Sharks were known to sailors as 'mindless' devil fish- there are a few accounts of people falling overboard and being set upon by sharks. This was back in the days when there were still fish in the sea though. The average swordfish in the early 1900s was around 300lb- now it is 90lb.
The word 'shark' is thought by some to be an evolution of an old German word for 'villain'. Cousteau referred to them as cowardly animals. During WWI and WWII 'we' became much more aware of sharks because of the way they took out downed military personnel in the Pacific arena.
For the old whalers, sharks were merely a nuisance as they tore in to whale carcasses on route to the factories.
According to the late Ransom Myers 90% of the 25 species of 'big fish' have been removed from the ocean since around 1950 when the post WWII shipping industry kicked off. Sharks were not targeted but were a frequent by-catch numbering many thousands of tons annually. Maldivians (and other artisinal fishermen) used to catch sharks for the liver oil to proof their boats. That has been replaced by synthetics for many decades.
China remains the driving force for shark-finning. It's fairly recent emergence as an economic dandy has seen demand skyrocketing, making sharkfins the most valuable item fished from the sea per weight.
This is 'Watson and the Shark'; a painting of a true account of a kid who fell off a boat in a harbour in Havana in 1749 and lost his leg to a shark before they could pull him out.
The word 'shark' is thought by some to be an evolution of an old German word for 'villain'. Cousteau referred to them as cowardly animals. During WWI and WWII 'we' became much more aware of sharks because of the way they took out downed military personnel in the Pacific arena.
For the old whalers, sharks were merely a nuisance as they tore in to whale carcasses on route to the factories.
According to the late Ransom Myers 90% of the 25 species of 'big fish' have been removed from the ocean since around 1950 when the post WWII shipping industry kicked off. Sharks were not targeted but were a frequent by-catch numbering many thousands of tons annually. Maldivians (and other artisinal fishermen) used to catch sharks for the liver oil to proof their boats. That has been replaced by synthetics for many decades.
China remains the driving force for shark-finning. It's fairly recent emergence as an economic dandy has seen demand skyrocketing, making sharkfins the most valuable item fished from the sea per weight.
This is 'Watson and the Shark'; a painting of a true account of a kid who fell off a boat in a harbour in Havana in 1749 and lost his leg to a shark before they could pull him out.
