 In Australia and Japan in particular, members of the family are often highly sought by recreational fishermen who also seek the fish for their prized flesh.The first species of sillaginid to be scientifically described was "Sillago sihama", by Peter Forsskål in 1775, who initially referred the species to a genus of hardyhead, "Atherina".It was not until 1817 that the type genus "Sillago" was created by Georges Cuvier based on his newly described species "Sillago acuta", which was later found to be a junior synonym of "S. sihama" and subsequently discarded.