
A number of fish and invertebrate species recorded in SA waters are considered to be of conservation concern. This table is an aggregation of several lists, and is current at April 2015.
- In most cases, species have been classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Federal Australian listing of threatened species occurs under the EPBC Act 1999.
- Local protection measures for some species exist under the South Australian Fisheries Management Act 2007.
- Additional species of conservation concern are also monitored by Reef Watch’s Feral or in Peril program.
Genus | Species | Common name | Described | IUCN Status | Australian Status | State Action | Reef Watch |
Achoerodus | gouldii | Western Blue Groper | 1843, Richardson | Fishing banned in both gulfs and Investigator Strait. | Y | ||
Alopias | vulpinus | Thresher shark | 1788, Bonnaterre | Data deficient | Y | ||
Carcharhinus | brachyurus | Bronze whaler | 1870, Günther | Near Threatened | Y | ||
Carcharhinus | obscurus | Dusky whaler | 1818, Lesueur | Near Threatened (lower risk) | Y | ||
Carcharodon | carcharias | Great white shark | 1758, Linnaeus | Vulnerable | Vulnerable | Fully protected (no take). | Y |
Cetorhinus | maximus | Basking shark | 1765, Gunnerus | Vulnerable | |||
Galeocerdo | cuvier | Tiger shark | 1822, Péron & Lesueur | Near Threatened (lower risk) | |||
Galeorhinus | galeus | School shark | 1758, Linnaeus | Vulnerable | Conservation Dependant | ||
Isurus | oxyrinchus | Shortfin mako | 1810, Rafinesque | Near Threatened (lower risk) | Y | ||
Nemadactylus | valenciennesi | Blue Morwong | 1937, Whitley | Y | |||
Orectolobus | halei | Banded wobbegong | 1940, Whitley | Near Threatened | |||
Orectolobus | maculatus | Spotted wobbegong | 1788, Bonnaterre | Near Threatened | Y | ||
Othos | dentex | Harlequin fish | 1828, Cuvier | Y | |||
Paraplesiops | meleagris | Western Blue Devil | 1869, Peters | Y | |||
Phyllopteryx | eques | Leafy seadragon | 1865, Günther | Near Threatened | Fully protected (no take). | Y | |
Phyllopteryx | taeniolatus | Weedy seadragon | 1804, Lacépède | Near Threatened | Fully protected (no take). | Y | |
Prionace | glauca | Blue shark | 1758, Linnaeus | Near Threatened (lower risk) | |||
Pristis | zijsron | Green sawfish | 1851, Bleeker | Critically endangered | Vulnerable | ||
Sepia | apama | Giant Australian cuttlefish | 1849, Gray | Near Threatened | Nomination rejected twice | No take in northern Spencer Gulf. Trawl fishing bycatch continues. | Y |
Sphyrna | zygaena | Smooth hammerhead | 1758, Linnaeus | Near Threatened (lower risk) | |||
Squalus | acanthias | Whitespotted dogfish | 1758, Linnaeus | Vulnerable | |||
Squatina | squatina | Angel | 1758, Linnaeus | Critically endangered | |||
Sutorectus | tentaculatus | Cobbler wobbegong | 1864, Peters | Y | |||
Thunnus | maccoyii | Southern bluefin tuna | 1872, Castelnau | Critically endangered | Conservation Dependant | Fishing, ranching and export permitted. | |
Urolophus | orarius | Coastal stingaree | 1987, Last & Gomon | Endangered | Nomination rejected (2009) | ||
Urolophus | viridis | Greenback stingaree | 1916, McCulloch | Vulnerable | |||
Zoila | friendii thersites | Black Cowry | 1849, Gaskoin | Bag limit of 1 per day. | Y |