Preserving Shark Jaws and Skin from Start to Finish

I went fishing on the Gulf coast recently, and sadly saw a fisherman killing all the sharks he caught and throwing them back. I think it will take a lot more education and outreach to convince the general public that sharks are not mindless killing drones, but are actually very essential in maintaining population and trophic structures in marine ecosystems. 

So I asked if I could keep the last shark I saw him kill, as I hate to see things go to waste. 
I planned to preserve the jaw and skin, and eat the meat (I didn't know at that if you plan on eating a shark, you must prepare the meat immediately, or the urea in its blood will cause the meat to be not so tasty). 

I think that this will also work for any fish with bony/cartilaginous mouths.

A big thanks to my fellow biologist and good friend, Daniel Warren for tips and advice.

Warning: this instructable contains graphic images.

Step 1: Supplies and Materials

Things you will need:

• Sharp filet knife
• Pliers
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Dissection kit or exacto knife (optional)
• Nails
• Board
• String
• Broken glass (beer bottle will do)
• Salt
• Dremmel or sandpaper
• Acrylic spray coating

Comments

[ShutterEye]

Awesome Instructable, Slylee! What concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide do you use? I use 40 volume for preserving skeletons and skulls from terrestrial animals, but is it safe to use on a shark jaw?

I'm not going to do this Instructable, just curious if it matters, you see I live in the middle of the Kalahari desert so my chances of bumping into a shark are pretty damn small!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

I didn't know you were going to show us everything starting with the shark! Very thorough and informative Instructable :)

[slylee]

Surprise!...Thanks, I tried my best. Sharks are not my field of expertise, but they are one of my favorite top predators of the sea. Glad you liked it!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Where did you get the shark?

[slylee]

near Ocean Springs, MS. I asked the fisherman if I could keep it since I hate seeing things go to waste.

[Arkasha]

That fisherman strikes me as pretty nasty. That was a very small shark, totally harmless to people.

[slylee]

It's not that he was a bad human being. The fundamental problem is just lack of education combined with how society and culture value sharks. Yeah it was a tiny shark-some fisherman kill them because they think it "ruins" fishing, which is totally false.

[ThatKnottyguy]

This is great!
Now, Im going to go try and catch a shark in Utah.