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From: SURFRAT
Category: Fish Report
Date: 07/31/02
Time: 10:52 AM
(FORGIVE ME THIS IS LONG)!!
hey FISHBUD,... and my shark fishin’ bro’s and sisters! i was on the RDT board and i saw a post by threegals w/a link to this board, if it says “shark” my dorsal fin starts flappin’. hence, i read this string of eatin’ sharks. i’ve eatin’ sandbars (browns), blacktip, spinner, sandtigers, and a few doggies here and there, they’re all very tasty!
in regards to fishbuds post (with all due respect) to bud, sharks DO NOT urinate thru their skin. i’ve caught many and it is important to have a big cooler on hand with enough ice et., etc., also they should be gutted as soon as resonably possible, quartered and iced, steaked later or filleted. i’ve never had any issues w/the skin hence it stays on the critter ‘til i cut him/her up at my apt.
several years ago all i used to hear was that comment, “sharks urinate through their skin.” even a few charter boat dudes told me that one friend said “great whites and thresher, porbeagle, makos DON’T, the rest do”, hence i was compeled to find an answer, by the way if one inspects the internal organs of a shark, they cah figure it out on their own. the following is an email i got from a cheif scientist at MOTE marine in florida,.. he answered my question when i told him about what my charter captain friend said (please read the following, take care everyone - SURFRAT):
Tom,
Unfortunately, what your friend has told you is one of the oldest "wives tales" in the book. Sharks have kidneys, a urinary tract, and a urinary bladder. Like birds, sharks have a cloaca (a common opening from both the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts). In the cloaca is a urogenital papilla, through which urine flows from the bladder to the cloaca and out of the animal.
The unfortunate misconception probably arises from the fact that sharks produce urea as their primary nitrogen waste compound, and retain significant concentrations of urea throughout their blood and body tissues. The urea is responsible in part for the odor that you might detect if you have ever opened up a shark. Some people prefer to soak shark filets to remove the urea before they cook the meat (but if you filet a shark when it is real fresh, its not necessary to soak it.)
I hope this answers your question. Now you need to go tell your friend that sharks do urinate like other animals.
Cordially,
Carl
======================================================================== Carl A. Luer, Ph.D. Senior Scientist Marine Biomedical Research Program Center for Shark Research Mote Marine Laboratory E-mail: caluer@mote.org 1600 Thompson Parkway Phone: 941-388-4441 Sarasota FL 34236 Fax: 941-388-4312
We are an independent, nonprofit, marine and estuarine research and education facility. Opinions expressed here are not MML policy unless so indicated. ========================================================================
On Thu, 28 Mar 2002, Tom Kieras wrote:
> hello there,.... (awesome site)!!! > > i've got a question for you and i have'nt been able to find an exacting > answer in any of my shark books or research. > > i know sharks urinate through there skin vs. a penis or female organ,... at > least alot of sharks do. in any case a friend told me recently that all > sharks do that - with the exception of; the - mako, great white, porbeagle, > thresher,... and i think he might have added the tiger. is any of what he > said true ? > > or do they all pass urinal secretions through there skin ? > > i'd really appreciate it if you can answer. > > i'm a great fan of sharks - and admire them a real lot. > > > thanks - take care. > > > > > > > thomas kieras > >