Alfred Ehrenreich
Alfred Ehrenreich (1882–1931) was a Moravian-born American immigrant who developed and advanced the trade of wide scale shark harvesting. He had been fascinated by sharks from an early age. He helped to start a business in America that caught and processed them in large numbers commercially. He believed they were a limitless resource from which oils, chemicals, fertilizers, food and leather could be obtained. He later attempted to expand the business to Europe, Africa and Australia. Background Ehrenreich, was from Moravia and moved to America in 1914; he was described as an ex-banker, chemist and naturalist. His parents, who lived in Vienna, were Rosalie Konag and Moritz Ehrenreich. He married Margaret Elsa (Grete) Koehler (1893-1960) from Dresden, Germany, on 4 December 1916 in Manhattan and naturalized as an American citizen in 1920. He was financially independent and well connected. In 1917, with fellow investors, he launched the Ocean Leather Company for tanning and refining shark hides. Reports at the registration indicated that the company was capitalised at $41 million. Ehrenreich was the company president, and Dr Russell J. Coles (1865-1928) - who was a knowledgeable deep sea fisherman and fishing buddy of Theodore Roosevelt - was a director and honorary president. Dermal denticles Shark skin is covered with placoid scales, or dermal denticles; leather made with these scales still attached is referred to as Shagreen. However, Ehrenreich had to find a way to remove these scales from the hides in order for his product to reach a wider market. Initially he tried a process patented by a Danish chemist called Kristian Bendixon. Later the company switched to a system that involved the hides being treated by acid. Two chemists came up with similar ideas, Theodore H. Kohler and Dr Allen Rogers. Once treated in this way the skin could be split into layers, to both increase the yield and obtain the required thickness of leather. The appearance of the resulting hide was similar to that from cattle, but much tougher and less prone to scuffing. By-products In addition to a tannery at Tyler Street, Newark, New Jersey, the Ocean Leather Company had reclaiming plants in Morehead City, and Cape Lookout, North Carolina plus Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida. These plants handled sharks, rays, porpoises, turtles and other large sea animals that were landed by its fleet of fishing vessels. The sharks were caught in large mesh nets that trapped the animals. There were other methods used including hooking and underwater explosives, however, it was important to avoid damaging the hide as this reduced its value. There were about twenty other processes to extract by-products from the carcasses including glue, dies, medicine, enzymes, fertilizer, animal feed, oil (from the liver) and the fins that were sold to the Chinese market. The meat could also be dried or smoked and sold as food for human consumption. Ehrenreich took out several of the patents for these processes. Expansion and southern oceans In 1922 Ehrenreich travelled to Europe with his wife and two