The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee - Inquiry into the efficacy and regulation of mitigation and deterrent measures Submission from the South Australian Government March 2017

Introduction The White Shark is a highly migratory species and is listed under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (Appendices 1 and 2). The species is protected under the South Australian Fisheries Management Act (2007) in South Australian State managed waters, and by the Australian Commonwealth Government Environmental Protection, Biodiversity and Conservation Act (1999).

Considerable community and government interest in White (Carcharodon carcharias) stems from the species being responsible for human injuries and fatalities during marine activities. Whilst interactions with White Sharks generally occur at low frequencies in South , the potential consequences are high with most bites leading to injuries or, in some cases, deaths. In the last century, there were 60 shark attacks, including 19 fatalities and 33 injuries in South Australian waters. The last unprovoked fatality occurred off Glenelg in 2005: however, the last provoked (person , diving or fishing) fatality was in 2014 off southern Yorke Peninsula. Since 2014 there have been five non-fatal interactions, three of which resulted in injury. The last serious injury was recorded in April 2015 near Port Lincoln.

The scope of this response is limited to information collected on the White Shark in the South Australian region. Discussion a) Research into shark numbers, behaviour and habitat

Shark numbers

Estimating the number of White Sharks in the population is extremely challenging due to the high dispersal and patchy distribution of individuals in response to habitat, foraging, size, sex and age related factors. Since legislation to protect White Sharks was introduced in 1997, there have been no reliable estimates of abundance.

The National Environmental Science Programme Hub is funding research by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to provide a national assessment of the population size of White Sharks using close-kin mark recapture methods. represents part of the study area and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) is contributing samples to the CSIRO study.

Behaviour and movements

White Sharks are highly specialised endotherms capable of maintaining high metabolic rates in cool temperate areas, and hence they do not follow predicable seasonal patterns of movement. White Sharks inhabit South Australia’s gulf, coastal and offshore marine habitats during all seasons, and are mostly comprised of large juveniles and young adults ranging in size from 2.4 to 5 m. Within this size range, the species transitions from a diet mostly comprised of fish and squid, to one of large fish, other sharks and rays, and marine mammals (pinnipeds and cetaceans).

SARDI has conducted electronic tagging-based research on White Sharks since 2011 and has deployed 67 tags (Rogers et al. 2014; Rogers and Huveneers 2016; Rogers and Drew unpublished data, FRDC Project 2014/020). During this period, strategic development of national data-sharing agreements for White Sharks has ensured maximum benefit from movement-based

2 research projects focusing on State and national priorities, including those in the Commonwealth’s species recovery plan.

The aim of a Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) funded study is to quantify the spatial and temporal overlap of pelagic sharks and South Australian marine industries, and to collect new information on movement and fidelity to key areas.

SARDI’s research (Rogers and Huveneers 2016, Rogers and Drew unpublished data, FRDC Project 2014/020) has shown:  Satellite tracking and acoustic telemetry data from 67 tag deployments in South Australia since 2013 indicates that White Sharks exhibit highly mobile, roaming movement strategies (Fig. 2).  The species exhibits minimal fidelity and regular ‘fly-bys’ over a range of natural foraging habitat types including areas used by marine industries, deep-water migration paths and habitats of Snapper, and and Long-nosed Fur Seal breeding colonies and haul-outs sites (Fig. 3).  Several offshore habitats that overlap with pinniped colonies are also areas used by the South Australian Fishery (Fig. 2 and 3).  Fidelity exhibited by White Sharks at cage-diving sites is significantly higher than at natural foraging habitat types and areas used by marine industries (Fig. 3).  The existence of shared, north-south and east-west oriented movement pathways extending across, into and out of southern (Fig. 2 and 3).  Preference for deep-water gulf and shelf habitats >20 m (Fig. 2, 3 and 4).  Use of offshore shelf areas around the Sahul coastline (80–130 m), and shelf-slope submarine canyon habitats south of and the (Fig. 2 and 4). b) The regulation of mitigation and deterrent measures under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, including exemptions from a controlled action under section 158

The mitigation and deterrent measures adopted in South Australia are not regulated or do not require exemptions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. c) The range of mitigation and deterrent measures currently in use

Aerial surveillance

Mitigation measures aimed at large sharks (e.g. White Sharks) adopted in South Australia includes surveillance in Adelaide metropolitan and south coast waters via the Surf Life Saving SA (SLSSA) helicopter and a fixed wing plane patrols.

The South Australian Government has conducted aerial shark surveillance since the 2001-02 summer season.

3 The service consists of two components, a daily fixed wing service flying a regular schedule along target coastlines, and a complementary rotary wing (helicopter) service that provides static cover over designated aquatic events.

While originally focussed over the metropolitan Adelaide coastline, ongoing has seen the service expand to include waters of the Fleurieu Peninsula. The fixed-wing aircraft patrols the coastline from North Haven to Rapid Bay, and beaches between Victor Harbor and Goolwa seven days a week from December until April. The timings have been determined as appropriate for the risk profile as they correspond with warming water , the migration of bait fish into St Vincent Gulf and resultant increase in shark activity, and an increase in aquatic recreational activity and organised open water aquatic events over the school holiday and summer periods.

Statistically most shark sightings occur in December and early January each year.

While the efficiency and reliability of aerial patrols has been called into question in some jurisdictions, unlike most other populated coastlines of Australia the coastlines monitored in South Australia has relatively shallow clear water, defined weed line and lack of surf zone provides favourable conditions for discriminating targets from the air.

The focus of fixed wing aerial shark patrols is on the waters within 500 metres of the shoreline over the length of the target area, while rotary wing services cover the respective aquatic activity area.

Fixed Wing Patrols

During the 2016/17 a total of 1060 hours have been forecast towards regular coastal surveillance by fixed wing aircraft. The patrol area extends 500 metres offshore along the Adelaide metropolitan coast from North Haven to Rapid Head, and the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula from Rosetta Head (Victor Harbor) to the mouth of the . Timings and flight paths are varied to provide greatest cover at periods of highest activity.

To enable compliance with contract provisions to provide a high wing aircraft allowing clear and unobstructed vision, the current contractor utilises Cessna 172 aircraft with a minimum of three personnel. This is seen as advantageous in allowing the pilot to concentrate on the safe operation of the aircraft while providing two dedicated ‘observers’ to concentrate on maintaining watch and managing/communicating any sightings.

All ‘observers’ undertake training provided by the South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) to the nationally accredited standard for Air Observers provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Rotary Wing Patrols

Rotary wing patrols of open water aquatic events are provided under contract with Surf Life Saving South Australia (SLSSA), utilising a helicopter provided in association with a commercial agreement between them and Westpac. The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter conducts regular patrols of the Adelaide metropolitan beaches and the south coast during the summer months. One advantage of this approach is the helicopter can be used to actively drive large sharks away from the shore to reduce the immediate risk of interactions with members of the public. No patrols are conducted in regional areas.

During the 2016/17 season a total of 18 rotary wing patrols associated with aquatic events were undertaken.

4 In the event of a shark sighting, SLSSA advises that generally the shark moves (or is moved) to deeper water once the helicopter hovers above the shark and emits ‘rotor wash’ to the water surface.

Routine Management of Sightings

On the sighting of a shark by the fixed wing service that may pose a risk to persons in the area, the aircraft will fly a series of continuous orbits above the sighting and sound a siren. While this is occurring, the nominated ‘communicator’ within the fixed wing aircraft crew will advise the South Australian Police (SAPOL) call-centre.

Once swimmers have left the water the aircraft will continue its routine schedule.

SAPOL will then manage the sighting as they do with any public safety response including media, social media and stakeholder advice. Social media messaging is routinely amplified by other emergency services, along with dedicated and shark sighting forums.

Management of Persistent Sightings

Where a shark remains within an area over a prolonged time and continues to pose a risk to the public or is reported as menacing, the response will be managed in accordance with the South Australian Government, Shark Sighting & Incidents Response Plan, which is coordinated by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of Department for Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA Fisheries). The plan outlines responsibility and actions for the coordinated management of shark sightings meeting those criteria. The plan coordinates the combined resources of Government agencies including PIRSA Fisheries and SAPOL, along with Surf Life Saving and Volunteer Marine Rescue. SAPOL is the lead State Government agency on matters of public safety.

To date there has not been any requirement to activate the provisions of the plan.

Additional benefits

Particularly with respect to the contract for ‘fixed wing’ aerial patrols, there is an economic benefit to the state in terms of attracting national and international student pilots. Swimming enclosures

The expert workshop on shark deterrents and detectors held by NSW Department of Primary Industries found that physical barriers ranked highest of several options that were assessed based on nine evaluation criteria centred around logistics, the scale of effectiveness, availability, confidence in use, impacts on other species and water users, and cost effectiveness. Swimming enclosures are used successfully by the public in several regional centres in South Australia. Local people, industries and the councils work together to support seasonal construction and maintenance. Diver cages

The South Australian Abalone Fishery (SAAF) operates in shelf waters in the centre of the range of the Australian White Shark population. Current approaches used to reduce the risks of interactions with White Sharks in the fishery include the use of motorised, submersible dive cages.

5 Public notification of reported sightings

Public notification of the presence of sharks reported in areas used by the public is managed through the online tools, FISHWATCH hotline, SA Recreational Fishing Guide Smartphone App., and the online PIRSA shark sightings log. SAPOL will then manage the sighting as they do with any public safety response including media, social media and stakeholder advice. PIRSA Shark Response Plan

The South Australian Government, Shark Sighting & Incidents Response Plan has instruments and options available in cases where large sharks are exhibiting fidelity to areas within 500 m from shore where they may interact with members of the general public. Authorised Fisheries Officers and SAPOL Officers may destroy a shark if vessel and helicopter patrols fail to move a persistent shark from areas that posed a risk to the public. The South Australian Government, Shark Sighting & Incidents Response Plan is coordinated by PIRSA Fisheries. The plan outlines responsibility and actions for the coordinated management of shark sightings meeting those criteria. The plan also coordinates the combined resources of Government agencies including PIRSA Fisheries and SAPOL, along with Surf Life Saving and Volunteer Marine Rescue. To date there has been no requirement to activate the provisions of this plan. Deterrents

Some fishing industry members, recreational water users and eco-tourism ventures use personal electronic deterrents. One electric deterrent was tested extensively on White Sharks by SARDI during a SafeWork SA funded project. The equipment was shown to provide no protection during interactions with some individual sharks, and an average extended bait preservation time of only 120 seconds across all test candidate animals (Huveneers et al. 2013). d) Emerging mitigation and deterrent measures

In partnership with the SAAF and a manufacturer of acoustic tracking technology, SARDI identified an option to reduce the risks associated with White Shark interactions in the fishery. In December 2015, SARDI and industry divers conducted a pilot study to assess the performance of an acoustic receiver to detect acoustic tags when exposed to mechanical underwater noise produced by the dive cage, hydraulics and vessel engines. The trial was conducted at an abalone fishing site and showed the receiver was able to detect an acoustic tag at distances of up to 23 times what could achieve by eye.

Findings of the pilot study and in-principle support from the manufacturer drove the development of a current FRDC Expression of Interest (EOI) to fund the development and testing of a smaller diver-worn prototype model. If funded, a key tenet of this approach is to fund and support seasonal tagging (60 tags in 2017-19) of White Sharks within the South Australian Abalone Fishery area, and develop a mobile phone application-based notification system.

If approved, this proposal will support the development and provision of new technology and improved information flows to enhance the workplace health and safety in Australian diver-based industries and to other water users. Predicted long-term beneficiaries include other Australian diver-based industries and commercial fisheries, and members of the general public that use the marine environment for recreation purposes.

6 e) Bycatch from mitigation and deterrent measures

The South Australian Government does not undertake active mitigation measures aimed at reducing the size of the White Shark population, for example, drum-lining or netting controls. There is no published scientific evidence to support that these strategies reduce the risk of White Shark bites, injury and/or fatalities. f) Alternatives to currently employed mitigation and deterrent measures, including education

Development of swimming enclosures that provide a defensive physical barrier to White Shark intrusions represents a reliable, active mitigation measure to protect the public from interactions. This approach represents minimal risk to threatened, endangered and protected marine species.

Routine shark reports are managed by SAPOL in regular media and stakeholder advice. PIRSA maintain a shark sighting log which reports sighting from the public, SA Police, the Abalone Industry Association and surf patrols. While the information is not ‘live’ it is posted as soon as practicable after a sighting is logged. In addition, social media messaging is routinely amplified by other emergency services along with dedicated water safety and community bases public shark sighting forums. g) The impact of shark attacks on tourism and related industries

Diving with White Sharks is one of the South Australia’s iconic nature based tourism experiences. It contributes approximately $11.3 million to the State’s economy and supports approximately 70 jobs. The South Australian Government through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, strictly regulates this activity and confines it to the remote . Tour operators have established their tourism enterprises by attracting sharks to viewing cages using berley. This method also enables sharks to be tagged in support of research and monitoring activities.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that the risk of to the general public is increased by shark-related tourism activities. Management of the industry will be reviewed should scientific evidence arise showing that this activity has created a risk for marine users.

As part of an adaptive management approach to , a monitoring program is undertaken using acoustic tagging aimed to measure the average period of residency of White Sharks at the Neptune Islands (Rogers et al. 2014; Rogers and Huveneers 2016). Results are compiled annually and the residency measure is compared to levels measured in 2001 when tourism activity was lower. This defines trigger limits used to manage the industry (Smith and Page 2015).

Indicators have been developed that inform various management responses in respect of tourism activity should the period of shark residency show signs of increase, decrease or stability when compared to the historical levels.

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Figure 1. Mean monthly patterns in daily sightings of White Sharks in the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park in 2015–16. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals for mean observational count data

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Figure 2. Movement of satellite tagged White Sharks (n=10) in South Australian and Western Australian waters between 2014 and 2016.

9 LNFS COL - CDS A. MIG OFF - SN MIG OFF MIG OFF - SN ASL COL ASL HO MIG IN MIG OFF MIG IN LNFS HO

Site types ASL HO AQZONE MIG OFF - SN LNFS HO MIG IN MIG IN ASL COL AQZONE

0 20 40 60 80 100 % of detections

MIG OFF - SN B. MIG OFF MIG OFF - SN ASL COL ASL HO MIG IN MIG OFF MIG IN LNFS HO

Site types ASL HO AQZONE MIG OFF - SN LNFS HO MIG IN MIG IN ASL COL AQZONE

0 10 20 30 40 % of detections

C. LNFS COL - CDS MIG OFF - SN MIG OFF MIG OFF - SN ASL COL ASL HO MIG IN MIG OFF MIG IN LNFS HO

Site types ASL HO AQZONE MIG OFF - SN LNFS HO MIG IN MIG IN ASL COL AQZONE

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 N of sharks detected

Figure 3. A. Percentage of detections (n=17,632) of tagged White Sharks at sites visited in South Australia for which >400 days of monitoring data were available. B. Shows all sites excluding the Neptune Island cage diving site (CDS) that is also a Longnose Fur Seal breeding colony (LNFS COL). Site types include hypothesised inshore (MIG IN) and offshore (MIG OFF) migration paths, offshore migration paths with Snapper (MIG OFF-SN), Australian Sealion colonies (ASL COL) and haul-outs (ASL HO), aquaculture zones/farms (AQZONE), Longnose Fur Seal breeding colonies (LNFS COL), a cage diving site with a LNFS COL, and Longnose Fur Seal haul-outs (LNFS HO). C shows numbers of White Sharks detected by site type.

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Figure 4. and depth habitat profile of a White Shark during Autumn-Winter 2015. Data were recovered from a min-pop up satellite archival tag and are summarised at 1 min averages and 1 m depth intervals

11 References

Huveneers, C., Rogers P.J., Semmens, J.M., Beckmann, C., Kock, A.A., Page, B., and Goldsworthy, S.D. (2013). Effects of an Electric Field on White Sharks: In Situ Testing of an Electric Deterrent. Plos One 8:e62730.

Rogers and Drew (unpublished data, FRDC Project 2014/020) Application of tracking technologies to understand patterns of movement, residency and habitat use of pelagic sharks in Spencer Gulf: resolving overlaps with community activities and marine industries.

Rogers, P.J., Huveneers, C, and Beckmann, C. (2014). Monitoring residency of white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias in relation to the cage-diving industry in the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2014/000800-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 818. 75 pp.

Rogers, P.J., and Huveneers, C. (2016). Residency and photographic identification of white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park between 2013 and 2015. 2015. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2015/000825-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 893. 125 pp.

Smith, J. K. and Page, B. (2015). Decision points for White Policy, DEWNR Technical note 2015/09, Government of South Australia, through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Adelaide. 12 pp.

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