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03/03/2005: "Beware of boneless fish fillets .........people eat sharks too."

Whoever caught these 20 carpet sharks and a now protected grey nurse shark didn't have a use for the fins.

Dorsal, pectoral and tail fins, which when dried are worth 30 times more than the cleaned body 'trunks'.

But they did take the jaws of the grey nurse (foreground).

Last year carpet shark brought an average $3 per kilo at the Sydney Fish Markets while mako and hammerhead shark sold for slightly higher prices. People do eat a lot of shark - sometimes without knowing or careing. Anything to avoid the bones of fish.

Fishermen often at sea for months may decide to take only the shark fins and save freezer space for more valueable species, until near the end of the trip.

In Taiwan shark 'trunks' are processed into many things including 'fish balls' which end up in soup. The taste is OK but the hidden hazard is mercury and other nasty things from the food chain.