32 Commercial Shark Fishing in the Caribbean Area 



wise your product will be worth very little. In this sec- 

 tion we have outlined the methods of handling the liver 

 and the oil from the moment the fish is caught up to the 

 time the product is shipped to the purchaser. 



Handling 



Livers spoil rapidly once the sharks have been taken 

 from the water. You should either (1) preserve the 

 livers or (2) extract the oil from the livers as soou as 

 possible after you have caught the sharks. Delay in 

 taking either one of these steps causes fatty acids and 

 other chemicals to form which will lower the value of the 

 oil by destroying the Vitamin A and by increasing the 

 odor and taste. If you wish to ship entire livers to the 

 purchaser, you should treat them with a preservative. 

 If you prefer to ship only oil, you should extract it imme- 

 diately. 



Preserving 



Ice or refrigeration equipment on board your boat will, 

 of course, provide an immediate though temporary 

 means of preservation. You should remove the liver as 

 soon as the shark has been caught and ice it down in con- 

 venient sized containers. This keeps the liver from spoil- 

 ing for three or four days. 



If you do not have ice, do not attempt to butcher until 

 you get to port. 



Immediately on reaching port, treat the livers with a 

 more permanent preservative. There are three pro- 

 cesses, (1) salt, (2) aquacide and (3) soda ash and 

 sodium nitrate, any one of which will preserve the livers 

 for the necessary period of time. Before any of the 

 methods are used, however, you should remove or drain 

 the gall which is greenish in color and which is located 

 between the two lobes of the liver. Use salt water to 

 wash away the blood and slime. 



(1) Salt. To preserve by -salt, cut the livers into sec- 

 lions three finders wide. Roll in a good grade salt and 

 pack in leak-proof wooden or metal containers. Make 

 sure thai there is no air space between the pieces and 

 that the containers are filled to the top. If not, add a 

 small amount of brine solution. By this method, livers 



