Gummy shark
| Gummy shark | |
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M. antarcticus
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| Binomial name | |
| Mustelus antarcticus Günther, 1870
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| File:Gummy Shark.png | |
| Distribution of the gummy shark | |
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The gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) also known as the Australian Smooth Hound, Flake and Smooth Dog-shark, is a shark in the family Triakidae. It is a slender, grey shark with white spots along the body and flat, plate-like teeth for crushing its prey. It has a maximum length of between 157 cm (male) and 175 cm (female). It feeds on crustaceans, marine worms, small fish, and cephalopods. Gummy sharks are found in the waters around southern Australia, from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Port Stephens in New South Wales, from the surface down to a depth of 350 m. The reproduction of gummy sharks is ovoviviparous.
Gummy shark meat is often marketed as "flake" in southern Australia. Their boneless fillets have made them particularly popular within the fish and chip industry throughout Australia.[1] Although gummy sharks have not been overfished, they inhabit many of the same areas as school (snapper) sharks which have an established bycatch quota. This means fishers targeting gummy shark can not have an adverse impact on the school shark population.[2]
Bag limits for recreational fishers in Victoria apply, a limit of two gummy shark and/or school shark, landed whole or as a carcass. Minimum size for both species is 45 cm measured from the rear-most gill slit to the base of the tail fin.[3]
References
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- ↑ Australian Fisheries Management Authority : Gummy Shark fact sheet
- ↑ Department of Primary Industries : Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide 2009-2010
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
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- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2005). "Mustelus antarcticus" in FishBase. November 2005 version.
- Edgar, Graham J. Australian Marine Life : The Plants and Animals of Temperate Waters. Reed New Holland, 2003.
