Our Sustainability Credentials
We Quote Terence I. Walker (2010) “Population biology and dynamics of the gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) harvested off Southern Australia”
There is now high confidence in the stock assessments of M. antarcticus and the fishery is now one of Australia’s most securely managed fisheries. Furthermore, the present study demonstrates that the effects of sampling and, more importantly, of intense fishing using length-selective gear produce various biases in the data and parameter estimation that are likely to occur in many other fisheries. The study also demonstrates that a shark species of medium biological productivity can be harvested sustainably, whereas earlier there were doubts about whether any shark species could be sustainably harvestable.
THE RESEARCH FACTS AND FIGURES
Most Sharks have slow growth rates, late maturity and low fecundity (ability to reproduce). The gestation period of many sharks is 18 months, and some at 24 months. This means that most shark species have low resilience to fishing and slow recovery rates if over-fished.
Gummy Shark however, has a gestation period of 12 months, and breeding begins between 3 – 8 years of age. Adults have 20 to 50 pups each 1 – 2 years. This means the Gummy Shark is a very robust species. The Secret of Sustainable Shark Fisheries by Jeremy D. Prince.