THE SHARK FOR FOOD AND LEATHER. 
The Shark for Food and Leather. 
By ALLEN ROGERS, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y.* 
From time immemorial the shark has been considered as an enemy 
to man and as a scavenger of the sea. He has been pictured as the 
cannibal of the deep, and in fiction has been painted as the monster 
who lurks about the ill-fated ship in order to devour. the unfortunates 
who may have met their death in the gale or on the reef. We, there- 
fore, for generations have cherished an antipathy for this creature of 
the sea, and have been very willing to accept as fact all of these stories, 
never stopping to consider that perhaps, after all, the shark might have 
a few points in his favour. 
To begin with, the shark does not live exclusively on the flesh of 
man. In fact, there are only a few species who would eat human flesh, 
even if it were possible for them to secure it. The principal species 
considered a man eater, the tiger shark, probably has seldom had the 
pleasure of this delicacy. Sharks, like all other fish, live on the smaller 
‘fish; thus upholding the proverb that the big fish eat the little ones. 
Sharks travel in schools, or singly, and are found most abundant 
where food fish are plentiful. They are especially fond of the mullet, 
menhaden, mackerel, and sea trout. Thus it will be seen that they are 
migratory, and at various seasons are found in different waters. They 
are naturally warm-water fish, which accounts for the large number . 
found in the Gulf of Mexico, along the coast, of Florida, and the West 
Indies. Being rapid and powerful swimmers they often follow ships for 
hundreds of miles picking up food as it is thrown over the side of the 
vessel. Thus their dict at such times is not unlike that of our domestic 
hog and poultry. It is claimed by fisher folk that the shark will not eat 
unsound food, which shows him even more particular than our friend 
the porker. Why, then, if he is so clean in his habits of life, should 
we discriminate against him? 
The Bureau of Fisheries for several years has endeavoured to interest 
the people of this country in using shark meat as an edible product, 
with a certain amount of success. In fact, that species of shark known 
as dog fish is being canned in large quantities and sold under the name 
of gray fish. Certain fisheries on the New England coast are removing 
the head, tail, and fins, and selling the product in Boston and New 
York as deep-sea sword fish. In Boston, also, shark meat is being sold 
as such to the Italian trade, who appreciate its food value and enjoy 
its delicate flavour. Why, then, should we not take a lesson from the 
Ttalians and acquire the shark-eating habit? 
For the past five or six years the writer has been interested in 
developing a method for converting shark skins into a merchantable 
leather. As a result of this work several processes have been devised 
which have been assigned to the Ocean Leather Company operating 
fisheries at Morehead City, N:C., and Fort Myers, Fla. This concern 
* rom The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 
313 
