Written by Tyler Mace, edited by Cheryl McCarron
At-A-Glance
Scientific Name – Carcharodon carcharias
Size – Up to 20 feet, 4500 lbs., average about 15-16 feet.
Habitat – Prefer cooler, temperate waters, can be found both inshore and offshore in varying depth ranges including depths of a few feet to over 4,265 ft/1300 m.
Diet – Juveniles feed primarily on bony fish and rays, adults feed on a mix of fish, other sharks, dead whales, and varying species of seals.
Reproduction – Ovoviviparous (pups are nourished in utero via yolk sac and birthed live) with a gestation period of about 12 months. Males reach maturity at ~10 years and females between 12-18 years.
IUCN Listing – Vulnerable
Protection – Retention is prohibited in all U.S. waters and fisheries, protected in some NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries and protected internationally by CITES Appendix II.
Bet You Didn’t Know…
1. Great Whites perform a process called counter-current heat exchange, where blood is heated by energy released from muscle contractions. The heated blood flows through veins which transfer that heat to the oxygenated blood in adjacent arteries, warming the brain, stomach and swimming muscles. This gives the shark a higher internal temperature than its environment, allowing it to function effectively in waters too cold for most other sharks.
2. Great White breeding and birthing has never been witnessed nor filmed by humans.
Ready To Dive In?
False Bay/Seal Island, South Africa: April to September
Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico: August to October (Currently unavailable to visitors)
Neptune Islands, South Africa: May to October
Farallon Islands, California: September to November
Neptune Islands, South Australia: November to February and May to October
Port Lincoln, Australia: April to August
Dyer Island, South Africa: May to August
Science In The Spotlight
Great White Sharks can be found in most areas of the world, including many popular beaches and swimming locations. The fear and paranoia this cause results in increased white shark mortality due to ineffective mitigation efforts including shark nets and drum lines. Over the course of two, three-month periods in the span of two years, and forty-nine one-hour trials, a new form of non-invasive and non-lethal shark deterrent was tested at Dyer Island Nature Reserve in South Africa. This study focused on utilizing electric-sensory magnets to deter white sharks from beaches by affecting the Ampullae of Lorenzini, a cluster of pores on the snout of a shark that senses electrical signals in the water. Can magnets replace shark nets? What did these shark scientists learn? FIND OUT HERE