This user-friendly identification tool has been developed to aid field identification of shark and ray species and families that may be encountered in Queensland’s inshore net fisheries.

Correct species identification, although difficult, is crucial as it unpins accurate data collection for research, monitoring and evaluation of fishery stocks, and increases confidence in the assessments derived from the data.

Traditional dichotomous keys require methodical examination of each feature in the key’s sequence and often need a high degree of technical knowledge. The Queensland Shark and Ray ID tool facilitates quick and accurate species identification using a non-linear search process based on simple images to categorise identification features.

Users can work through the list of feature categories to quickly reduce the list of possible species. Some species, particularly within the Whaler family are similar in appearance, and on some occasions, it may not be possible to identify to a single species, based on the observable features. This tool will allow users to produce a short list of potential species and guide users to what additional features they can examine to help correctly identify the species.