For several decades fishermen caught basking shark by using a harpoon gun. This fishery was common along most of the Norwegian coast and each vessel could catch several sharks each day. The fishery was grounded on the demand for the high quality shark-liver oil (also used for high temperature engines) and the high priced shark-fins.
The season started in spring and the fishery was depended on calm sea. In the 18th century this was a dangerous fishery as the fishermen used hand harpoons and small boats on the open sea. Larger vessels and the harpoon gun (as seen on the film) made the fishery more efficient and safer. The harpoon was shot through the basking shark and the shark was then forced to the surface. In order to kill the shark the fishermen used a rifle and aimed for its head.
The Norwegian basking shark fishery has been history for a couple of decades and the basking shark is preserved in Norwegian waters.
The porbeagle shark is extremely vulnerable to over fishing. As most other sharks the porbeagle reproduces slowly and the stock in the Northeast Atlantic is now in a critical situation. The IUCN-World Conervation Union have the porbeagle on their Red List and they consider the population in the Northeast Atlantic as “critically endangered”.
ICES (The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) has recommended ending targeted fisheries for porbeagle in the Northeastern Atlantic. Sweden has already protected the porbeagle. Norway has fished porbeagle sharks for decades, but in the last 10 years the catches have dropped dramatically. The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal affairs has decided to follow the recommendation from ICES.
A new (01.01.08) regulation for Norwegian fishermen forbid targeted fisheries for porbeagle sharks. The regulation allows vessels to land porbeagle sharks taken as bycatch. The Norwegian fishery for porbeagle (using long line) is then a part of the history.
Norwegian fishermen had been off the coast of Newfoundland before. In the 1950’s they fished for halibut and other species using long lines. They reported that they had seen a lot of porbeagles along the eastern coast of Canada. In spring 1961 the first two Norwegian vessels arrived.
“Teigenes” was the first vessel that set the porbeagle lines off the coast of Canada. The catches were good, and this was the start of a new fishery for the Norwegians. The following years the fleet grew and no one complained about the catches taken on the banks east of Newfoundland. Some vessels also fished along the coastline south to New York.
In 1964 the vessel “Teigenes” got 500 porbeagles on 1200 hooks. The vessel was then loaded (see the following photos on this page), and they had to let another vessel haul the last part of the long line.
“Teigenes” went to Halifax to get more ice. After 15 days the vessel entered Germany where the porbeagles were sold. Already In 1965 the adventure was over. The catches on the eastern coast of Canada were then so poor that the Norwegian stopped their annual trip to Newfoundland. The porbeagle stock was then too low to make the fishery profitable.
Sometimes strange things happens. In the 1950’s a Norwegian fishing vessel was hunting basking sharks off the coast. In those days they only used the shark liver. After removing the liver, the fishermen let the carcass go. The basking shark was harpooned and then forced to the surface where it was killed by a bullet in its head (a rifle). One day a vessel had caught a shark, and removed the liver. The carcass of the basking shark was floating freely near the surface.
Another fishing vessel came along. They spotted a shark fin and approached what seemed to be a swimming basking shark. The shark was then harpooned but the crew was a bit disappointed when they found out that they had caught a dead shark with no liver. That poor shark had been shot and harpooned twice.
