CATCHING SHARKS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 52, 24 November 1937, Page 7

CATCHING SHARKS

Oar Own Correspondent.)

Making Sydney Beaches Safe For Surfers SUCCESS OF TRIALS

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SYDNEY, Nov. 11. After much delay and erossfire of criticism and approval, a Qovernmeasubsidised scheme. of meshing Sydney beaches for sharks, as a ineans of lessening the danger to surfers has begun. At the first drawing of the meshes 20 sharks were caught, including a bluepointer, a grey nurse and a tiger — three of th» most dangerous maneat01 S. The nets in wliich the sharks were caught had been down for 24 hours, and the victims were so. nearly dead that they gave no trouble. A few rifle shots exjertly placed, ensured that they remained. quiet. 1 Within 400 yards of the surfing beach at Manly the boat handling thc nets was hove-to in a slow swell, and the southern anehor of the 1000ft. net was pulled up. Slowly two men began to bring tho net on board. Only a few feet of the net had come over the sida w'hen the first shark was sighted. It took four men five minutes to d:ag this 10ft. grey nurse on to iJ 6 , deck. Another shark was also in net. While this catch was being made two surfers, who were well 'beyond the surf, and at least 200 yards from the beach, paddled lazily backward and forwaTd on rubber floats. Obviously they knew nothing of the gaping, foot>wide mouth of the grey nurse on the deck of the fishing boat, only 200 yards further out. The method used is tp mesh, not net, the sharks. The 1000ft. nets are laid parailel with the beach and about 400 yards out. Both ends of the weighted net are anchored and buoyed, ana glass floats . keep the top just unde.the surface of the water. The shark swims into the net, his fins and gills becOme entangled in the mesh, he struggles, becomes more and more entangled and eventually drowns. When the nets are taken up the anehor and buoy at one end aTO pulled ed on board. Then two men will pull orf ropes of the net, one man on the surlace rope, and the other on the rope attached to the bottom of ^the net. ej boat movea slowly along as the net eomes on board, until the second buoy and anchor are- reached. They are then pulled up and the net is got ready ti be set again. Fractically every part of tke sharks caught will be used. The livers will yield oil, the fins and tails will be sein, to the Far East, the skin will be used for various kinds of leather work, and ihe flesh of the shark will be turned* into fish. meal for poultry, and fertiliscr. The week-end catck of fins and tails which are normally , worth. 4/- per 11). was valued at about £25. The livers when boiled down and refined* will produce about 50 gallons of oil.