Charlevoix county herald., 1920-08-20
PRAISES SHARK
AS FOOD FISH
Bureau of Fisheries Says It Has
Been Neglected Because
Worth Is Little Known.
TELLS HOW TO PREPARE IT
II II Has a Strong odor, That Can Be
Easily Notwithstanding Folk
Have Known of Its Value
As Food.

quent appearance Of new sea foods in
our markets, the truth Of the old say
Ing, "There are as good fish In the
sea as have ever been caught" Is
acquiring a new application. This Is
especially true of large family of
fishes representatives of which occur
on all shores of the sea and in all
clmes-the sharks, strong, active.
gracefully shaped fishes, varying In
length from a few inches to fifty feet
or more, which offer wholesome,
palatable and nutritious food, compar-
Ing favorably In dietary qualities with
many of the highly priced sea foods.
Many people, indeed, have recog-
nized their value and have utilized
them extensively for food. In the
countries bordering on the Mediter-
ranean and in Great Britain. Norway
and Sweden they are well known as
valuable and nutritious foods. AT
Folkestone, England, the flesh of one
Of the small sharks, sailed and dried.
is marketed as "Folkestone beef" I'm
til recently their use as food In the
United States has been limited prin-
cipally to seafaring people in scattered
localities and to the fish markets OF
some Of our larger cities, but with
late interest aroused I'm new sea foods
they are finding a place In our largest
fish-distributing centers and have ap-
peared on the menus of some of the
leading hotels In several cities.
OF Wide Distribution.
AS already intimated, sharks are Of
wide distribution, occurring In all
seas from the equator to polar waters,
but in greatest abundance In the
tropics. Those, however, taken in the
cooler waters of the temperate zones
are among the most desirable species
for food, and 1t Is from these that the
principal supply for the markets of
his country is obtained.
Like the cod, squeteague, bluefish
and other well-known fishes, sharks
feed mainly on fishes, crabs, mollusks
and other small forms living In the
sea. their method of foraging and cap
ture in many cases being unusual and
interesting. The thrasher shark uses
it's whip-like tail, which Is as long as
its body, to splash the water as 1t
Swims round and round school of
fish in ever narrowing circles, crowd
ing the fish closer and closer together
until the moment Of attack.
The grayfish, sand sharks and some
other species work In schools and do
not hesitate to attack the fish taken
In the fshermen's nets, the larger
forms tearing the nets and liberating
the catch.
The economic uses to which these
forms may be put are somewhat
varied. At one time large quantities
Of the hides, cleaned but not tanned,
were used for polishing wood, ivory,
metal and the like. With improve
ments In methods Of preparation of
sandpaper and emery, these have
largely replaced animal hides.
Make Excellent Leather.
Within the last year the Bureau OF
Fisheries has interested American
tanners to experiment In the produc-
ton of feathers from these hides with
excellent results, and there now exists
q demand for large quantities of raw
materials. In tensile strength leath-
ers tested compare favorably with
those made from mammal hides, and
the market for these products appears
assured. In addition, the livers are
rich in marketable oil, which is of
value In dressing leather soapmaking
paints and for medicinal purposes
The yield varies from less than pint
In some of the smaller sharks to about
125 gallons In some Of the larger sizes.
The meat Of sharks is white, slight
ly gelatinous. resembling halibut, but
somewhat less firm, and compares IA
vorably In food value with other staple
food fishes and meats. Russell j.
Coles, who has eaten the flesh of many
of our sharks, states that the flesh In
fieshly killed examples of some
species has q peculiar odor which can
readily be removed by sailing. After
several hours the meat should be
freshened, then parboiled and cooked
as any other fish. The flesh of the
young sharks and such small forms as
the grayfish is particularly good fresh,
but II is as a preserved product that
the meat Of sharks especially CON-
mends itself. Sailed and smoked or
kippered IL is excellent. II may also
be sailed and dried, faxed or
shredded.
In some parts Of the meat the lay
ers Of connective tissue are quite close
together. These parts may conven-
iently be run through meat chopper
and the meat used for fish balls,
chowders and the like. Persons In
position to smoke the fish as needed
will find the mild-cured, hot-smoked
product particularly appetizing