The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-05-26
SHARK HUNTING.
Rather Unfeeling Methods Of Norweg
iane


This strictly commercial business of
shark hunting is done il small sloops.
whose headquarters are in the more
+ Lortherly Norwegian ports. The crews
are Tor the most part made up II pure
Diooded descendants of the vikings.
VINO are still 70 be found in any num-
Der among the codfshers Of Hammer
lest and IromSo. And magnificent
race Of men they are, Accustomed
from boyhood TO a life Of hardship.
'hey nave a way of treating Father
Neptune with a slightly contemptuous
liberation, like an old friend Of some
what uncertain temper, whose rapid
changes from smiling benevolence to
"lld, clustering anger are on the whole
rather amusing than otherwise.
they care nothing for danger and lit
tie lot suffering-in themselves or in
others Why, then. should they stop
70 think that perhaps a manned but
sun living shark can feel?
The fishing is done off the coast of
iceland in about eighty fathoms of
water. Three or four gallowslike struc-
tLres are rugged up around the sides
d the slCOp, and from each of these
hangs pulley-bloclI, over which runs
strong rope; and to the end of this
the baited hook is thrown out TO at
tract the quarry, and such IS the eager
ness with which the sharks take the
tdlt tlat sometimes each OF these gal
lCMslIhe fishing rods viii have it, fish
hooked and fighting for life all at the
same time.
There IS no playing" the fish: it is
not necessary or possible, and the pow
erful tackle is hardly likely to break, |
no matter how fercely the hooked |
shark may struggle But the shark is
not, for MS size a game fish; and. ex- |
cept when he is actually being hoist |
Ell up out OF the water, there is no very |
serious strain on the tackle. If he does |
now and then get away it is not be-
cause he ever manages to break the |
line, bat because the lightly fixed hook |
easily tears through the soft cartilae-
nous skeleton Of his head and so sets
him free
the bats the hauling tackle attached
@ MS particular gallows is manned and
without any superfiuous fuss or cere-
nony he IS hauled up to the sloop and
lolsted just clear of the water
he Is not brought on board at all, !
Jut with a few bold slashes his liver
s cut cut as he hangs and is thrown
|
alter. Then his eyes are put out and
le is cut adTift-to 60 and complete
he tar1y process of dying where and
low he pleases
All this sounds very horrible, but |
here is one curious fact which goes
annot after all be such cruel one
S at first appears. II IS this, the fish
Imen say, that unless they put OFT the
bark $ eyes he Will afterward cause
hem lot Of trouble by coming and
aklng the bait a second time
1t sounds incredible, but the state
lent is thoroughly well authenticated {
y eye witnesses, who have see liver +
7ss shark do just this very thing |
CHEMISTS, doubtless, are right in say ,
lg that the shark (Which by anatomi- t
al classification is one Of the lowest {
the fishes does not feel pain in the ,,
ay more highly organized animals feel i
. We will cling to that belief, for
is consoling to us, if not to the
bark, who is thus sacrificed that his
Yer may supply us with-what?
1t is secret not to be spoken aloud.
orway is one of the great centres of
le cod trade, and from cod is made
I'd liver oil, and-shark silver Oil
Estes and looks exactly like it-Pear-
ms Magazine.