SHARK FISHING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 516, 27 April 1933, Page 3

SHARK FISHING

VIEGLECTED INDUSTRY GREAT BARRIER REEF ONCE VALUABLE GROUND. POSSIBILITIES OF DUGONG. - A few years ago shark fishing in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef cvas a profitable industry, but little is done nowadays. Shark oil used to { regarded as an excellent lubricant, ' and it always found a ready market among Eawmilling c'ompaiiies on the mainland. Dried sharks' fins are much sought after in India, China, and the East. The shovel-nosed shark, which is really a species of ray, is regarded ' as a delicacy hy many nationalities on the North' Queensland coast. This fish, beinjg p'lentiful from Torres Strait to Moreton Bay, .and growing to a length of 6 feet or 7 feet, and a weight of upward of 1001b., represents l wholesome food which would not be allowed to waste within reach of any large European centre of population. ' The carcases of sharks also form a splendid manure. I have heen informed that smaller sharks arei used for the fruit orchards of Tasmania. They are bought at 30s to 40s a ,ton. The istriped tiger shark has the best' sell- . ing fins. It also is the most h'andsome and ferocious of the order, and is very difficult to kill. The edible turtle abounds in the Barrier waters, and breeds on the shore's of the coral isles. It is eaten locally fand a limited number is exported to Sydney vand Melboilrne, but little ds done with this valuable commercial ar- 1 ticle. Preserved or dried, the Barrier Reef turtle would' find a market in Europe and China. Natural facilities exist at many stations on the Barrier Reef for the institution of large turtlebreeding ponds and lagoohs that might • equal in impof tance the celebrated .establishment in the island of Ascension. A valuable tortoise-shell producing turtle is also plentiful, but as yet the trade in tortoise-shell from this region is not an independent industry. The annual value of this materiial exported from Queensland in the last 20 years has slightly exceeded £500. The prices obtained for Queensland tortoise-shell vary eonsiderably, according to quality. The best and most valuable obtaiiiable from. the true tor-toise-shell or hawkbill turtle, which', if .of superior texture, may realise from £1 to £1 5s a lb. Thin and inferior tortoise-shell will not fetch a higher price than 4s or 5s a lb. Varieties of- Turtle. . Beche-de-mer fishermen have recognised as many as five distinct Barrier Reef varieties of turtle. These are the loggerhead, the ordinary green edible species, the tortoise-shell turtle, and a red and yellow-.backed variety. The lastnamed appears to be a melanotic ariety of the hiawkbill. The shell is yellow throughout and is ,so highly prized that ias much as 20 a lb has been offered for it. The red-backed turtle seems to be a variety of the ordinary edible species. All these Barrier Reef turtles, with the exception of the loggerhead, are esteemed as food. That the logigerhead is essentially a fish-eating spcies, while the other varieties feed chiefly on seaweed, accounts for its rank qualities. A Barrier Reef animal which possesses some existing, and probably a more considerable future, value is the dugong. It is met with in' more or less abundance from Moreton Bay to Torres Strait, but little interest is talten in the dugong industry nowadays. Once the oil wias sought for its medicinal properties, but I am told that the adulteration of it with' shark oil, which was more easily obtained, cost it its reputation. The dujgong is easily captured hy net or iron harpoon. The flesh is palatable and nutritious, easily digested when fresh, and itcures into fair bacon. The bones .are solid and very h'eavy, and a few years ago were worth £40 a ton. The hide is an inch in thickness, and was once used to make capital lining for coach brakes. Sponges of excellent quality have heen obtained from the Capricorn Islands'to Torres Strait, and no doubt could he collected profitably. Huge clumps of these isponges, suitahle to household use, may be seen in talmost any coral pool or lagoon, but others of better quality could he obtained by diving or dredging. Many householders residing in towns on the Queensland coast obtain their sponges from men who go out to the reef s. They are equal to the best imported sponge. Another neglected product of these waters is. the large edible land crab found in mangrove creelcs flowing into the sea and in lagoons .on the outer reefs. We import tinned crab from overseas, yet in our own waters is a superior and more delicious crustacean. Mangrove mud flats some distance from coastal towns are inf ested "by these large crabs, and their presenee is noticeable hy the weird clicking of their laxge claws.