WAR ON THE WOLVES OF THE SEA 



377 



and the waters of the western end of 

 Long Island Sound have been infested 

 with the larger varieties as well as the 

 small. A young woman who was div- 

 ing in deep water at a resort near New 

 York disappeared, and when the body 

 was recovered it was clearly shown 

 that she had been seized by a large 

 shark. 



On the other side of the globe, the 

 shark fisheries are carried on exten- 

 sively in India, Africa and in China, 

 the catch running as high as 100,000 

 fish in a season, which are used to sup- 

 ply the demand for sharks' fins. 



Aside from the oil extracted from 

 the livers which by the bye, is used to 



A WOLF OF THE SEA WKKIHING 275 POUNDS. 

 Caught off the Island of Nassau and photographed 

 from a rear-hy boat by Mr. George H. Thamer of 

 Stamford, Connecticut. 



adulterate cod liver oils, the flesh of 

 the larger fish is ground up and used 

 as poultry food. 



The Canadian government recog- 

 nized the depredations of the shark 

 family and have for sometime waged 

 war on these depredators, especially 

 along the coast of Nova Scotia, where 

 a bounty of 40 cents per hundred 

 weight is paid for all fish delivered to 

 the rendering plants, where these 

 scourges of the sea are converted into 

 oil and fertilizer. 



That we have spent large sums and 

 established the most up-to-date hatch- 

 eries for the purpose of the propaga- 

 tion of food fish, the truth remains, 

 that we have done but little or nothing 

 towards the protection of the fruits of 

 these hatcheries, dumping the small 

 frye overboard and trusting to luck 

 and quantities for returns. 



If our agricultural stations should 

 expend their efforts in distributing 

 seed that was raised at great expense 

 to be sown and then abandoned to 

 rear itself without cultivation, care or 

 protection of any kind, it would be 

 analogus to the results of our system 

 of fish culture — and that the efforts of 

 the United Anglers League and the 

 Maine Commission in their endeavors 

 to interest the authorities of all the 

 Atlantic States and the National Gov- 

 ernment to assist in ridding the ocean 

 of these "Wolves of the Sea" should 

 receive the support of every one in in- 

 fluencing their legislative bodies to 

 take substantial and prompt action for 

 the protection of the food fish on which 

 we so much depend and which is grow- 

 ing in importance every day in our eco- 

 nomic life. 



Legislation along these lines has 

 been almost entirely devoted to the 

 protection of fish against the depreda- 

 tion of man who is in reality its least 

 enemy. 



After two hours of fishing, the shark 

 in the accompanying picture was 

 caught. It was six and one-half feet 

 long and weighed close to 275 pounds. 

 The line and hook were too light to 

 land the shark, so a heavy line was 

 noosed over its body, so it could be 

 landed with safety. This is a fair 

 sample of the sharks that have been 

 so common on the New England coast 

 the past season. 



