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21st September 1946: A basking shark being reeled in in waters off the Western Hebrides, Scotland. Ex-Scots Guard Major Gavin Maxwell purchased the small island of Soay to build a shark factory and also owns the boat used for hunting, 'The Snow Leopard'. His crew of seven launch the vessel when a shark is sighted and use a harpoon gun, specially designed by Maxwell, to kill the fish before it is hauled ashore. The basking shark can produce 160 gallons of oil which is worth ?90 a barrel; the flesh is salted and exported and the skin can be sold too. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4209 - Shark Hunting - pub. 1946 (Photo by Raymond Kleboe/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)