Shark-Reken

Sharks are plentiful in the ocean surrounding the islands of the Seychelles. In fact there are over 40 species that are caught by the local fishermen.

Some of the sharks that are caught around the islands are Tiger shark or Reken Demwazel, Silvertip or Reken Waro , Grey-reef Shark or Reken Bar, Spottail Shark or Reken Nennen Pwent, Oceanic Whitetip Shark or Reken Kanal or Gran Lezel, Blacktip Reef Shark or Reken Noir , Spot-tail Shark or Reken Blanc, Bull Shark or Reken Gro Latet, Hammerhead or Marto, Mako Shark or Montan Ble and Nurse Shark or Andormi.

Sharks contain urea in their blood to maintain osmotic balance. If the urea is removed immediately after catching by bleeding the shark it prevents the formation of ammonia and eliminates the strong ammoniac odour and taste. Some sharks, irrespective of how they are treated when caught, will still have a strong smell and flavour eg rekin pisar, and are thrown back if caught as the smell can contaminate the boat and can be overpowering under a hot sun!

Salted Shark Meat- Reken Sale

Shark meat especially salted meat has been consumed in Seychelles from the early days of the settlers. The Seychellois cooks most of the sharks except a few because they have very off putting tastes and smells. All the species of sharks listed above are eaten in the Seychelles except whale, nurse and sand sharks. The most preferred sharks include the Hammerhead, the Spottail Shark, the Sliteye Shark and the Violin Shark. The young and baby sharks are used for satini or chutney because the flesh is tender and moist. Most of the mature sharks are salted.

It has to be underscored however that in Seychelles shark meat is considered of low value and is mostly eaten in times of fish scarcity, i.e. in the south east monsoon (June – September). In Seychelles, shark meat is seldom used as steaks or for fish and chips as is the case in Europe or Australia.

Apart from the flesh, other parts of the sharks are also utilised specially the skin on the head of some sharks. They are also removed from the skull and salted. Currently it looks like the salted skin on the shark head is getting more popular with the Seychellois than the salted flesh itself. When cooked it has a gelateneous texture and has a very mild shark taste.
Other parts of the sharks especially the backbone of the lager varieties are turned into walking sticks, the teeth into jewelry and the jaws are turned into souvenirs for tourists.