Gummy shark

Gummy shark
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Superorder:	Selachimorpha
Order:	Carcharhiniformes
Family:	Triakidae
Genus:	Mustelus
Species:	M. antarcticus
Binomial name
Mustelus antarcticus Günther, 1870
Distribution of the gummy shark

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 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 cannot 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]

This gummy shark was caught at Hastings, Western Point, Victoria, using cured eel bait.

See also

• List of marine animals of Australia (temperate waters)

References

1. White, Wil; Bray, Dianne. "Gummy Shark, Mustelus antarcticus". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
2. Australian Fisheries Management Authority : Gummy Shark fact sheet
3. Department of Primary Industries : Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide 2009-2010

• Walker, T.I. (SSG Australia & Oceania Regional Workshop, March 2003) (2003). "Mustelus antarcticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 23 May 2014. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• "Mustelus antarcticus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
• 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.