HUGE SHARKS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17236, 16 April 1930, Page 5

HUGE SHARKS

CAUGHT NEAR HEADS 150 NETTED EACH WEEK SYDNEY, April 4. A thrill in# demo list rat ion of m't-ri-ug sharks was given by Shark Fislierii's, Did., near Sydney Heads yesterday morning. The erew of the vessel Alpha revealed their methods by haulin in two nets set at-sea, one near the son;!u-rii headland of Manly, and the oilier in t'aiiy Bower Cove, eaeb • ontaiiiiiii; huge and varied specimens of sharks. The company regards 150 sharks, each over ft ft, in length, a good catch each week. The crew’s best catch yesterday was a monster whaler shark, weighing about (it)Ulb. It was 12ft. long.

The nets, each 1000 ft. long, .are weighted at the bottom and are kept in a vertical position by means of hollow glass balls, placed at short intervals along the top, and are an-

chored at each end. The tirst in yesterday’s haul were two angel sharks, tlat-bodied lisli resembling to some extent stingrays and skate, a number of which were caught also. Then a tine specimen of the wobblegong shark was hauled aboard by the winch. It was beautifully marked; its skin will prove valuable for fancy leather goods. Hollowing' the wobblegong was a man-eater —a grey nurse —Oft. in length, its ferocious jaws filled with long, sharp, evil-looking teeth. More angel sharks and several stingrays completed the lirst haul. The only captive in the second net was a small fiddler.

The manager of the company, Mr. (i. T. Hassell, explained that at the company’s factory at Alexandria the hides were made into leather, valuable oils were extracted, the fins and tails were prepared for export to China, where they weie regarded as a delicacy, and foods for poultry and stock and fertilisers were manufactured. Even the eyes were treated and sent to Paris for the making of fancy goods. In some parts of the world, shark oil was used to replace cream in the skimmed milk for calves, which grew into even better-developed animals than if they had been given the natural food.

On Saturday afternoon the company will set nets in Coogee Bay, and haul them in at 1(1 o’clock on Sunday morning. It is hoped to catch several monsters 'which have been prowling there for some time.