The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27
smAnKs nAvn vALun Now.
Catching Them Profitable Indus
try i'm Long Island waters.
From the New York Sum.


Shark hunting has now become an es-
tablished industry in the waters OF Long
Island, and It is found to be profitable in
portions Of the Great South Bay. II is a
common thing for a single boats crew to
kill half dozen sharks in a day. The
body Of the shark was supposed for years
to be worth little or nothing as an article
of commerce, and for this reason sharks
were allowed to live and propagate unmo-
Tested. Now it is understood that every
part Of the body OF the shark has value
The skin is worked up into an excellent
imitation OF alligator skin, from which
pocketboOks, travelling bags, belts etc,
are made. The flesh and bones Of the
shark are eagerly sought by the fertilizer
factories on account OF the great amount
OF phosphorus they contain. One Of the
best Clues yet discovered can be made
from the backbone, but owing 10 the
strong odor, for which no remedy has yet
been found, shark glue Is not yet a mar
ketable article.
The manner Of capturing the shark is
interesting. A day on which the wind Is
blowing a good stiff breeze is the best
shark hunting. A shark rarely feeds on
day when the surface Of the water Is
smooth. The shark hunter puts out to
the deep channels where the man eaters
feed. The fishing boat is generally of fif-
teen tons burden. If the tide is running
strong enough to scatter them, several
bunkers are thrown overheard at the
stern Of the boat Strange as IL may
seem, a shark will not touch food that
is not in motion or has not semblance
OF being alive.
After the fisherman had thrown over
board enough bunkers TO attract the
sharks to the neighborhood Of the smack,
long ropes with air-tight kegs are run
out over the sides Of the vessel. On the
under side OF each key is a swivel ring
and to this four-stranded hemp rope,
several feet long, Is attached. A steel
nook a loot long and made after the
fashion of regular bluefsh hook. is bait
ed with big bunker. A chain connects
the hook and rope, to prevent the shark
from biting the line. The keg on the sur
face OF the water sways and gives the bait
on the hook a hfe-like appearance.
The shark hunters watch the key as a
boy watches bob for a nibble. A shark
never nibbles. If he takes the bait 1t Is
done with a rush and the keg disappears
beneath the water for some minutes. In
the first mad PUSHES the shark is allowed
to have what the sailors term leeway
That is, little rope Is given him grad
ually, to prevent him from running and
splashing so as to scare all other sharks
within half a mile. An excited shark
rushing here and there and cutting the
water with his tail viii generally spoil
the fishing in that particular place for
the rest of the day.
After a shark has been hooked the line
is hauled in slowly by two or three pair
OF strong arms. Should the shark show
signs of not being completely exhausted
great care Is taken not to excite him and
once he is hauled to the side of the boat
he is lanced. Then the carcass is hoisted
aboard and skinned The skin is buried
in a salt bath. while the rest Of the body
is dumped into a pen under the deck.
After a catch of several Of the big fell
lows, the stuff is unloaded a a fertilizer
factory, and the skins are shipped 10 New
York
The Spanish shark is one of the hardest
species Of the family to catch. They US
ually measure from seven to eleven feet
In length and have hide as tough as
leather This quality in the skin gives
the Spanish shark a larger money value
than the other sharks. The Spanish
shark will seldom bite at bait that has the
least semblance Of suspicion to them. The
varities mostly taken now are the shovel
nose the hog snout. and the dog fish
The capture Of sharks Is a blessing to
the net fishermen. for as the sharks be-
come fewer the damage to nets is les
sened A good sized shark can do many
dollars damage to a net in a few min
utes Nearly every fisherman In the
Great South Bay has two or three nets
.'--H o7rf--- ~f~--- NV rts~~l~- a Gr-~-s
or more shark-fshng boats can be seen
on the waters Of Great South Bay every
,r4nuy anu tVuAu uay.