Long-term trends of catch rates of the Tiger Shark are available from regional shark control programs and United States fisheries observer programs. The species is not commonly caught in large numbers by most commercial fisheries and its catch is rarely recorded. Consequently, there is a lack of adequate data for stock assessment, definition of population structure, and documentation of global population trends for the Tiger Shark.

In the Western North Atlantic, data from observer surveys (1960-2000) from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center showed an upward trend of the relative abundance of the Tiger Shark with an increase of 6.7% per year since the 1980s. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) logbook data indicated a slow decline from 1986 to 2000 in Tiger Shark relative abundance (Baum et al. 2003). When logbook and observer data were combined, the relative abundance declined slightly then increased (Baum and Blachard 2010). The Shark Bottom Longline Observer Program also showed an increase of 8% per year in Tiger Shark relative abundance between 1994 and 2013. However, the Pelagic Observer Program from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center showed no change in abundance for the same period (J. Carlson, pers. comm. 2015).

In northeast Australia, the Queensland Shark Control Program (QSCP) has used a combination of nets and drumlines to target large sharks since 1962 (Paterson 1990). The standardised catch rate of Tiger Sharks in northern Queensland increased until the 1980s and then decreased by the 2000s to approximately 66% of its original value. This trend in catch rate suggests a possible decline in the population between 1964 and 2007 (Simpfendorfer et al. 2010). The CPUE of Tiger Sharks showed an overall declining trend for the QSCP between 1993 and 2010, with the most significant decline in southern Queensland (Holmes et al. 2012). In southeast Australia, New South Wales has operated a netting program since 1937 (Reid et al. 2011). The CPUE of Tiger Sharks showed marked fluctuations in the first four decades of records, and did not significantly change between 1950 and 2010, although a downward trend in CPUE was observed in the last two decades. The size frequency of Tiger Sharks caught by the program has changed over 60 years with a significant reduction in the proportion of large mature individuals being caught. The recent decline in catch rate and decrease in the proportion of large individuals suggests changes in the population structure and raises concern over the effects the program is having on the Tiger Shark population off New South Wales (Reid et al. 2011). The New South Wales game fishing tournaments reported a decline in CPUE from approximately 1.2 to 0.5 shark vessel/day between 1993/94 and 2004/05, with fishers still targeting Tiger Sharks during the tournaments, suggesting a decline in the population (Park 2007).

In South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal beach protection program has deployed large-mesh gillnets since 1952. There has been an annual increase of 3% in the CPUE of Tiger Sharks between 1978 and 2003 (Dudley and Simpfendorfer 2006). This pattern seems comparable to the pattern observed in the first two decades of the Queensland Shark Control Program in northern Queensland.

In the Arabian Seas, a significant decrease in shark biomass, mainly carcharhinids, has been reported since the 1970s from trawl surveys and interviews with fishers (Valinassab et al. 2006, Jabado et al. 2015, Jabado and Spaet 2017). The Tiger Shark was formerly common in Eritrea and Iranian Gulf waters but interviews with fishermen have indicated large declines in landings (I. Elhassan unpubl. data, F. Owfi pers. comm. 06/02/2017). Surveys in the UAE have recorded a decline of approximately 90% in the landings of the Tiger Shark (Jabado et al. 2015, E. Grandcourt pers. comm. 06/02/2017) and the species has been absent from recent surveys in the Red Sea, where once it was reported to be common (Bonfil 2003, Kattan 2014, Spaet et al. 2016). In Pakistan and India, declines of 20-30% in the Tiger Shark have been recorded with an absence of individuals larger than 3 m in length in catches (M. Khan and Akhilesh K.V. pers. obs., Akhilesh et al. 2011). The Tiger Shark is suspected to have undergone declines of at least 30-50% in the Arabian Sea over the last three generations (53 years) based on current levels of exploitation and the decline is likely to be ongoing and it was assessed as Vulnerable A2cd+3cd in the Arabian Seas region (Jabado et al. 2017).

The Tiger Shark has been shown to be at risk in the Arabian Seas region from fishing pressure, and from some shark control programs in other regions. The widespread distribution of this species increases the likelihood that it will survive increasing levels of exploitation in certain areas. Given the wide range of the species and the localities of the shark control programs, the Tiger Shark is suspected to have undergone an overall population reduction of close to 30% globally over the past three generations (53-68 years) based on actual levels of exploitation. A further population reduction is suspected over the future three generation lengths (2018-2086) based on current levels of exploitation that are likely to continue into the future.