Oceanic whitetip sharks are usually caught by shark fisheries. The meat is marketed fresh, frozen, smoked, and dried-salted for human consumption, the skin is used for leather, the fins used in shark-fin soup, and the liver oil is used for vitamins. It is also processed into fishmeals. Tuna fishermen dislike the oceanic whitetip shark as it has been known to follow tuna boats and damage or consume catches. Although this species is usually seen offshore, it is considered to be dangerous. It is usually the first species to be seen in waters surrounding mid-ocean disasters. During World War II, the "Nova Scotia", a steamship, was sunk by torpedoes from a German submarine off the coast of South Africa. Close to 1,000 men were on board, however only 192 survived. It was believed that many of the fatalities were victims of the oceanic whitetip shark in what eyewitness accounts described as a feeding frenzy.