The Sharks— Part One 



307 



VI 



In the war the Department of Fisheries of Canada waged on the Basking shark, this 

 pointed steel ram was used to kill the huge marauders of the British Columbia fishing 

 grounds. The ram is fixed on the bow of the Fisheries Protection vessel Coinox Post. 

 Eighteen Basking sharks were killed in one day with this knife-like ram. 



Courtesy, Department of Fisheries of Canada 



vanished from New England waters, except for occasional strays. When 

 they do appear, it is nearly always in the warmer months of the year. 

 They disappear in winter, probably to wintering grounds on the sea 

 bottom, where, perhaps in some sort of hibernation, they await the 

 warmth of spring. This theory is based primarily on the fact that Basking 

 sharks caught in early spring usually have small livers, indicating that 

 they had spent the winter in a place where food was scarce, or that 

 they had not been feeding for a considerable time. 



The Basking shark is usually described as "harmless." We suppose 

 the elephant might be similarly described— by people who don't hunt 

 elephants. But those who have hunted the Basking shark will attest to 



