38 FISHERIES OF THE ORIENTAL REGION, 



Official Papers on Isinglass, in Calcutta Journ. of Nat. Hist. 

 Vol. II., 1842 * 



On East India Isinglass in Calc. Journ. of Nat. Hist. Yol. III.* 

 1843. (Polynemus sele, p. 179, Plate VI.). 



On the Production of Indian Isinglass, by Dr. J. F. Royle. 

 London, 1842. 



The Fishes of India, by Francis Day, F.L.S. London, 1878. 



Sharks' fins — As in India, there is an extensive fishery of 

 sharks carried on in the Straits of Malacca, but by Chinese. A 

 few Malays also fish for the same purpose off Malacca and some 

 other points on the coast of the peninsula, as well as at Sumatra. 

 In all the islands of the Archipelago, as well as in the Philippines, 

 Siam, Cochin-China, all the Chinese coast right up to Japan, 

 shark-fishery is an extensive industry. Oil may be said to be the 

 first object, and secondly sharks' fins, which are dried and exported 

 to the Chinese ports for soup and for the production of gelatine. 

 They are assorted into black and white fins. The white are the 

 dorsal fins, which are uniformly light-colored on both sides, and are 

 reputed to yield more gelatine than the other. The black are the 

 pectoral, ventral, and anal fins, which realize a lower price. Shark- 

 skin is also exported to a small extent, as it is used by Chinese 

 carpenters and joiners for smoothing and rasping wood. The 

 species preferred are the Ground Sharks, or Shovel-nosed Sharks, 

 which have no teeth of a sharp projecting kind, but obtuse, ridged 

 teeth, which form a kind of pavement on the dentary plate, which 

 has an undulating surface. These fish are very destructive 

 amongst marine Crustacea and molluscs, and are said to live in 

 large shoals. Owing to the great injury done by them to the 

 pearl-oysters in Ceylon, it was proposed to close the mud banks 

 where they fed with stakes to prevent their egress. There are 



* Dr. McClelland commenced the ''Calcutta Journal of Natural History" 

 in 1841. The work extended to six volumes, which are regarded as very 

 valuable now. In its pages are several papers upon the fishes of India, 

 particularly on the collections made by Dr. Griffith. These fishes are now 

 in the British Museum. 



