The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-27
MANY KINDS OF SHARKS.
SOME OF THE SPECIES THREAT
ENED WITH DIFFERENTIATION.

The Baslzing Shark of Norway and
PrOdigious Liver 1t Yields as
Much as Twenty Barrels of Pure
Cod Liver Oil-PecuIiar Manner
in which This Monster Is Caught.
ics-HOw the Thresher Attacks a
WhaIe-The Smaller Sharks.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat
washington, D. C.-The biggest fish that
awins in the sea is threatened with ex-
Il termination. News to that effect comes
A from Norway, where the capture of the
Il basking shark has given employment to
i a large number of people for many years
s. past. The animal attains length some
4 what exceeding forty feet, and its enor-
3 nous liver sometimes yields as much of
n twenty barrels. or six hundred gallons
& Of pure cod liver" oil. This product
4 sold in the market as an extract of cod
a livers, furnishes the object of the chase.
The basking shark is so called from its
n habit of lying motionless al the surface
n of the sea, its huge sall-liSe back fin stand
ing out of the water. 1t has seven rows
of teeth. two hundred in each row; but
n n is sluggish and harmless, subsisting on
small fishes and crustaceans. All along
the Norway coast the fishery for this stup-
= i'd and bulky denizen of the deep has been
pursued very probably for more than a
century. Unlike other species of sharks,
ii is not voracious. and on that account
a special method is employed for captur-
ing it. In fact. the plan adopted is much
hike that used for taking whales.
II The fishing is done in large open boats,
which cruise about under triangular sails,
nd
a harpooners. The harpoons used are at
Htached to three hundred or four hundred
#tathoms of line. When the great nm of
shark is sighted, the boat approaches the
&prey until perceived by the latter. The
#ijsh thereupon does not seek to escape,
but on the contrary, approaches the boat
land follows slowly in lis wake. Why It
pursues these tactics nobody knows, but
#Ihe fishermen have notion that II mis-
#taKes the boats sail for the I'm OF another
Ushark. When the animal comes close
&enough, a harpon is sent deep into its
3body Instantly it dives, and then comes
Ia very exciting struggle, One man pours
#Water over the swivel on which the ilne
nuns to prevent the rope from taking fire,
Nwhile another stands by with an ak ready
10 cut the line If hitch occurs. should
Ii catch, the boat would be capsized at
The shark, on reaching bottom. swlms
along it until tired out. At the end OF
three or four hours 1t is so exhausted as
Ito be hauled to the surface and speared
TO death. Its liver is then removed, and
the body is cast adrift. The fishery tor
fthis greatest of sharks has been carried
on so industrously, not only along the
Norway coast, but about Sp4tzbergen and
In other far northern waters, that 1t IS
mot surprising to learn of the threatened
Mextinction of the animal Fortunately,
the dimnution of its mum bers has been IN
the direct cause of an important Increase
in the shoals of behring's which visits
&those shores. In other parts OF the world
the basking shark is not lntrequenLy seen,
$50 that long time is Likely 10 elapSe be-
ID. he tnra fe IL
nated
"a Basking sharks have been taken in our
own waters, on the Pacific side, as well as
E in the Atlantic. In the United states, now
lever, there is no regular fishery for sharks
Of any kind. A good many of them are
|*captured accidentally with menhaden,and,
r Xw4th the latter, are ground up for a fer
M tiizer or cooked for oil. The cooking is
+ hone by boiling and the fish-pulp l. sQueez-
ed in presses, The Oil being run OFF and re-
Nfned. This sort OF Oil is used as luDrl-
4 cant and for tanning. The sharks referred
ito are mostly "dog'tish" and dusty
sharks, the latter rarely exceeding ten feet
Il In length. Fishermen, when they eaten
#shark, commonly dry out the liver and
&utiliZe the oil for their private purposes.
fms, which are dried and made into broth
that is regarded by the Dig-tailed Orien-
n tails as superior to green-turtle soup. The
n fms are rich in a nutritious gluten.
IA Enormous quantities of sharks fins are
consumed in China, and from 100000 to 800 =
lS0 pounds of them are imported annually
Ntesenting a commercial Value of 10000 to
|&*l00.000. These delicacleS are also shipped
10 the Middle Kingdom from Sumatra,
MBorneo, New Zealand, the Sandwich Is
Whnds, and even from California. The fins
Wpost highly esteemed by connoisseurs are
he back fins, those from the sides and
X4Belly being of inferior quality. The fish
(which furnishes the best fins is known as
the "soup-fin shark 1t runs in great
E schools sometimes and the Chinese take
u with baited hooks. Sharks are fshed for
q
While sharks of various kinds are valu-
|.Rble commercially for the oil obtained from
hui products. One of these is kind of
0eatheP called "shagreen,' which is en-
lioyed for Governing instrument cases and
FOR imitation of alligator leather, for pock-
ttbooks, etc. The rough skin of some spe-
fles OF sharks is used for polishing wood
nd ivory. In this way is utilized the
lde of the angel shark of the Mediterra-
can and the German ocean The Turks
manufacture beautiful sea green watch
asses from the skin of this species. The
KIN OF the blue dogfsh of Europe is made
10 serve in lieu of emery paper. In India
Khark oil is employed as an illuminant, and
ma imitation of tortise-shell is made in
Ydpan from shark bones. The backDoneS
sometimes converted into walking
$pcks. In the islands of the South Sea
ndrks teeth are used as trinkets and for
IIhlng weapons, while the Eskimos make
Iqe tiaraS from the jaws of these fishes.
ne man-eating fish par excellence is the
eat white shark. 1t is otherwise known
leclmens are seen on both coasts of the
hlted states, though its more customary
dpltat Is in tropical waters. This fright
creature attaIns a length of nearly for
~ Leet, and is able to swallow a man
hoie' This fact is proved by an expert
sht which sailors are fond of making
zen such shark is captured. The skull
III ing preserved, they amuse themselves
craving one after another through the
tended jaws. 1t would be unsafe to
II thls, however, when the head has been
eshIy cut off, because under such condi-
4ohs the jaws will snap together fiercely
some time afterward II anything be
2aced between them. The skull of a big
X, by the way, is always salable ow-
10 me demands by museums and Gu
10y hunters. A young sea lion, weigh
IVO pounds, has been found in the
Viudcn OF Wnite shark.
valuable species of shark known as
Greenland shark, frequents in great
nOets the banks OFF the west coast Of
6oL"dy ana as far north as North Cape
- met with all over the North Sea and
arctic ocean. 1t maintains a lucra
IA a., Hshery. which Is pursued by small
ing vessels on the banks. These craft
al anchor in one hundred and fifty or
hundred fathoms of water, with 4
Jta SS Dag containing refuse blubber at