Enemies of the sharks.

The shark has actually only one enemy. That's man. This section is about what sharks are used for by people. Sharks are used for lots of things. The eyes, for example, are used for cornea transplants, and oil is obtained from shark livers. Some important dates: 1927 Two tonnes of shark caught for food 1929 Increasing to 26 tonnes 1993 Increasing to 514 tonnes Nowadays the figure is about 1800 tonnes. This has to be stopped, because sharks will become extinct, if things continue at this pace. A shark's skin is very rough, because of a sort of scales on it. Every scale has one or more stings, with a bit of ivory or enamel at the top. In Sumatra the skin is dried and used for making drums and things like that. Other people use the skin for different sorts of things. Shark teeth have long been used for decoration. Shark jaws are worth a lot of money. In Hawaii a shark's jaw costs about two hundred dollars. In Australia the jaw from a great white shark costs about 1.000 Australian dollars. The inhabitants of islands in the Pacific Ocean used to employ shark teeth for weapons. They made swords with the teeth set in a groove, so these were very dangerous weapons. A shortened version of these swords is the double-edged knife. The market for shark-fin soup is made possible through certain Chinese ethnic groups, that have traditionally used the fins for food. Hong Kong is the biggest customer for shark fins. From over 60 countries tonnes of shark fins are exported to China. To make shark-fin soup you remove the skin on either side of the fin. Then you are left with fin gristle and fibres. Only the fibres are used. They are crushed and pounded to a fibrous mat, to which the stock is added, and there you have your soup.