Department of the Environment and Heritage, May 2005 ISBN 0 6425
5082 4 The Australian Government Minister for the Environment
and Heritage listed the Whale Shark as Vulnerable under Section
178 of the EPBC Act on 16 October 2001. The Minister's decision
to list the Whale Shark as a threatened species was based on
advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The
Committee found evidence for past and probable future
substantial reductions in the Australian Whale Shark population,
primarily due to fishing pressures in the waters of other
regional fishing nations such as the Philippines, Taiwan and
India. Catch data from these three countries indicated declining
catch rates for the Whale Shark over the last ten to fifteen
years. Considering that Australia is likely to share Whale Shark
populations with these regional nations, and that hunting
pressure on Whale Shark populations would be expected to
continue in the Philippines, Taiwan and India, the Committee
concluded that a decline in the Australian