Priorities Action Statement - Actions for Great Hammerhead Shark

Recovery Actions

Collate and review existing information

Compile existing information on Great Hammerhead Shark and identify knowledge gaps for the purpose of targeting future research activities (Medium priority).

Community and stakeholder liaison, awareness and education

Collaborate with recreational and commercial fishing magazines to enhance publicity about Great Hammerhead Shark to improve species identification, the reporting of interactions with Great Hammerhead Shark, and to promote best practice techniques for handling and releasing (High priority).
Educate fishers on how to identify Great Hammerhead Sharks from other Hammerhead Sharks (High priority).
Encourage community reporting of Great Hammerhead Sharks via the NSW DPI Threatened and Pest Species Sightings Program online form (Medium priority).
Implement education initiatives to improve awareness of the status of the Great Hammerhead Shark and ways to minimise impacts on the species by preparing and distributing appropriate advisory material (Medium priority).
Install signs and/or interpretive displays at appropriate locations to assist with identification and awareness of Great Hammerhead Shark (Low priority).
Foster long-term, two-way knowledge transfer and capacity building to enhance the role of indigenous ecological knowledge in the recovery of Great Hammerhead Shark (Low priority).

Compliance / enforcement

Maximise compliance activities at identified important sites (High priority).
Continue existing compliance operations of recreational and commercial fisheries (including AFMA accredited compliance operations of commercial managed fisheries) to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities (High priority).
Modify fishing methods likely to induce high levels of mortality of Great Hammerhead Sharks (Medium priority).

Enhance, modify or implement NRM planning processes to minimize adverse impacts on threatened species

Manage fishing and the NSW Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program activities to mitigate impacts on the species (High priority).
Ensure actions to reduce levels of Great Hammerhead Shark mortality are considered when relevant State and territory fisheries management plans are reviewed (High priority).
Consider existing knowledge of Great Hammerhead Shark in the development of marine parks and marine estate planning decisions (Medium priority).

Research / monitoring

Examine habitat use (with a focus on identifying breeding areas, pupping grounds and juvenile aggregation sites) and regional connectivity across life history stages through the use of conventional and electronic tagging technologies including acoustic listening stations (High priority).
Actively seek grants or investor partnerships to fund research and monitoring programs for Great Hammerhead Shark (High priority).
Undertake research to identify, prioritise and improve understanding of the threatening processes and causes of decline of Great Hammerhead Shark (High priority).
Conduct research on the biology and ecology of Great Hammerhead Shark, particularly the species' ecological role, environmental tolerances, factors influencing population dynamics, age and growth, life cycle and diet (High priority).
Quantify Great Hammerhead Shark bycatch and mortality in commercial and recreational fishing sectors (High priority).
Monitor Great Hammerhead Shark populations over time to assess trends in abundance and distribution and to identify emerging threatening processes (Medium priority).
Continue biological recording and sampling of Great Hammerhead Shark caught in shark control programs (Medium priority).
Develop a tagging program for Great Hammerhead Shark caught and released in shark control programs, in conjunction with existing programs (Low priority).
Actively encourage community involvement in aspects of Great Hammerhead Shark research and monitoring programs (Low priority).

Survey / mapping

Conduct targeted surveys to determine the current distribution and abundance of Great Hammerhead Sharks (High priority).
Collect data on the presence/absence of Great Hammerhead Shark during incidental surveys (Medium priority).