Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-12-11

Business Bureau of Spokane Wash
During the past five or six years
| there have been a number of promo
tons of the sale of stock i'll fur farms
of various kinds; silver fox farms,
muskrat FARMS mink farms, etc. And
now we learn of a new one--the CO.
operative shark fishing nets The pro-
motors of this new chance to make
big money" offer to let the investing
public in on their proposition by buy
| ing for $3.50 60 foot section of a 600
foot shark net. The promoters claim
| that sharks will be caught in these
| nets at the rate of at least one hum
cred month. They assure prospec-
tive purchasers of these nets that an
| accurate account will be kept by the
promoters and definite report will be
| made of the catch made by each IN
| dlvldual go foot net and credited to
the owners of that 60 foot section.
| AS fee for their fishing service, the
promoters require that half of the
| catch of each net, over and above one
shark, per month, shall belong to the
promoters.
According to the shark fishermen, an
average IL foot shark is worth from
S12 to SIG but, cutting this estimate in
half, they claim that each 600 foot net
will catch 100 sharks per month which
should net at least 5000 worth of
| sharks. Unfortunately the shark fish
ermen do not offer any guarantee that
the sharks will be accommodating
| enough to distribute themselves even
ly among the ten sections of the net,
but if they did, the promoters claim,
each net would catch so to 80 sharks
| during the season of EIGHT or nine
| months. Half of these would 20 to
| the promotersfor their service charge
| but this would leave the pur-
chasers from s276 to $3O6 per
year on each SO foot net owned That
is, of course, if the sharks 1--WE are
| speaking now of the marine monstersi
| really cooperate with their brothers on
the shore. which the Better Business
Bureau is inclined to doubt.
| Just to make the proposition doubly
| attractive, the promoters provide that
even if your section of the net doesn't
| catch any sharks at all-they will make
you an allowance OF three sharks each
quarter or $18 worth Of sharks land
pay you this in cash. Multiplied by
| four this would mean minimum re-
turn of $72 for the year ON your $3.50
| investment
The skin of the shark is claimed to
be very valuable as leather. The pro-
motors relate that sailed white shark
meat is sold for $145 per ton and that
shark oil brings Soc gallon. Dark
meat sold over the counter, is not SO
attractive as the white meat and only
brings SIS per ton while the fins, a
favorite delicacy with the Chinese, you
are told, bring in as much as So q i
pound The whole shark, according to
the promoters, can be dried, pulverized
and sold as fertilizer bringing S65 ton
for that. Oh, yes, there are the eyes,
used for jewelry and buttons, the back
bone for walking canes and the teeth.
of which there are several hundred in
full grown shark are often sold in
curio stores at 25c a pair.
So much for the fanciful statements |
and claims of the sharksters who sell |
the shark nets. Now for the facts. The
National Better Business Bureau in
vestigating this newest scheme quote
as authority, Mr.. Henry O'Malley
commissioner of the bureau Of fisheries
Of the department of commerce who
says, "A shark net cannot be fished
continually since it is necessary that
1T be taken in at regular intervals to
be dried and mended Due to the de-
structiveness of the shark and the eff
feet of salt water upon Irvine, it is
doubtful if a net would last longer
than one year or at the most, two
wears. Nets of the type used in fish
ing for sharks cost on an average ap-
proxiately one dollar per lineal foot
The abundance of sharks is unknown,
but 1t is believed that the nuisance
caused by them in inshore fishing has
given rise to an exaggerated opinion
Of their numbers. This is substantiated
by the fact that although the value
of the products of the shark have been
recognized for number of years,
shark fishing has never become an
established industry. According to the
latest statistics taken by the bureau of
fisheries, the sharks utilized during
1929 were caught incidental to other
established fisheries"
The Better Business Bureau warns
investors seeking short cuts to wealth,
that it will profit them to investigate
such promotions before they hand over
their savings. Shark fishing may have
a lure for you but the Better Business
Bureau urges you not to let 1t lure
your dollars into the sharksters net.
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