The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-01-26

q bargain! 10 produce ordinary
leather requires the purchase or
raising of cattle, also much labor
and expense in pasturing or other
wise feeding the animals. But
sharks and sawfish need only be
gone after and killed. The crop
is sure. They feed themselves,
breed freely, and are always to be
had in great numbers-if you
know where to look for them.
(Sawfish, by the way, are a kind
of rays, and may be called cousins
to sharks. Every fisherman
knows that sharks and sawfish are
his enemies, by reason of their
havoc among the food-fnhes. In
Florida, when the sharks get into
the schools, the fishermen haul
their gear and depart. It's no use
competing with these gIuttonous
and Unsuitable monsters.
Thus the destruction of such
serves two purposes: it furnishes
a number of valuable products,
and at the same time helps con-
serve the food-fish supply. Saw
fish leather is as commercially
valuable as that from the shark.
A well-knOwn authority on the
subject, Hamilton Wight, in a
recent article in Popular Mechan-
les, claims that:
SHARK leather, OWNS to it's
peculiar fabric and cross-weave,
has far greater strength than most
other animal feathers. When
treated and tanned, it becomes
very soft and plable, yet tough,
and shows great resistance to
stretching. Made into shoes, it is
as nearly indestructible as any
! material which can be nanufac-
featured into comfortable foot
wear. 1t is also finding use for
upholstery and luggage covering.
Many sharks yield leather of
beautiful hue. The leather of the
dreaded leopard shark, with it's
exquisite markings, can be used
in the most ornamental uphol-
steries, and is so tough as to be
practically indestruetible.
"The ordinary run of sharks
taken in the Florida keys yields a
pelt much smaller than that of a
grown steer, SO to 40 inches each
way being a fair average. The
enormous head and great tail,
which add immensely to its size,
do not figure in the cutting of the
leather, which is taken from the
larger circumference of the body.
The sawfish, being characterized
by great girth, yields q larger pelt
than the shark.
"The abundance of sharks in
many parts Of the tropical oceans,
the ease and economy with which
they can be captured, as well as
the proximity Of the shark-fishing
stations to ports from which the
hides can be exported to the great
leather centers, are attracting
many to the possibilities of shark
leather as worldwide industry.
Shark leather presents the basis
of a big industry not possible in
the case of many other marine
animals"
Compared with the risks and
expense of getting seal-leather,
shark-fishing is mere trifle.
have seen both industries, and
know. Why more fishermen have
never gone in for sharks, is some-
thing of a mystery. Mr.. Wright
continues:
Though other creatures of the
sea, such az the seal and the wal
rus, yield valuable pclts, their
quest Is often attended by nu-
mcrous difficulties aid dangers.
The walrus is generally found in
arctic and antarctic waters. re-
mote from lines of travel, and
therefore reached at considerable
expense. While the aggregate
yield Of walrus pelts amounts to
considerable value, the supply
comes in slowly from scattered
stations. WaIruses are not taken
in sufficient numbers in any one
location to render their hunting
commercially attractive, and the
catch is usually limited to certain
seasons Of the year. This condi-
ton Is true of whales, PROPOSES,
seals, and many other forms of
marine life which. though existing
in large numbers. are normally
% thinly distributed NJ to be un-
attractive to . large industry.
Sharks, howsveF, are often found
localized in vast numbers where
the food-supply Is abundant, and
where their depletion through fish
ing Is made up BY other sharks at
sracted by the presence Of food"
Besiaaips Operatives
Even before We set Ahout our
actual shark-catehing, the pres
encs Of these marine monsters
made itself real to me; for as the
sun rose higher and the tropic