Help Grey Nurse Shark Watch

The grey nurse shark (GNS, Carcharias taurus) is one of Australia's most endangered species with only 1500 thought to remain within the east coast subpopulation. Accordingly, this subpopulation is listed under the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered.

Grey Nurse Shark Watch (GNS Watch) was launched in June 2011 and is a citizen science research and monitoring program that aims to use the data obtained through our community volunteers and research team to improve the conservation management of the GNS in Australia and to help the Critically Endangered east coast population to recover.

The GNS Watch program uses visual counts and photographs of GNS collected opportunistically throughout the year and during two annual scheduled surveys to photo-identify and photo-recapture individual sharks (from the unique spot patterns on the sides of each shark).

GNS Watch seeks, collates, analyses and reports on data provided by volunteers and researchers and aims to contribute to six of ten objectives in the 2014 National Recovery Plan (Recovery Plan) for this critically endangered species.

How you can help

Grey Nurse Shark Watch works because people like you share your sightings and photos to help track individuals and contribute to scientific understanding about this critically endangered species. 

To take a good identification photo. A great identification photo shows the shark from one side, or both sides and captures any unique features (like scars or fishing gear).

 

There are two main ways you can contribute to the program:

1. Report opportunistic encounters

Are you a diver or fisher who occasionally encounters grey nurse sharks? If you have a good quality side photo of any of these sharks, you can submit your sighting and/or photographs on line at any time during the year using a simple on-line form.

Please sign up as a member to be able to submit your data and photos.


2. Become a Site Custodian for scheduled surveys

Are you a regular diver-photographer who would like to become a site custodian? If so, nominate yourself as a site custodian! Site custodians that successfully carry out and upload their survey and photo details to our 'Lodge GNSW Survey' form on our website will be in the running to win some great prizes. 

First sign up as a member by providing your details, then indicate your nominated site and season.

Already a member? Login and then edit your member details to become a GNSW and/or nominate yourself as a site custodian.

Annual scheduled surveys:
Survey 1: January/February
Survey 2: July/August

Aims

Specifically, GNS Watch aims to:
1. For the first time, monitor the numbers of the Australian east coast population of grey nurse sharks and determine if it is increasing, stable or declining, 
2. Provide information on the distribution and movements at different stages in their life history, 
3. Provide data to enable interactions with commercial and recreational fishing gear to be quantified, along with associated injuries and any shark recovery,
4. Help to identify new aggregation sites, 
5. Increase public awareness, and importantly, 
6. GNS Watch through community and researcher photos will provide good data for management purposes via an open and transparent mechanism that involves interested parties.

How To

To learn more about how to participate please view the GNS Watch Volunteer Training Video and read the GNS Watch Methods Guide.

Step by Step

  1. Become a Reef Check Australia member and tick the box stating that you wish to participate in the Grey Nurse Shark Program (it's free).
  2. If possible nominate as a site custodian and select the site/s and survey period for which you hope to survey GNS (in this instance July/August 2017). If you are already a member you can click on the 'edit details' button and complete your nomination under the Grey Nurse Shark Watch section within edit details. This step is not compulsory but helps the GNSW team to seek coverage at key aggregation sites not yet nominated.
  3. View the GNS Watch Volunteer training video and/or peruse the GNS Watch methods manual (particularly pages: 8, 10, 11 & 12). 
  4. Carry out a visual count and photo-identification survey of GNS (i.e. dedicate one or more dives to counting and taking side on photographs of as many grey nurse sharks as possible during our July/August scheduled survey periods at any site in QLD or NSW where GNS may occur; as per the GNSW methods manual).
  5. Enter your survey data and upload your GNS images via the 'lodge a survey form' on the GNSW website.

Don't forget that a nil report (a completed survey where no sharks were observed/photographed) is still an important and valid survey.

For more information please register at Grey Nurse Shark Watch or email the GNS Watch team ([email protected]).

About the program

This project is coordinated by Dr Carley Bansemer, with the database hosted by Reef Check Australia. 

Dr Carley Bansemer is the research coordinator for the program and has been involved in GNS research and management since 2000. She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2009 under Professor Mike Bennett on the "Population biology, distribution, movement patterns and conservation requirements of the Grey Nurse Shark". Working for the Queensland Government (focusing mostly on marine park management) since 1998 she is dedicated to forging stronger links between research and conservation management.

Dr Bansemer and Professor Bennett have published several peer reviewed scientific papers and reports on the east coast GNS population that led to the acceptance of photo-identification as a robust and effective method to monitor the GNS population status and trends. Carley is passionate about research and monitoring relevant to GNS management being continued through a publicly available, independent community based photo-identification program that is scientifically robust and cost efficient.

Photos taken by Carley and provided to her by the diving community led to a photographic catalogue of nearly 1000 individually identified GNS that forms the base library for the GNSW program to build upon. Dr Bansemer and Professor Bennett are also supervising PhD candidate Deborah Bowden who they hope will lead them closer to identifying where the ‘missing' 50 % of mature females (that do not reside at Wolf Rock during most of their pregnancy) congregate. This challenging quest is the other core research focus of the GNSRCEP known as ‘Missing in Action'.

Read More About The Team.

 

 

Missing in Action

Missing in Action is a research project being undertaken by the University of Queensland (and partners) that complements the Grey Nurse Shark Watch Project.

As a part of this project, the research team aim to:

1) Identify potential aggregation sites for pregnant Grey Nurse Sharks through analysis of available data (satellite imagery, anecdotal sightings and captures, and habitat similarity to other known aggregation sites) and remote sensing.

2) Conduct field verification, mapping and deploy listening stations at potential aggregation sites.

3) Attach temporary acoustic and pop-up archival satellite tags to a number of female GNS (with mating scars) to identify potential migration routes and additional gestation sites for pregnant GNS. For this part of the project, the partners are also working with the CSIRO to trial a new timed tether release.

For more information contact The Project Team.

Program Support

Project support & funding

Support for this project has been generously provided through:

The University of Queensland | Reef Check Australia | Flora & Fauna International Australia | Australian Government's Caring for our Country | Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resouce Management Ltd | Winifred Violett Scott Charitable Trust | Australian Geographic Society | Burnett Mary Regional Group | Australian Government’s Caring for our Country | Australian Capital Equity | Ronald Geoffrey Arnott Foundation (managed by Perpetual) | Queensland Government

Reef Check Australia is the host of the Grey Nurse Shark Watch website and database, and is also helping to promote opportunities for community engagement in the project.

 

For more information please contact The Project Team. 

If you experience technical difficulties, please contact Reef Check Australia Support.