Wolf Rock–Montague Island Corridor is an important movement area for one shark species.

Sand Tiger Sharks undertake extensive migrations along the east coast of Australia, with a general northward movement over the autumn/winter period (March–August), and a southward movement over the spring/summer period (September–February), with variations in movement related to sex and maturity status (Bansemer & Bennett 2011; Otway & Ellis 2011; Otway & Louden 2025; Spot a Shark unpubl. data 2025).

Between 2000–2025, photo-identification images of Sand Tiger Sharks were collected along the east coast of Australia (Spot a Shark unpubl. data 2025). There were 127 individuals recorded from 644 sightings at Montague Island at the southern extent of the area. Of these sharks, 58 (45.7%) were also sighted at other locations within this movement corridor, including 20 (15.7%) sighted at Fish Rock, 10 (7.9%) at North Stradbroke Island, and 12 (9.4%) at Wolf Rock at the northern boundary of the area. There were comparatively more individuals identified at Wolf Rock during this period (n = 260), however, the lack of dedicated survey effort at Montague Island may lead to an underestimate of the number of sharks that make the full movement through the entire area (Sharkbook 2025). There are numerous examples of individuals making return seasonal migrations within the area. For example, an adult male Sand Tiger Shark who was recorded between July 2005 and November 2007 at Wolf Rock and North Stradbroke Island, then migrated to Montague Island in February 2013, back to North Stradbroke Island in August 2015, back to Montague Island in February 2016, and then back to North Stradbroke Island in July 2016. Another example is an adult female who was first sighted at Wolf Rock in February 2014, then Montague Island in April 2017, and then at Wolf Rock in June 2024 (Spot a Shark unpubl. data 2025).

Between 2003–2008, 15 Sand Tiger Sharks were tagged with pop-up archival satellite tags (PATs) at Fish Rock and Nguthungulli Julian Rocks in the area (retention times between 60–150 days; Otway & Ellis 2011). Mature males tagged at Fish Rock in autumn/winter (n = 4) migrated north, whereas mature males tagged at Fish Rock in spring/summer (n = 3) migrated south. This variation demonstrates and supports the seasonality of the species’ movement along this coastline. On average, both sexes spent >70% of their time in waters >40 m and 95% of their time in waters 17–24°C (Otway & Ellis 2011).

Between 2004–2008, 931 Sand Tiger Sharks were identified using photo-identification from dedicated research dives in the area (479 females [271 mature, 208 immature] and 452 males [288 mature, 164 immature]; Bansemer & Bennett 2011). Analysis of their movements found that mature, non-pregnant females and mature males were mainly observed in the southern to central parts of the area in early summer to early winter. These sharks subsequently moved northward, with mating occurring in late spring to early summer in the northern part of the area in waters off the coast of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Wolf Rock, the northern extent of the area, is where pregnant Sand Tiger Sharks aggregate from late summer to early winter. These sharks subsequently migrated south to pup in central and southern waters of their range in late winter to late spring (Bansemer & Bennett 2011).

Between 2011–2021, 31 Sand Tiger Sharks were tagged with acoustic transmitters to determine their preferred habitats and movements in eastern Australia (Otway & Louden 2025). Nineteen Sand Tiger Shark aggregation sites were highlighted in eastern Australia, spanning from Wolf Rock to Montague Island within this corridor (Bradford et al. 2025). The large-scale, migratory movements of Sand Tiger Sharks along the east Australian coast reflect ontogenetic changes and, once sexually mature, the shark’s reproductive cycle spanning Queensland and New South Wales waters (Otway & Louden 2025). The migratory movements of female Sand Tiger Sharks depended on their sexual maturity and stage in their reproductive cycle (gestating or resting phase) with spatial and temporal variation evident within and among years. Five hundred and three rates of movement (ROM) were obtained from the movements of tagged Sand Tiger Sharks migrating between southern Queensland and southern New South Wales. The ROM for male sharks ranged from 4.7–75.9 km/day (average 26.0 km/day), and the ROM of females ranged from 4.6–95.1 km/day (average 26.2 km/day), with the maximum values attributed to the combined effects of swimming and the southward-flowing East Australian Current (Otway & Louden 2025).

For additional analyses, data were sourced from Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) – IMOS is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Between 2012–2025, 67 acoustically tagged Sand Tiger Sharks were detected within the area at least 100 times (IMOS unpubl. data 2025). Movement segments were extracted using a speed filter of 1 km/h and only displaying movements between receiver stations that were >10 km apart. This approach means that movement segments are indicative of relatively direct and fast movements. Since most of the receivers are near the coast, and that a strict speed filter was used, these movement segments suggest that the sharks were mostly swimming along the coast. There were 24,133 movement segments of 311 unique pathways (i.e., between two stations). Each pathway was taken by 1–11 Sand Tiger Sharks (mean = 1.4; IMOS unpubl. data 2025). Broad regions were then assigned to examine where most movements occurred. Within the area, the strongest connections were among neighbouring locations, for example from southeast Queensland to northern New South Wales (n = 33 individuals), from Wollongong to Sydney (n = 16), and from northern New South Wales to Coffs Harbour (n = 15). However, movements were observed between all regions within the area.