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InformationShark Fin Blues
How many species of Australian shark can you name? Besides the White, the Tiger, and the Bull, of course. Besides the ones that everyone knows. I’ll level with you, before I wrote this, I could probably only name those ones too.
I’m going to quickly introduce you to eight.
1. Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus)
These sharks are large, stout sharks with a pointed snout and visible protruding teeth that could be described as “ragged”. They live on the east coast and are often called the dogs of the sea, because of their friendly, docile nature around divers. To regulate their buoyancy, they are known to gulp at the surface air.
2. Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis)
One of the few sharks capable of moving between fresh and saltwater, this rare, greyish whaler shark is often found in tropical rivers and estuaries. Their rarity and love of privacy has kept them hidden from humans, with adults only being observed by scientists in 2014
3. School Shark (Galeorhinus galeus)
This slender, long-nosed shark has a translucent-tipped snout and a bronze-coloured back. School Sharks are relatively long living for Australian species, often reaching 60 and over.
4. Whitefin Swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum)
A stocky, bottom-dwelling catshark that is one of the many stunning varieties of Australian sharks that features distinctive patterning, with splotchy, tiger-like markings and distinctive white margins on its fins. To deter predators, it can swallow water or air to double its size, a defence mechanism that is often used to temporarily trap itself inside crevices to avoid being pulled out and eaten.
5. Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)
Known for its iconic hammer shaped head, with eyes paced on either side and a distinctive central indentation “the scallop” on the front edge. Unlike most sharks, which are solitary, the Scalloped Hammerhead is highly social and is known to congregate in schools of hundreds during the day.
6. Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)
The largest of all the hammerheads, identified by a nearly straight edge at the front of its “hammer” and a very tall, scythe-like dorsal fin. These sharks are specialist hunters of stingrays and have been observed using their wide heads to pin rays to the seafloor while they eat.
7. Australian Longnose Skate (Dentiraja confusa)
While technically a skate, it is a close shark relatives, with an elongated, pointed snout and a flattened body. This endemic species is at extreme risk because of its narrow depth range, a habitat that is heavily impacted by trawling.
8. Oceanic Whitetip Shark (Carcharhinus longimanus)
A stocky, pelagic shark with long, wing-like pectoral fins that have rounded, mottled white tips. Once one of the most abundant large animals on earth, its population has plummeted by over 98% in some region due to the value of its fins.
Each one of these fascinating, unique, and native species is listed as critically endangered. We hear this term a lot, but to put it in context, that category, “critically endangered” is one of 9 on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Above this category is “extinct in the wild” and finally above that “extinct”. This means that an animal listed as “critically endangered” is on the brink of extinction. It is just above “endangered” which itself is an indication that the species is likely to go extinct, just not with the same timescale (ie. a higher than 50% probability in under 10 years).
There are 39 species of shark currently listed as endangered, of a total of 182 native species. Nearly a quarter of all Australian sharks face extinction.
Our relationship with sharks is generally one of fear, however it’s a fear that is deeply unfounded. On average, there are about 20 to 22 shark bite incidents per year, with about 2 to 3 resulting in fatalities. Sharks are mostly indifferent or cautious around humans, if they encounter them at all. To hunt they rely on cues like fish blood and the high fat silhouette of a seal, patterns that are not matched by humans.
Following any serious shark attack, there is usually a reigniting of public debate on what “should be done”. This past summer, there were an unusual series of attacks on the east coast that took place over a 48 hour period, and included a tragic yet extremely rare fatality in Sydney Harbour. There were those who called for culls, including one former prime-minster, touting the belief that shark populations are too high, a claim that is not backed by any data.
But none of the debate gets to the heart of why an event like this would occur in the first place, which is actually perfect storm of human interference: extreme rainfall inundating the waters with nutrients from farms and cities, coupled with warming ocean temperatures changing the seasonal behaviours of sharks. Rather than look at ourselves, and our own impact, we immediately project our environmental issues back onto the environment itself. If there is any overcrowding, it is our own, on the natural habitats of sharks.
But it is not just these outsized events, or scary movies, that influence how we see these creatures. In truth, we don’t know them. We lump all sharks together under the one grouping, and yet you cannot tell me that the Wobbegong, that bearded, walking weirdo is the same thing as a Port Jackson, with it’s pig-like face and corkscrew shaped eggs. Then there’s the even more de-personalising name that is such a common part of any Australian’s upbringing: flake.
The word flake originated in fish & chip shops of the early 20th century, as a way to market shark flesh. Prior to this it was considered “scavenger meat”. Initially, the word was created specifically to market Gummy Shark (Mustelus antarcticus) This small, harmless, slender shark is found in southern waters and, fortunately, is considered to have a stable population. It is sweet and boneless, making it favoured for eating. Its own diet consists of crustaceans and cephalopods, and its distinctive blunt, flat, mosaic teeth are used to crush shells and bones. Interestingly, male gummy sharks stop growing at 10, but females continue growing until their death. While Gummy Sharks tend to be fished sustainably, their primary method of fishing, the gillnet poses risks to many other engangered marine species, including the Australian sea lion.
Today, the term flake is still widely used, and yet there is no legal obligation to specify species or origin at sale. According to a study by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) and Macquarie University approximately 10% of shark meat sold in Australian fish shops is actually from endangered species. A University of Adelaide study placed that number higher, at 20%, with a particular emphasis on the School Shark being a victim of bycatching. “Bycatch” itself is an industry term. It’s another one of these words that we use to soften the truth and shape perception. When you think of the word bycatch, you imagine a few stray fish, and for a small operation that might be true, but in commercial fishing, bycatch is actually hundreds of thousands of tonne of fish, dolphins, whales, turtles, birds, and other marine life. And that’s just locally. Globally the WWF estimates that 40% or more of commercial fishing is bycatch.
In Australia, the School Shark was declared overfished in 1990 when it crashed to just 10% of its original numbers. As such, the government declared it a “no-take species” however as we can see, in the nearly 30 years since, the practices of the fishing industries and lack of consumer awareness does not lead to any active, preventative protection of this keystone species.
Terms like flake are part of a language of extinction, where we generalise, despecify, and commodify rather than reckon with complexity. Instead of talking in “shark” and “flake” we should be speaking in Crested Hornsharks, with their raised eyebrows, Cookiecutter Sharks, with their bioluminescent bellies, Lemon Sharks, and the way they return to their birthplaces, and of course Wobbegongs, with their extraordinary camouflaging skin.
We protect what we love, and we love what we know. We need to get to know our sharks. In this short read alone you’ve been introduced to sixteen of them. Not flake, not bycatch, but unique creatures with their own biology and personality. The chances that you will encounter one in the wild are infinitesimally small, but if you do, I suggest observing with a sense of curiosity and wonder, rather than fear and a desire to destroy, which is how they will be observing you.