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HALIFAX — For most Canadians, sharks are objects of mystery and fear — unblinking, primeval monsters of the deep whose razor-sharp teeth are the stuff of nightmares.

In Nova Scotia, however, for a few weeks every summer they are objects of desire.

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Unique in Canada, the province hosts annual shark derbies every August, in which hundreds of anglers pay for a chance to land one of the top predators of the sea.

These fishing tournaments have been closely monitored by the federal Fisheries Department since they started in 1993. Four are scheduled for the next two weekends: two in Cape Breton and two along the province’s southwest shore.

“Just to feel it, even if it’s a little one, you’ve got something there that’s very powerful,” said George Benham, president of the 25th annual Lockeport Sea Derby. “It can run for a minute or two and a time, and the line is flying off the reel. It’s exhilarating.”

Benham says the town’s festival also offers prizes for those who catch the largest mackerel and groundfish, typically cod, pollock and haddock. But it’s the big sharks that attract the most attention when fishermen haul them onto the wharf to be weighed and examined by federal scientists.