Fishing for sharks has a long history in Australia, with reports that the first white settlers, who arrived in Australia in 1788, supplemented their food resources by fishing for sharks. The Southern Shark Fishery is Australia's major shark fishery, which began in 1927, fishing mainly for school shark. Over the years 1970 - 2000, school shark and gummy shark provided nearly all the catch from the Southern Shark Fishery. Today, the primary species targeted in the fishery is Gummy Shark.

Gummy Shark is the original Flake that we all know for our Fish and Chips. It is "Not Overfished", and is therefore a valuable asset to Australia's food security.

Here at the Southern Shark Industry Alliance we are working very hard to increase community awareness that Gummy Shark is a great source of Australian food from a World Class Managed Fishery.