Posted on 11/22/2004 12:12:54 AM PST by ConservativeStatement
After wrestling for nearly three hours with a scalloped hammerhead shark off South Beach, a Fort Lauderdale man reeled in the 12-foot, 582-pounder Sunday not far from where people were swimming. The charter company owner said the average hammerhead is about 7 to 8 pounds, and the one that Farmer caught Sunday was one of the biggest he's ever seen.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
Mike
I've heard that the Brits use dogfish for fish 'n' chips.
When I was visiting my English cousin as a kid he talked me into some chips and "rock salmon." It was good. He later told me it was skate. I didn't care. It tasted good 8-)
It was just hanging out with the rest of the bottom feeders on south beach! :-)
Maybe at birth.
crickey!
Probably the same liberals who were holding the "Save the Sharks" signs. :-)
SCALLOPED HAMMERHEAD Order - Carcharhiniformes Family - Sphyrnidae Genus - Sphyrna Species - lewini |
Taxonomy The scalloped hammerhead was originally described as Zygaena lewini by Griffith and Smith in 1834. This shark was later renamed Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834), which remains the current valid name. The name Sphyrna translates from Greek to the English language "hammer", referring to the hammer-shaped head of this species. Synonyms used in past scientific literature to refer to the scalloped hammerhead include Cestracion leeuwenii (Day 1865), Zygaena erythraea (Klunzinger 1871), Cestracion oceanica (Garman 1913), and Sphyrna diplana (Springer 1941). Common names in the English language include scalloped hammerhead, bronze hammerhead shark, hammerhead, hammerhead shark, kidney-headed shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, and southern hammerhead shark. Other common names are abul-garn (Arabic), aka-shumokuzame (Japanese), cação-cornudo (Portugese), cachona (Spanish), chadayan sravu (Malayalam), cornuda (Spanish), geschulpte hamerhaai (Dutch), Glowomlot tropikalny (Polish), jarjur (Arabic), jerong tenggiri (Malayan), kalhigandu miyaru (Maldivian), kampavasarahai (Finnish), krusan (Bikol), ktenozygena (Greek), mano kihikihi (Hawaiian), morfillo (Spanish), peixe-martelo (Portuguese), pez martillo (Spanish), requin marteau (French), skulprand-hamerkop (Afrikaans), tiburón martillo (Spanish), and yu palang (Malay). The scalloped hammerhead is circumglobal, residing in coastal warm temperate and tropical seas. In the western Atlantic Ocean, this shark is found from New Jersey (US) south to Brazil including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea; and in the eastern Atlantic from the Mediterranean Sea to Namibia. Distribution in the Indo Pacific includes from South Africa and the Red Sea, throughout the Indian Ocean, and from Japan to New Caledonia, Hawaii, and Tahiti. Off the coasts of southern California to Ecuador and perhaps south to Peru are locations where the scalloped hammerhead is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In Australia, this hammerhead may be found off the northwestern Western Australia coast. Habitat As a coastal pelagic semi-oceanic species, this shark occurs over continental and insular shelves as well as adjacent to deeper water. It has been observed close inshore and even entering estuarine habitats as well as offshore to depths of 275m. Scalloped hammerheads spend most of the day closer inshore, moving offshore in search of prey at night.
Adults occur singly, in pairs, and in small schools while young scalloped hammerhead sharks live in large schools. In some locations, schools of small hammerheads have been observed migrating toward the poles during the summer months while permanent resident populations exist in other areas including the East China Sea. It is thought that male and female scalloped hammerheads may segregate during certain times of their life history. In the Gulf of California (US), aggregations of predominantly females ranging from immature to adult have been observed around seamounts and islands displaying a wide range of behaviors. These behaviors have ranged from headshaking, corkscrew swimming, and knocking into other hammerheads with their snouts. Although the function of such schooling behaviors is unknown, it is suspected that some of these behaviors may be displays of aggression or courtship. Biology
Importance to Humans
The scalloped hammerhead is fished both as a gamefish and commercially. It is readily accessible to inshore fishers as well as offshore commercial operations. This shark can be caught on longlines, bottom nets and trawls. Although the flesh is sold fresh, dried, smoked, and frozen, this species is also highly regarded for its fins and hides. The remainder of the shark is used for vitamins and fishmeal. Scalloped hammerhead pups reside in shallow coastal nursery areas making them quite vulnerable to fishing pressures. Danger to Humans Hammerheads are considered potentially dangerous sharks. According to the International Shark Attack File, there have been 21 unprovoked attacks with 2 resulting in fatalities for all species of the genus Sphyrna. Scalloped hammerheads have been reported to display threat postures when closely approached by divers on some occasions while other times they show no aggressive behaviors.
Conservation In the US, hammerhead sharks are grouped with large coastal species, a group that biologist consider to be most vulnerable to overfishing. Along with being a targeted species, this hammerhead is also taken by gillnet and longline and as bycatch in driftnet fisheries. Mortality is likely to be significant although little data is available on populations and fishing impact. Different species of hammerheads are sometimes difficult to identify in high seas fisheries where observers are often not present, resulting in insufficient bycatch data. Currently, this species is considered to be "Near Threatened" throughout its range with the exception of Australia where it is assessed as "Least Concern" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The IUCN is a global union of states, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations in a partnership that assesses the conservation status of species. Off the coast of northern Australia, where the fishery is well-managed, the scalloped hammerhead is abundant. Prepared by: Cathleen Bester |
thank you everybody for all of your great information!
Wow, I love the internet...I learn things every day
:-)
Thanks for the ping back of sorts, as I myself enjoyed bikepacker67's post.
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