Conservationists are calling for tighter fishing regulations to protect scalloped hammerheads from overfishing in Northern Territory waters.
Scalloped hammerheads have been recognised as 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation since 2018.
But the species is not protected as endangered under Australia's environmental laws.
The federal government is currently reviewing the conservation status of scalloped hammerheads in the threatened species list under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Regardless of the outcome, the Australian Maritime Conservation Society (AMCS) said the species needed more than an endangered listing to survive.
"What we need in place is a fishing mortality limit so that when too many scalloped hammerheads die, the fishing stops altogether," AMCS shark biologist Leonardo Guida said.
"We also need cameras on all the vessels so that we know what's being caught, where.
A popular bycatch
The AMCS said it had received photos from a deckhand of scalloped hammerheads being harvested on a commercial fishing boat licensed by the Northern Territory Offshore Net and Line Fishery (ONLF).
Jack (not his real name) said he was alarmed by the volume of scalloped hammerheads he processed in the Timor Sea, south-west of Darwin, in 2021.
"It just shocked me, hey," Jack said.
"I didn't want to be part of that. I don't even want it to happen, you know.
The scalloped hammerhead's mallet-shaped head boosts its ability to see and smell its prey, but it also makes the shark more vulnerable to being caught in gillnets.
While the ONLF's target species are grey mackerel and blacktip sharks, scalloped hammerheads are the fishery's fifth most common bycatch.
In the 2020-21 financial year, the ONLF harvested 5.8 tonnes and discarded 1.4 tonnes of the species.
Under the EPBC Act, Australian fisheries are allowed to harvest up to 200 tonnes of scalloped hammerheads a year.
A spokesperson from the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism said the ONLF's bycatch is within the Territory's proportion of the national catch limit.
"Additionally, the department has conducted a national stock assessment for scalloped hammerheads that indicates recent, low catches of this species has made it unlikely that they are overfished in Territory waters," a DITT spokesperson said.
Hammerheads sold as 'flake'
In Australia, there's no legal obligation to name the species of shark meat when it's sold.
Jack said the ONLF marketed scalloped hammerheads as a different species.
"A lot of the sharks that were coming in were sold for $6 a kilo(gram) for what I believe is flake," Jack said.
According to the Australian Fish Names Committee, the name 'flake' should only be used for flesh from gummy sharks and rigs.
"The department is aware that fisheries species are often incorrectly named at the point of sale," a DITT spokesperson said.
"However, the total catch of hammerhead sharks is tightly monitored."
Conservation status under review
If scalloped hammerheads are listed as 'endangered' under the EPBC Act, it would become a 'no take' species – meaning it would be illegal to catch, kill or sell scalloped hammerheads.
The federal government's listing assessment is due on April 30.
