Tawny nurse shark  (Nebrius ferrugineus)

The shallow water that the tawny nurse shark is restricted to is heavily fished, with the species being captured in demersal trawls, floating and fixed bottom gill nets and baited hooks across most of its range outside Australia (1). The flesh is sold for human consumption, with the fins making their way into the oriental sharkfin market. The species' liver may also be processed for vitamins and oil, the offal processed for fishmeal, and the hide potentially for leather (2). The exact impact fishing is having on population numbers is unknown, but there are reports of local extinctions in waters around India and Thailand. Certainly, the shark's narrow habitat range, apparently limited dispersion and low reproductive turnover make it highly vulnerable to the effects of over-fishing. Fortunately, this shark is still abundant in Australian waters, where it is captured only in very small numbers in gillnets and meshing (1).

There are currently no conservation measures targeting this species (1).