Fish

Vitamin Shark

C tier

Vitamin shark is a historical trade nickname for tope and related sharks hunted primarily for vitamin A oil from the liver rather than as a table-first fish. Meat was a by-product—firm and usable in stews when handled well, but the industry’s goal was oil. The term is archival more than a modern menu variety. It marks a mid-twentieth-century fishery phase that damaged slow-growing shark populations. Contemporary cooks should not seek “vitamin shark”; use the history to understand tope’s decline.