assay for Australian whaler sharks, Carcharhinus tilstoni, C. limbatus and C. amblyrhynchoides using real-time PCR and high- resolution melt analysis ................................................................................................ 69 6.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 69 6.2 Methods ................................................................................................................................... 70 6.3 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 71 6.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 7: Black tip sharks, Carcharhinus tilstoni and C. limbatus are hybridising along the east coast of Australia ............................................................................................
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