Are the Tigers in Trouble

[Gad]

Taken from page 21 of the Sunday Mail 13March 2011

QUEENSLAND's monster menace of the deep, the tiger shark, has shrunk by about half its length and reached a critical point in its survival, new data suggests.

Researchers in North Queensland are monitoring the size and population of the tropical ocean giant.

Tigers are the second-largest predatory shark after the great white, and their populations should include specimens up to 5m long.

But for the first time, data from a cluster of up to 100 tigers on the Great Barrier Reef this year showed none more than 3.5m.

Most were between 2.5m and 3.5m and slender, according to north Queensland marine biologist and cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick.

Female tigers don't reach sexual maturity until 3.5m in size, which he said had implications for the tigers' survival.

"The tiger shark is our largest predatory fish in tropical waters, and we are really concerned about their future.

"If you lose them it's like losing the lions of Africa on the savanna," he said.

He blamed overfishing for killing the larger animals.

[BassTracker]

I agree thy are being fished alot, as by catch sometimes too. But in saying that, not nearly as heavily fished as they were in the 50's, 60's and 70's before people started to realise the potential impact of over fishing apex fish. I spoke to a friend of mine at James Cook Uni in Townsville who has a doctorate in marine biology who said it is more likly that other sprcies are being overfished and or changes in ocean current and temperature sending bigger fish to diferent hunting grounds and smaller sharks in familiar nursery typ reef systems. Just a thought