40 Commercial Shark Fishing in the Caribbean Area 



Insert the knife in the holes already made by removing 

 the mid-back (dorsal) fins, and split the hide along the 

 middle of the back (Figure 5). 



Now make cuts around the gills and lower jaw (Fig- 

 ures 5 and 6). 



Turn the carcass onto its belly and straddle it, facing 

 towards the head of the shark. Seize the left side split 

 of the hide near the head with left hand and hold it firmly 

 while the right hand operates the skinning knife. The 

 hide is peeled off by cutting it away from the carcass. 

 Do not pull too hard as tearing the hide off will produce 

 "thin bellies". Do not try to skin cleanly; leave plenty 

 of flesh on the hide. Hold the skin taut since if it is 

 left loose you will get butcher cuts. Always use the 

 knife to free the hide, never try to tear it off. 



When the left side is skinned off, turn around so that 

 you face the tail end of the shark, and skin off the right 

 side in the same manner. 



After the hide is removed, wash it thoroughly in clean 

 sea water, removing all blood and slime. Then put it 

 into a large barrel containing brine (7^ pounds of salt 

 added to 25 gallons of clean sea water, or 15 pounds of 

 salt to 25 gallons of fresh water). This soaking will 

 facilitate fleshing. A 50-gallon barrel, half full of brine, 

 will hold from 15 to 20 hides. 



An experienced man can skin a large shark in about 

 15 minutes, but it is best not to be in a hurry until you 

 have become expert. Remember to keep the skin tight 

 while skinning, leave plenty of flesh on the hide and free 

 the skin by cutting not by pulling. 



Fleshing 



While fleshing can be done directly on the freshly 

 skinned hide, this is better and more easily carried out 

 after the hide has stood for 3 to 1 hours in the brine solu- 

 tion mentioned above. On no account should the hide be 

 allowed to remain in this solution longer than over night. 



Meshing is done with a "beaming knife", a curved 

 16-inch blade with bandies at each end. These cost 

 about $7.50 (United States) and can be obtained from the 

 Ocean Leather Corporation, 42 Garden Street, Newark, 



