Within the Deep · Chapter 9Tigers of the Sea
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The monsters of the Shark family, fortunately for us, live in warm seas, and so are not often found near the shores of Great Britain. But our seas contain smaller Sharks of various kinds, and in greater number than most people imagine.
Sharks are fierce hunters. Many a poor sailor or diver has been torn to pieces and devoured by these ravenous tigers of the deep. Some Sharks are of great size and immense power; they are by far the largest of all living fish; and no animal in the whole kingdom of animals owns such a terrible death-trap of a mouth as the Shark. It is, in some kinds of Shark, armed with seven rows of teeth with keen edges and points!
Sometimes a Shark follows a steamer in the open sea, day after day, waiting for whatever may chance his way; and it is astonishing what strange objects he will swallow. These monsters are often caught on a hook baited with a lump of meat, and are hauled to the steamer's deck. One Shark was found to contain all the rubbish that had been pitched overboard; tin cans, a bundle of old coats, a piece of rope, old bones, and so on. What a fierce hunger must have driven the Shark to swallow such a meal as that!
Before we look at some of these fierce creatures, whom everyone dislikes, we will say a word for them. Nature meant them to be scavengers, to clean up the sea. And this they do. Dead and decaying flesh is a danger, and the Shark, ever hungry, clears it away quickly.
Now and again fishermen bring a big Shark to port, and hang him in the market--not for sale, but as a "show." The Blue Shark is the one most often displayed like this. See how his mouth is set, well under the head, as in all Sharks; and notice the shape of the body. It tells of speed and strength in the water; its pointed, tapering form reminds one of the racing yacht.
What is this fierce fellow doing so near our coast? He is often found off Cornwall--too often, thinks the fisherman. This Shark comes to seek the same prey as the fisherman--the shoals of Mackerel and Pilchard (a cousin of the Herring). Where the shoals go, the Blue Shark follows. The silly Mackerel, all crowded together, have no chance to escape their awful foe. They are nearly as helpless as a flock of sheep with a tiger in their midst.
If the Shark comes across a mass of Mackerel or Pilchards in a net, he looks on them as a fine feast. Dashing at them, he tears the net to pieces, swallowing lumps of netting with great mouthfuls of fish. Small wonder the fisherman detests this savage visitor which causes him such serious loss of time and money. He naturally looks on Sharks as useless "vermin," to be destroyed whenever possible.
The Fox Shark, or Thresher, is another fierce visitor to these shores. This savage hunter comes after the Herrings, Pilchards and Sprats. It is said to hunt these useful little fish in a strange way. As you know, they travel in shoals. The Thresher swims rapidly round and round them. Nearer and nearer it comes to the unlucky little fish, and they crowd together, huddling up in a helpless mass. The Thresher adds to their panic by threshing the water with its terrible tail. And then, as you can well imagine, it dashes at them and devours an enormous meal. Half the length of the Thresher is tail. Not long ago there was landed at one of our fishing ports a Thresher Shark of half a ton, its tail being over ten feet in length. Even the great Whale has reason to fear the fierce lashings of that long, whip-like weapon!
Our commonest Sharks are those small ones known as Dog-fish, which you can often see at any fish market. They are good to eat, though not used much as food. Though small in size, they are large in appetite and fierce in nature. Like savage dogs, they hunt in packs, waging war against the Whiting, Herring and other fish.
There are several kinds of these small Sharks, known as Spur-dog, Smooth Hound, Greater-spotted and Lesser-spotted Dog-fish, and Tope. And you will hear fishermen call them by such names as "Rig," "Robin Huss," and "Shovel-nose." Fisher-folk dislike Sharks, the Dog-fish among them. All those creatures, like the Cormorant, Seal, and Shark, which catch fish for breakfast, dinner and supper, are rivals of the fisherman. He often pulls up his line to find but a part of a fish on the hook--the rest was snatched by a "dog." At times his nets are torn by these nuisances, when they attack the "catch" of fish. Or his lines come up from the deep all tangled round and round a writhing Dog-fish, which had swallowed the baited hook.
We come now to those flat Sharks, whose flesh you may have tasted. No Sharks are nice-looking, but these flat ones--the Skates or Rays--are really hideous, Many of them are of great size and strength, and armed with spines on their bodies (see p. 52, No. 3) as well as teeth in their ugly jaws. They have broad, flat bodies, with wide "wings," and a long thin tail. The whole shape reminds you of a kite, and you would hardly know the Ray or Skate as the Shark's first cousin.
Yet it is only a Shark with flattened body, and whose side fins are so large that they spread out like fleshy wings. The mouth is on the under part, as it is in all Sharks.
These flattened Sharks must be a terror to their neighbours. We shall see, in our next lesson, what strange weapons are used in the battles of the fish. The Rays or Skates have their share of spines, stings, and poisons. One glance at their shape tells you that speed is not their strong point. If they wish to eat fast-swimming fish--and they often do--they must use cunning.
The Skate, being sandy-coloured and flat, is nearly invisible as it lies on the bed of the sea. There it lurks, waiting for the first unwary fish. A sudden spring, and its wide body smothers its unlucky victim.
Skates also flap their way slowly over the ocean floor, looking for a dinner. They can eat shell-fish, and are fitted with teeth suited to the work of crushing such hard fare. But, as we have seen, they have also the Shark's love of eating other fish.
These Skates are the only members of the Shark family that we value as food. You can see Skates of several kinds in the fish market. They go by such names as Thorn-back Ray, Blue Skate, Spotted Ray, Starry Ray, Cuckoo Ray, Long-nosed Skate and Sting Ray.
1. Of what use are Sharks? 2. How does the Thresher Shark hunt its prey? 3. Give the names of several Dogfish and Rays. 4. What is the food of the Skate, and how is it obtained?