Hammerhead sharks

Assessment of Eligibility for Threatened Species Listing

The status of three species of hammerhead sharks is being considered by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee for possible listing as threatened under Part 13 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). These are:

  • scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini)
  • great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran)
  • smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena).

These hammerhead sharks are on the Finalised Priority Assessment List of items currently under assessment by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee for inclusion in the national threatened species list under the EPBC Act. The Committee’s assessments are due with the Minister for the Environment and Energy by 30 September 2017.

The Committee undertook public and expert consultation on draft assessments in June/July 2014. Comments submitted at that time will be considered as the assessment is finalised. The Committee will consider whether fisheries management of the species satisfies the requirements of the EPBC Act to support listing as conservation dependent. Consideration will be particularly given to whether the species are “the focus of a plan of management that provides for management actions necessary to stop the decline, and support the recovery of, the species so that its chances of long term survival in nature are maximised”.

Non Detriment Finding for CITES listed hammerhead sharks (2014)

Scalloped, great and smooth hammerhead sharks are listed on Appendix II to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The listing came into effect on 14 September 2014.

To enable the export of CITES listed species, Australia must ensure that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild. This is done through an assessment known as a ’non-detriment finding’.

A non-detriment finding assessment was undertaken by the Australian CITES Scientific Authority for the three CITES listed species of hammerhead in September 2014. The assessment found that Australian harvest and export levels for these hammerhead shark species would not be detrimental to the survival of the species provided harvest levels from Australian fisheries remained within the following limits:

  • scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) 200 tonnes per year
  • great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) 100 tonnes per year
  • smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena) 70 tonnes per year.

The Australian CITES Scientific Authority also made a number of recommendations to state and Northern Territory fisheries management agencies, including ensuring that information is collected on the commercial harvest of hammerhead species and catches are limited to ensure that national quotas for these species are not exceeded.

Information on the 2014 Non-Detriment Finding assessment is available on the Non-detriment finding for five CITES Appendix II shark species page and includes a copy of the assessment, the scientific information that formed the basis of the assessment and advice on CITES Appendix II shark listings.

Review of the Non Detriment Finding for hammerhead sharks

The 2014 Non-Detriment Finding on scalloped, great and smooth hammerheads was due to be reviewed after three years. In 2017 the Department undertook an analysis of relevant available information on these species and decided that the precautionary harvest levels set in the 2014 Non-Detriment Finding will remain in place until additional information becomes available.

Analysis of data on Hammerhead abundance, distribution and harvest in Australian fisheries since implementation of the 2014 hammerhead shark non-detriment finding (PDF - 408.27 KB)
Analysis of data on Hammerhead abundance, distribution and harvest in Australian fisheries since implementation of the 2014 hammerhead shark non-detriment finding (DOCX - 116.62 KB)

Commercial permit requirements for CITES listed hammerhead sharks

CITES permits are required under national environmental law to internationally export or import any part or derivative (e.g. fillets, fins) for the three listed hammerhead shark species:

  • scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini)
  • great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran)
  • smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena).

Further information

Fisheries that interact with hammerhead sharks

Hammerhead sharks are taken incidentally in some Australian commercial fisheries when fishing for other species. Five fisheries account for approximately 90 per cent of the Australian hammerhead catch: the Northern Territory Offshore Net and Line Fishery, Queensland’s East Coast and Gulf of Carpentaria Inshore Fin Fish Fisheries, the Western Australian Temperate Shark Fisheries and the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery.

Further information

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

Migratory species listed under international agreements to which Australia is a Party are protected under the Australian Government's EPBC Act. Australia is party to a number of international conventions and agreements to protect many migratory species.

Scalloped and great hammerhead sharks were included on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in 2014. Appendix II lists migratory species that are not endangered, but have an unfavourable conservation status and which would benefit from international cooperation. Australia submitted a reservation to their inclusion in 2015 because listing them as migratory species under the EPBC Act would have had unintended consequences. Without the reservation, recreational fishers who accidentally caught any of these sharks, even when fishing in accordance with their state recreational fishing permits, could be fined up to $170,000 and face two years in jail. Entering the reservation allows the domestic management arrangements currently in place for these species to continue.

Notwithstanding the reservation on the listing of the species on the CMS, Australia is continuing to fulfil the requirements of an Appendix II listing for these species through participation in, and support for, the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MoU). Signatories to this Sharks MoU met in Costa Rica in 2016 and included the above hammerhead species on its Annex to facilitate cooperation and information sharing. Australia supported their inclusion on the Sharks MoU annex.

Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks

The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MoU) was developed under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in 2011. The Sharks MoU is a non-binding instrument to which Australia is a signatory and its primary goal is to encourage a cooperative multinational approach to research and management of the global populations of migratory sharks. The Sharks MoU currently lists 29 species of sharks and rays from around the world’s oceans, including 21 species from Australian waters. A Conservation Plan and a work programme have been agreed to by the Sharks MoU. The Conservation Plan identifies broad objectives for the conservation and management of species listed under the Sharks MoU. 

National Environmental Science Programmme (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub

Led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) the project below examines the current state of knowledge on hammerhead sharks in Australian waters to define what is currently known and identify data and knowledge gaps.

Further information