Spotted Wobbegong

About the Spotted Wobbegong

Spotted Wobbegongs are endemic to Australia that live inshore and offshore in temperate to tropical waters at depths up to 248 m (814 ft) near corals and rocky reefs, coastal bays, seagrass beds, under piers and sandy bottoms.   

Biology and Behaviour

Spotted wobbegongs have flat bodies with a dark coloured back and light circular markings that obscure their darker saddles along their back. They have nasal barbels that hang from their nostrils to taste and feel.

They can become attached to their habitats, and sometimes can also be found in shallow waters barely enough to cover them. They are nocturnal creatures that are sluggish during the day, but at night they hunt for prey such as: crabs, lobsters, octopuses and bony fish. 

Similar to many animals, spotted wobbegongs will bite if they are antagonized, stepped on or if a person’s feet is near their mouth.

Reproduction and Lifespan

Spotted wobbegongs are viviparous with a litter size of about 21 and up to 37 young that are about 23 cm (9.1 in) long at birth. They mature at about 60 cm (2 ft) long. The maximum length recorded was 320 cm (10 ft 6 in) long, but most wobbegongs are between 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in) long.    

Conservation and Tourism

The IUCN lists the spotted wobbegong as least concern.

In Western Australia, sharks and rays are commercially protects under the Western Australian law which restricts the retention of all sharks and ray products by commercial fishing vessels other than those operating inn the State’s managed shark fishery. 

In May 2008, new management regulations was introduced where a daily limit of six wobbegongs was implemented. Because of this implementation, wobbegongs are no longer targets as they have been previous to the new regulation.

In areas that spotted wobbegongs frequent, shark fishing effort is sparsely distributed and managed via time-gear input controls. In 2007, the Metropolitan Fishing Zone between Lancelin and south of Mandurah, was closed to commercial line and fillet fishing to ensure the sustainability of fish. 

The Spotted Wobbegong is a biologically sensitive species, site-attached within its relatively shallow water range (0–218 m) and caught in commercial and recreational fisheries as a target species and as bycatch. In New South Wales, wobbegong catches combining all fishing methods and fisheries declined by more than 50% between 1997-1998 and 2007-08 after which it stabilized to around 20 tonnes. This led to all three species of wobbegongs occurring in New South Wales, including the Spotted Wobbegong, being regionally listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales. However, fishing effort reported as the number of days fished also declined between 1990-91 and 2008-09, resulting in catch rate being relatively constant around 15 kg per fishing day from 1990-91 until 2009. Fishing effort and ensuing catch rate should, however, be used with caution because it is coarsely reported as the number of days fished and does not account for the number of hooks used or soak times. Since September 2006, wobbegongs have been included in the daily trip limit for a specific list of shark species to one tonne for a 24 hour period and two tonnes for 48 hours or greater. New management regulations in May 2008 introduced a daily limit of six wobbegongs. A minimum size limit of 130 cm total length for the Spotted Wobbegong implemented between 2008 and 2013 protected juveniles. Although the minimum size limit is no longer applicable, wobbegongs are no longer targeted to the same extent as they used to because of the trip limit implemented in 2008. In addition, further investigation of the New South Wales fishing catches and effort revealed that the catch per unit effort did not decrease as thought in the previous assessment. Wobbegongs are not targeted and catches are low in other Australian states (Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria). As a result, there is no evidence to infer or suspect population decline of the Spotted Wobbegong, and current catches are relatively low, resulting in a listing of Least Concern.

Historically, the attractive skin has been used as decorative leather (Last and Stevens 2009). However, it is unknown if this practice is still occurring. In Australia, wobbegong flesh is sold locally for human consumption through ‘fish and chip’ and fresh fish retail outlets. Wobbegong fins have no known commercial value.

Until late 2006, there were no management strategies specifically regulating the wobbegong commercial fishery in New South Wales. The only regulation in place was a recreational bag limit of two wobbegongs per day (later reduced to zero in September 2007) and a commercial gear limit of no more than ten lines each with a maximum of six hooks when setlining within three nautical miles of the coast. There were no gear limits outside three nautical miles, but as of 2008, amendments to the share management plans instated a maximum of 1,200 hooks and 30 traps per endorsement holder. Since September 2006, wobbegongs have been included in the daily trip limit for a specific list of shark species to one tonne for a 24 hour period and two tonnes for 48 hours or greater. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries also recommended that fishers in the Ocean Trap and Line (OTL) and Lobster fisheries have in their codes of practice to release wobbegongs less than 130 cm TL caught in fish traps. Since July 2007, the use of wire trace, or other trace made of metal type materials, is prohibited to decrease instances of gut-hooking.

As a result of the observed decline in New South Wales wobbegong catches and following a study of the biology and ecology of orectolobids in New South Wales (Huveneers 2007), new management regulations were introduced in May 2008 for the three species of wobbegongs for the Lobster and OTL fisheries, including a daily limit of six wobbegongs and a minimum size limit of 180 cm for the Ornate Wobbegong and the Banded Wobbegong, and 130 cm for the Spotted Wobbegong. The similar minimum size limit for the Ornate Wobbegong  and the Banded Wobbegong was selected due to potential difficulties for fishers to differentiate the two species and was based on the size-at-maturity of the Banded Wobbegong. In April 2010, amendments to the Lobster and OTL Share Management Plans provided for the six carcass trip limit to remain in place, but the minimum size limit lapsed with the fishing closure in May 2013. In March 2011, amendments to the Ocean Trawl Share Management Plan provided for the same six carcass trip limit than the Lobster and OTL fisheries (V. Silberschneider, pers. comm., February 2015).

In Western Australia, all sharks and rays are commercially protected under Western Australian law. This regulation essentially restricts the retention of all shark and ray products by commercial fishing vessels other than those operating in the State’s managed shark fishery.

Relative to the area known to be occupied by the Spotted Wobbegong, shark fishing effort (mainly demersal gillnet) is sparsely distributed and managed via time-gear input controls. For example, the Metropolitan Fishing Zone, between Lancelin and south of Mandurah, was closed to commercial line and gillnet fishing in 2007 as part of a fishing reform package to ensure sustainability of fish for the future. The managed shark fishery’s catches and fishing effort are also routinely monitored through analyses of statutory daily/trip logbook data and the fishery’s target stocks are subject to regular stock assessments. The use of commercial shark fishing gear (large mesh gillnets and demersal longlines) is prohibited north of 26°30’S latitude to 120°E longitude off the north coast, which may include the northern extent of the species’ range. The use of metal snoods (gangions) is commercially prohibited throughout Western Australian waters (except for a small amount of demersal longline effort in the managed shark fishery and pelagic mackerel troll lines).

Site attached species such as wobbegongs may also benefit from habitat protection and suitably designed and implemented no-take zones, where all forms of harvesting or fishing are excluded (Huveneers et al. 2006, Lee 2014). Some protection may be offered by those protected areas already being implemented for the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus) in New South Wales. This species is potentially protected in the following Australian marine protected areas, marine parks and nature reserves:

Great Sandy Marine Park, Qld
Moreton Bay Marine Park, Qld
Cape Byron Marine Park, Byron Bay, northern NSW
Julian Rocks Aquatic Reserve, off Byron Bay, northern NSW
Solitary Islands Marine Park, north of Coffs Harbour, NSW
Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park, north of Sydney, central NSW
Jervis Bay Marine Park, south of Sydney, NSW
Batemans Marine Park, south of Sydney, NSW
Shark Bay Marine Park, WA
Ningaloo Marine Park, WA
Jurien Bay Marine Park, WA
All Victorian marine parks
All South Australian marine parks

Possibly also occurs in the following areas:
Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, WA
Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, WA
Marmion Marine Park , WA
Muiron Islands Marine Management Area, WA

Recreational fishers may also have had a negative effect on this species in the past. An in-possession limit of two wobbegongs per person was introduced for recreational fishers in New South Wales and reduced to zero in September 2007. This new regulation may help to alleviate any adverse affects caused by recreational fishing practices. In Western Australia, recreational fishers are subject to a daily bag limit of two sharks per person, and in Queensland, one shark per person.

Do you have images or videos of Spotted Wobbegongs?
Submit them to [email protected].

Spotted Wobbegong Gallery