舌尖上的航海丨第7集 最后的“鯊魚宴”

“兄弟”號(hào)歺廳一隅，有套奇特的歺桌和歺椅，吸引了眾多人的目光和好奇。

這是一套用鯊魚骨架拼湊而成的；雪白而形狀各異的骨架，搭成十分別緻的桌椅，古怪又有趣。

更令人驚異的是，歺桌上豎著一塊用中英文寫的木牌：“最后的鯊魚宴“幾個(gè)字。

”兄弟”號(hào)是艘來往亞洲和非洲的定期集裝葙班輪。

在赤道附近的非洲海域錨地，船體周圍浮游著各式各樣的魚類，特別引人注目的則是“海中霸王”鯊魚。人們稱這里是鯊魚的“天堂”。

鯊魚貪食易釣。船錨泊期間，是船員垂釣鯊魚的良好時(shí)機(jī)，也是船員喜愛的娛樂活動(dòng)。鯊魚一般1一2米長(zhǎng)，重六七十公斤，大的有一二百公斤，常常結(jié)群而行，浩浩蕩蕩，十分貪食。尤其大風(fēng)天氣過后，海水渾濁，鯊魚疲乏饑餓極易上釣。船員用細(xì)鐵條制成尺把長(zhǎng)的輪型”魚鉤”，以各類魚和肉食做誘餌，將魚鉤拋至鯊魚群游動(dòng)的前方，鯊魚就會(huì)猛撲過來，咬住魚鉤死死不放。有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的船員用手指粗的細(xì)纜做釣繩，下端接上兩米長(zhǎng)的鐵鏈條，防止鉤繩被鯊魚鋒利的牙齒咬斷。鉤繩一端系在船樁或纜柱上，以免鯊魚上鉤掙扎時(shí)扭斷人的手指和臂膀，待鯊魚掙扎無力時(shí)再取鉤。取鉤時(shí)往往需要幾人合力，甚至動(dòng)用船上絞纜機(jī)邦忙。鯊魚被釣上來時(shí)，仍然拼命用尾巴不仃地拍打甲板。人們用帚把和木棒有節(jié)奏地朝鯊魚身上敲打，直到鯊魚服服貼貼“束手就擒“為止。

人們將鯊魚肉烹調(diào)成”鯊魚宴“，魚肯做成玩具甚至有的別出心裁做成“樂器”，與當(dāng)?shù)氐木用耧嬀瓶窀琛?/p>

赤道鉤鯊成了船員一項(xiàng)特別的“活動(dòng)”。

”兄弟”號(hào)船員喜愛這項(xiàng)活動(dòng)是首航非洲不久。

一天，船在錨地拋錨等待泊位。當(dāng)?shù)責(zé)嵝牡拇按?，為增加船員生話樂趣，特地給船上帶來一部，以真實(shí)資料為基礎(chǔ)拍成的動(dòng)畫片：”鯊魚之杰"。

“鯊魚之杰“遒述了十九世紀(jì)初期。一艘海盜船偷盜了英國(guó)海軍一份絕密文件，海盜被捕后拒不認(rèn)罪交待。正當(dāng)審判進(jìn)入僵局時(shí)，一艘英國(guó)軍艦在加勒比海的赫坦島捕到一尾鯊魚，在鯊魚胃里發(fā)現(xiàn)一本完整無損的筆記夲，經(jīng)鑒定，正是海盜拋入大海的”絕密文件”。事實(shí)面前，海盜船長(zhǎng)被處以絞刑。這具鯊魚標(biāo)本被放置在牙買加“海洋博物館“。被人們譽(yù)為“鯊魚之杰”。

這部動(dòng)畫片引起了“兄弟”號(hào)船員的極大興趣；鯊魚不僅能食用，鯊魚胃還是一個(gè)“天然保險(xiǎn)櫃“哩！

”兄弟”號(hào)船員開始在此海域大顯身上，采用一切辦法誘釣鯊魚。

一次，他們釣到一條足有二百斤重的深蘭色大鯊魚。破腹時(shí)，被鯊魚吞食的魚蝦還活蹦亂跳，胃里還有五花八門的東西；小海龜，鐵器，衣物，公文包…。

“兄弟”號(hào)船員興奮之余，將鯊魚肉做成了豐盛的“鯊魚宴”，把魚骨制成了奇形怪狀的桌椅。

“兄弟“號(hào)歺廳一隅，鯊魚骨制成的桌椅，成了船員享受“鯊魚宴”的寶地，吸引了眾多人的眼球和關(guān)注。

在非洲赤道海域釣鯊，享受“鯊魚宴”成了“兄弟”號(hào)船員的專利！

但是，享受“鯊魚宴”的好日子沒堅(jiān)持多久，一次偶然的變故，使奇特的鯊魚骨歺桌上豎了塊禁食令：最后的鯊魚宴。

事情發(fā)生在1986年的秋天。

”兄弟”號(hào)調(diào)來一位名叫鄒波的船長(zhǎng)。

這天，正值”中秋節(jié)“，“兄弟”號(hào)錨泊在非洲赤道附近一個(gè)錨地。船上準(zhǔn)備了豐盛的節(jié)日佳肴，“鯊魚宴”自然少不了。

誰知，鄒波船長(zhǎng)圍著熱騰騰的”鯊魚宴”繞了圈，遲遲沒有下筷。

鄒波船長(zhǎng)卻講一個(gè)人們意想不到的故事。

幾年前，鄒波船長(zhǎng)在一艘遠(yuǎn)航美洲的船上做船長(zhǎng)，船靠泊在美國(guó)佛羅里達(dá)州一個(gè)港口。

這天，正值正值圣誕節(jié)前夜。天剛亮，寂靜的碼頭陡然聚集了大批游行的人群，人們高舉著繪有大鯊魚的標(biāo)牌，高喊著禁止捕殺鯊魚的標(biāo)牌！

原來一年前的圣誕節(jié)前夜，佛羅里達(dá)州一位名叫羅莎淋的女大學(xué)生約兩名同學(xué)，乘船去游覽馬勒庫(kù)島風(fēng)景區(qū)。返程路上，因游船漏水翻沉。人們穿上救生衣爭(zhēng)先恐后爬上救生艇。不幸，羅莎琳和兩名同學(xué)被風(fēng)浪甩在海里。他們拼命朝遠(yuǎn)方的陸地游去…。

風(fēng)浪越來越大，他們無法游向遠(yuǎn)方的陸地。就在這時(shí)，一個(gè)黑色物體朝羅莎琳沖過來。

羅莎琳定睛一看，原是一條二米多長(zhǎng)的大鯊魚。鋒利的牙齒閃著嚇人的光芒。羅莎淋知道遭遇了”殺人魔鬼”，自已必死無疑，緊閉雙眼死抱看救生衣，等待惡運(yùn)的到來。但是，奇跡發(fā)生了；鯊魚只咬住她的救生衣，絲毫沒有傷害她的意思。就在此刻，她的身邊又冒出一條大鯊魚。兩條鯊魚一左一右，伴護(hù)著羅莎琳朝陸地游去，不時(shí)輪流用頭推她前進(jìn)。更令人意外的是，一條鯊魚突然潛入水中，不一刻，將一條咬掉尾巴的海魚推到羅莎琳面前。饑腸轆轆的羅莎琳，邊游邊吃起半截魚來。

暮色降臨，一架救援的直升機(jī)發(fā)現(xiàn)了羅莎琳，朝她拋下了救援繩梯。羅莎琳拼命爬上救援繩梯。這時(shí)，兩條鯊魚才戀戀不捨地潛入海底…。

羅莎琳醫(yī)治痊愈后，得知兩位同學(xué)已葬身大海，她卻因鯊魚營(yíng)救而幸免遇難。

鯊魚救人的故事，很多傳遍了佛羅里達(dá)州。

人們?cè)诟袆?dòng)之時(shí)，每當(dāng)圣誕節(jié)前夜，都會(huì)自發(fā)來到海邊，舉行游行活動(dòng)，在紀(jì)念鯊人救人的同時(shí)，呼吁人們不要亂捕鯊魚…。

“這是一個(gè)真實(shí)的故事?！编u波船長(zhǎng)鄭重地說：“爰護(hù)海洋生物是每個(gè)地球人的責(zé)任。近來，通過經(jīng)過多方調(diào)查硏究，發(fā)現(xiàn)百分之九十八以上的鯊魚不會(huì)輕是傷人，可以與人類和平共處。世界許多地方自發(fā)組織了《綠色和平組織》，反對(duì)濫殺海洋生物！“

In the grand terrace of the CL Brotherhood, there is a table and a

chair that has garnered the attention of many of the ship’s visitors.

This pair of dining furniture was assembled from the skeleton of a

shark. The ash white bones of the shark were constructed into an eerily

shaped table and an unnaturally formed chair, giving people the impression

of a puzzling story.

What was even more absurd, was that there was a plank placed on the

table that read in both English and Chinese, “The Last Shark Feast”.

The CL Brotherhood is a container ship that travels between Asia and

Africa on a busy schedule. Whenever the Brotherhood dropped its anchors

near the equator on its way to Africa, its sailors often noticed many

different forms of marine life gathering around the ship, including the

king of all fish, sharks. The regions off the coast of Africa are sometimes

known as the sharks’ paradise.

Because of how common they were in these seas, crews that sailed past

the region sometimes took an interest in trying to catch the sharks. The

sharks were around 1-2 meters in size, they weighed anywhere between 80 to

260 pounds, and normally travelled in a shiver. Sharks also loved to eat

and prey on smaller animals, which made them an vulnerable target for the

sailors. Especially after windy days at sea when the waters were turbid,

the hungry and tired sharks were extremely easy to catch.

The sailors filed a thin iron bar into the shape of a fish hook and

used all sorts of small fish and meat as bait. As soon as they threw the

hook out in the direction of where the shivers of sharks were swimming, the

sharks would race towards the hook and bite onto it firmly with no chance

of letting go. Experienced mariners used ropes that were thicker than their

fingers as the fishing rod and connected them to a metal chain that could

prevent the fish from chewing the rod in half. One end of the fishing rod

was always tied to the side of the ship in order to prevent losing a

struggle with the shark as the sailors pulled it up. Still, it usually took

at least several people to drag the shark up to the boat, and the shark

would continue to struggle as long as it was still alive. After the sailors

dragged the shark on deck, it fiercely striked the floorboards with its

tail, desperate to return to the ocean. The men then used brooms or wooden

boards to beat the shark to death, and then prepare a “shark feast” with

the shark’s body. Any remaining bones were given to locals and made into

instruments or artworks.

During their first voyage to Africa, the crew of the Brotherhood became

interested in this activity. As they waited for its berth at the anchorage,

the local port manager decided to give the crew of the Brotherhood a gift

to help them kill time. The gift contained an animated film called “The

Shark Hero”.

“The Shark Hero” told a story set in the early 19th century. A pirate

ship had stolen a top secret document from the British Navy, and refused to

confess to their crimes even after they were captured. Just as the trial

went into a deadlock, a British warship captured a shark in the Caribbean

Seas and found a notebook inside of its stomach. The notebook was none

other than the stolen documents from the British Navy, and the pirate

captain was sentenced to walk the plank. The skeleton of the shark was

preserved and put on display in a Maritime Museum in Jamaica, and given the

name “The Shark Hero”.

The crew of the Brotherhood was enthralled by the movie. Not only did

sharks make for a good meal, they also held the key to a pirate mystery.

Curious, the sailors on the Brotherhood attempted to copy the exact methods

of other sailors in order to catch a shark.

Once, the Brotherhood sailors caught a dark blue shark that weighed a

total of 250 pounds. To their amazement, after they cut open the stomach of

the shark, they found that the shark had swallowed an enormous range of

different items, including small animals that were still alive and moving:

small turtles, ironware, clothes, and even briefcases…

The crew of the Brotherhood were beyond excited to have caught such a

large shark, and promptly made the shark into a scrumptious “shark

feast”, and arranged the remaining skeleton into an odd set of furniture.

Since the Brotherhood often traversed around Africa, where sharks

frequented, the seafarers on the Brotherhood began to hunt for sharks more

and more often. However, the Brotherhood’s days of hunting sharks did not

last for very long.

During the fall of 1986, a new captain named Zou Bo was assigned to the

Brotherhood. In order to welcome their new captain, the crew decided to

prepare a grand Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, complete with a shark feast as

its main course.

But as Captain Zou Bo noticed the shark, he pranced around the table

and stared at it, without ever moving his chopsticks.

Captain Zou Bo silenced his crew, and told them an extraordinary story.

A few years ago, Zou Bo was the captain of a steamship that sailed to

America. It docked in a port off the coast of Florida on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day, to Zou Bo’s astonishment, a large crowd of

protestors gathered on the silent harbor, holding signs and chanting for

the state to ban the hunting and killing of sharks!

It turns out, that exactly one year ago, a college student from Florida

named Rosalyn was visiting the Malekula Islands on vacation with two of her

friends. On their way back home, the ship that they took sank horrifically

due to an unfortunate water leak. All the other passengers scrambled and

fought to get a space on the liferafts, but Rosalyn and her friends were

swept into the ocean by harsh waves and rigorous ocean winds. They mustered

all their strength to swim to the nearby islands, but…

The swells on the sea grew heavier and bleaker, and Rosalyn realized

that she couldn’t reach the island that was far in her horizon.

As she was about to give up, Rosalyn noticed that a dark figure had

been dashing towards her in the water. Trying arduously to stay afloat,

Rosalyn fixed her gaze on the figure and realized that it was a gigantic

shark, probably over two meters in length. Its teeth glowed with a

frightening flare, and Rosalyn knew that she had come face to face with the

devil of the ocean. She shut her eyes tightly and hung on to her life

jacket, knowing she was only minutes away from death.

Except that she wasn’t. As if a miracle, the shark tugged gently at

her life jacket and didn’t show any intention of hurting her. Another

shark popped up next to Rosalyn, and the two sharks, one guarding her on

each side, nudged her softly towards the land. With two sharks as her

guardian angels, Rosalyn swam between the two of them and somehow regained

all her strength. Even more remarkably, one of the sharks dived deep into

the sea, surfaced with a small fish in his mouth, and pushed it against

Rosalyn. Exhausted and starving, Rosalyn gracefully accepted the gift from

her newly found shark buddies and wolfed it down while continuing to swim

towards shore.

As the sun set beyond the sea, a rescue helicopter spotted Rosalyn on a

nearby island and dropped a rescue ladder towards her. With the last

remaining bit of her strength, she climbed up the ladder and towards

safety. Only then did the two sharks slowly retreat back into the ocean,

disappearing beneaths the depths…

After Rosalyn recovered, she found out that her friends had perished at

sea, but she was somehow miraculously rescued by two incredible sharks.

The story of these savior sharks was spread across Florida, touching

the hearts of many locals and tourists alike. Every Christmas, shark lovers

would gather around the harbor and protest against the hunting and killing

of sharks while celebrating the anniversary of the day these two sharks

saved Rosalyn’s life.

“This is a true story,” Captain Zou Bo emphasized, “It is

everybody’s responsibility to love and protect marine life that we have on

this wonderful planet. According to many new studies conducted by marine

biologists, more than 98% of sharks would never intentionally hurt an

innocent person and can coexist with people peacefully. An increasing

number of countries have now established environmental organizations that

are strongly opposed to the unnecessary poaching of marine life!”

After listening to Captain Zou Bo’s story, the crew of the Brotherhood

rapidly put together a sign that read “The Last Shark Feast” and set it

on top of the table that was made from shark bones. The seafarers now had a

new-found respect for the marvelous sea animals, and spread Captain Zou

Bo’s tale across the entire nautical world.