The Usefulness of Sharks.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 76

The Usefulness of Sharks.

The shark is undoubtedly a " dog with a bad name." He is called opprobriou^ly the "Tigor of the seas" or the " Sai'or s foe," or any other scurrilous name which happens to be handy. Much mud is thrown at him, and, as he seldom finds a defender, most of it sticks. Hard lines this ! Because in reality this blue-water bogie is a humble and useful public servant, who performs uncomplainingly the dufics connected with the sanitation of the seas. The shark is the common scavenger and general undertaker of the ocean. He 16 not, and, for reasons connected with his very moderate speed-limit, never can be, primarily, a fish of prey. Open any captured shark, and you will find clear proof that this is co. A few tangled bits of rope yarn, a battered cornbeef tin, a corkers bottle containing an insulting meffeago to the finder (thrown overboard by some nautical wag), or a sailor's cap which has been lost in a gale, aU tend to show that the shark is a fish of businesslike habits, with a keen eye to any chance windfalls which may come in his way ; but the more digestible contents of his stomach, consisting mainly of carrion of every kind, all give the clearest olfactory evidence that the original owners of them were not alive — in fact, were very much dead— when this marine sanitary inspector came along, and, condemning them as nuisances, removed them into his own internal refuse bin. A large accumulation of carefully collected evidence on this point proves conclusively that there are, as a matter o fact, only two articles of his ordinary menu which the shark is able to capture alive— namely an occasional unwary sea-fowl which he may happen to surprise asleep on the surface" of the water, and the ugly, octopus-like squid, whose limited powers of locomotion {rive a chance to our hungry four-knot prow'er. . The »hark. then, co far from being the gore-dyed pirate which the novelist paints him. is a mere hard-working, commonplace drudge; and, as such, deserves, if not kindness, at any rate, toleration.— Pearson's Magazine.