The largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland’s shark control program died while pregnant with four pups, the primary industries department has revealed.
A female white shark was found dead on a shark-catching drumline near Gladstone in August. Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries took samples for research purposes and has been collaborating with researchers interstate, a spokesperson said.
At 5.62 metres long, the shark was about a sixth larger than the average female and almost the length of a 20-foot shipping container.
It’s not surprising for one to move towards warmer waters in winter months, according to Daryl McPhee, associate professor of environmental science at Bond University.
“You wouldn’t expect to see a large white shark that far north in Queensland during summer,” he said.
“The usual range is from about Harvey Bay, Bundaberg, southern Queensland through New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania [and] New Zealand.”
About 750 adult white sharks live along Australia’s eastern shoreline but they are rarely caught on drumlines, McPhee said.
Rising numbers of sharks have been caught in Queensland in 2024, with the 1,206 reported so far well above the 958 recorded in 2023. The two decades prior saw fewer than 800 sharks caught each year.
The state’s shark control program has run since 1962, and aims to reduce the risk of shark bites in Queensland coastal waters.
Changing environmental conditions and new equipment used by the program may be responsible for the rising catches, especially around Gladstone and the Capricorn Coast, the department said.
The species targeted by the program, including bull sharks, white sharks and tiger sharks, are euthanised after being caught on drumlines, a policy that has attracted criticism from animal welfare campaigners including Leonardo Guida.
“This magnificent female that was nearly six metres long, she only had to be a couple of hundred kilometres further south, and even if she was alive she would have been shot dead,” Guida, from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said.
Sharks caught within the Great Barrier Reef marine park – like the 5.62 metre female – are not killed but instead are tagged and released once they are found.
However, sharks can die if they are left unfound on a drumline hook for too long, according to Guida, a shark scientist with the Australian Marine Conservations Society.
It is not known how long the 5.62 metre shark had been caught on the line. Another 17 sharks also died after being caught on a drumline in the Great Barrier Reef marine park lines in August, Queensland government data showed.
“If Queensland had already transitioned to fully non-lethal shark bite mitigation strategies that are backed by evidence, this shark wouldn’t be dead, pure and simple, and this beautiful giant would still be roaming our oceans,” Guida said.
The state is trialling drumlines that send digital alerts, which Guida said could made a difference and ensure sharks like the pregnant female were found and released in time.
“You just don’t really come across them that big very often,” he said. “It is incredibly sad.”
