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Man Against Shark 



A fisherman holds a small Spiny dogfish {Squalus cubensis) caught in the Gulf of 

 Mexico. Dogfish of similar species are found throughout the world, often in fantastic 

 abundance. Tagging experiments have shown that some species travel at a rate of 

 3 to 8 miles a day. One tagged specimen migrated from St. John's, Newfoundland, to 

 Massachusetts, a distance of at least 1,000 miles, in 132 days. 



Courtesy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



Lawrence— fought the shark. Lawrence has caught some 40 sharks, in- 

 cluding a 1,950-pound, 17-foot Tiger, with his inner tube tackle. 



Sharks are hauled out of the surf at Long Island, New York, often 

 before bathers' frightened eyes. Using conventional surf rods and reels, 

 spooled with 220 yards of 45-pound test line, a surf caster can reel in 100- 

 and 200-pound sharks, and occasionally 150-pound Sting rays, not far 

 from one of America's biggest bathing spots, Jones Beach. Eel is a favorite 

 bait of the Long Island surfcasters. 



Sharks are both liked and disliked in the waters around Long Island. 

 Sports fishing parties, seeking game fish, are often plagued by packs 

 of Dogfish which flock around the boats, snapping at bait and driving 

 off game fish. Bigger sharks also rob fishermen of hard-won fish. It is 

 not unusual for a Mako to snap 40-pound stripers right off a man's hook. 

 A knowledgable angler in shark-prowled waters will release the drag 

 and let a fish run if a shark of any kind is seen after a game fish is hooked 

 —and before the fisherman strikes it. A hooked fish can, sometimes at 

 least, outrun a shark that is pursuing it, and eventually, the game fish 

 can be struck and reeled in. 



The game fisherman who ignores the shark as a game fish is passing 

 up some of the best fighters— and most abundant big fish— in the sea. 

 On the West Coast, sports clubs have been fishing sharks for years. One 



