Great white shark

Etymology and naming

The most common English names for the species include 'great white shark', 'white shark', and Australian variant 'white pointer'. These names are thought to refer to its white underside, which is noticeable in dead sharks lying upside down. Colloquial use favours the name 'great white shark' or simply 'great white', with 'great' perhaps emphasizing the size and power of the species. Scientists typically use 'white shark', as there is no "lesser white shark" for comparison, though some use 'white shark' to refer to all members of the Lamnidae.

The scientific genus name Carcharodon is a portmanteau of two Ancient Greek words: the prefix carchar- is derived from κάρχαρος (kárkharos), which means "sharp". The suffix -odon derives from ὀδών (odṓn), which translates to "tooth". The specific name carcharias is from the καρχαρίας (karkharías), the Ancient Greek word for shark.

There have been a few attempts to describe and classify the white shark before Linnaeus. One of the earliest mentions of it in literature as a distinct type of animal appears in Pierre Belon's 1553 book De aquatilibus duo, cum eiconibus ad vivam ipsorum effigiem quoad ejus fieri potuit, ad amplissimum cardinalem Castilioneum. In it, he illustrated and described the shark under the name Canis carcharias based on the ragged nature of its teeth and its perceived similarities with dogs. Another name used for the white shark around this time was Lamia, first coined by Guillaume Rondelet in his 1554 book Libri de Piscibus Marinis, who also identified it as the fish that swallowed the prophet Jonah in biblical texts.

Taxonomy and evolution

The white shark is the sole recognized extant species in the genus Carcharodon, and is one of five extant species belonging to the family Lamnidae. Other members of this family include the mako sharks, porbeagle, and salmon shark. The family belongs to the Lamniformes, the order of mackerel sharks.

Phylogeny

The modern clade of the Lamnidae is estimated to have emerged between 65 and 46 million years ago (mya) based on a 1996 molecular clock using the mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome b. Most phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data or anatomical features place the great white shark as the sister species to the mako shark clade with the Lamna clade as the most basal in the family. Under this topology, the 1996 clock estimated the great white shark's divergence from the makos to have occurred between 60 and 43 mya. A minority of analyses recovered an alternate placement of the great white shark as the most basal member.

|main-caption = Phylogenetic relationships based on whole mitogenome with molecular clocks

Fossil history

Main article: Carcharodon#Fossil History and Evolution

The great white shark first unambiguously appears in the fossil record in the Pacific basin about 5.3 mya at the beginning of the Pliocene. Like all sharks, the great white's skeleton is made primarily of soft cartilage that does not preserve well. The overwhelming majority of fossils as a result are teeth. Nevertheless, paleontologists have confidently traced the emergence of the great white shark and its immediate ancestry to a large extinct shark known as Carcharodon hastalis. This species appeared worldwide during the Early Miocene (~23 mya) and had teeth alike to the modern great white shark's, except that the cutting edges lacked serrations. that arose in the early Eocene (~56-48 mya) from a primitive mako-like shark. and was probably piscivorous (fish-eating) with some addition of marine mammals to its diet.

Around 8 mya, a Pacific stock of C. hastalis evolved into C. hubbelli. This divergent lineage, sometimes described as a chronospecies, The great white shark dispersed as soon as it emerged, with fossils in the Mediterranean, North Sea Basin, and South Africa occurring as early as 5.3–5 mya. Colonization of the northwestern Atlantic appeared to have delayed, with fossils absent until 3.3 mya.

Populations and genetic history

The great white shark as a species does not behave as a unified metapopulation at the global scale. Instead, populations within the major ocean basins show distinct genetic lineages that diverged from each other at least thousands of years ago. Initially this was identified from mitochondrial DNA during the 2000s and 2010s. Contemporaneous global studies recovered a distinct Indo-Pacific and Atlantic mitochondrial clade that diverged anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago with no agreement on the exact timing. However, studies appeared to have found limited gene flow in nuclear DNA between all inhabited oceans based on limited samples of nuclear genes. This discordance was then-believed to have been due to female philopatry, which is the tendency for females to remain in or return to their birthplace, since mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother. This posits that global gene flow is instead propagated by wide-ranging males. Other discussed factors included isolation by distance, founder effects, infrequent long-distance dispersal, and allopatric speciation.

Advances in high-resolution genome sequencing enabled a fundamental reassessment of the species' genetic history by the 2020s. In 2024, a study by Wagner and colleagues sequenced the autosomal (non-sexual nuclear) genomes of 89 individuals around the world and found that nuclear gene flow is in fact restricted. They instead identified three distinct autosomal lineages: Indo-Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. These lineages were estimated to have diverged 100,000 to 200,000 years ago and showed little to no admixture, an exception including one Indo-Pacific-North Atlantic hybrid, suggesting that they are allopatric and possibly reproductively isolated. Demographic modeling and analysis of Y chromosome (father-inherited) structure in 2025 by Laso-Jadart at colleagues corroborated the three autosomal lineages, reconstructing almost no cross-lineage migration, although reconstructed their origins from a unified population from the southern Indo-Pacific that fragmented around 7,000 years ago. Analysis of Y chromosome (father-inherited) haplotypes likewise found no clear geographic structure, consistent with recent fragmentation. This differed significantly from the study's mitochondrial DNA, which suggest older divergences and deep geographic structuring of haplotypes. The observed level of segregation far exceeded that predicted by forward-in-time simulations of sex-specific philopatry from the demographic model, indicating that neither philopatry nor genetic drift alone can explain the mito-nuclear discordance. The autosomal divergences are assumed to have been caused by climate-driven oceanographic changes. The datings by Wagner and colleagues coincide with the Penultimate Glaciation, which may have restricted cross-oceanic movements through sea level fall. Separation probably remains enforced by thermal barriers, namely the cold Benguela upwelling separating South Africa from the Atlantic (which is known to deter white sharks) and warm equatorial waters separating the North and South Pacific (a known soft barrier for many elasmobranchs).

Appearance and anatomy

The great white shark has a stocky, torpedo-shaped body with a short, cone-shaped snout; long gill slits that do not reach around the head; a large triangular first dorsal fin, which partly lines up with the pectoral fins, and tiny second dorsal fin; a caudal fin with similarly sized lobes and one keel; and a tiny anal fin. There is evidence that the species can change pigments, adding melanin to blotches of white. The skin is covered in dermal denticles which are smaller than in other sharks and have a three-to-five-ridged surface, with each ridge having tips that point backwards.

Size

Main article: Great white shark size

The great white shark is considered to be the largest macropredatory shark and fish. Females are generally larger than males; the former measure on average 4.5 – in length and weigh 1000 – while the latter average 3.5 – in length and weigh 680 –. Biologists Richard Ellis and John E. McCosker wrote that "These giants seem to disappear or shrink when a responsible observer approaches with tape measure".

According to shark expert J. E. Randall, the largest white shark reliably measured was a 19.5 ft specimen reported from Ledge Point, Western Australia in 1987. A 2014 study of white shark catch records in the northwest Pacific concluded that the longest reliably measured shark was 6.02 m in total length and the heaviest weighed 2530 kg. A complete female great white shark specimen caught in the Mediterranean and displayed in the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne, Switzerland, measured 5.83 m in total body length with the caudal fin in its depressed position, and is estimated to have weighed 2000 kg making it the largest preserved specimen.

Teeth and jaws

The triangular teeth can reach 7.5 cm. As juveniles, they are elongated and pointy but become broader and more serrated as they develop into adults. This reflects a shift from a diet mainly of fish to a diet of marine mammals. In adults, the front teeth are adapted for penetrating into prey while those located towards the back of the mouth, being more flattened laterally and bended backwards, are designed for tearing. The teeth are arranged in rows like a conveyor belt, with teeth in the back moving to replace those in front. An open mouth exposes roughly 26 and 24 front row teeth on the front row of the upper and lower jaw respectively, with a total of 300 teeth in the mouth.

The jaws are separate from the skull, and are connected to the body entirely by muscles and tendons; allowing them to project in and out. A 2008 study using a computer scan of a 2.5 m long and 240 kg juvenile white shark determined that the specimen could exert a bite force of 1602 N in the front and 3131 N in the back. From this, the researchers deduced that a specimen 6.4 m long and massing 3324 kg could exert a bite force of 9320 N in the front and 18216 N in the back. The jaws are strengthened by mineralized cartilage; this is lacking in young white sharks which have to eat softer food.

Senses

As with other sharks, white sharks use five senses when hunting; eyesight, hearing, olfaction (smell), electroreception (via pits called Ampullae of Lorenzini) and water movement detection (via a lateral line). The eyes of the white shark can appear solid black but have blue irises, and the pupil is more horizontal than in other species. The eyes have a relatively low ratio of rods to cones, indicating daytime vision. They lack nictitating membranes but possess well developed muscles that allow them to roll around to keep track of prey and roll back to avoid attacks. The vomeronasal system, located in the roof of the mouth, also appears to play a role in olfactory sensing.

Internal physiology

The great white shark is an obligate ram ventilator; to breathe it must swim constantly so water flows through the gills. Spiracles, extra breathing holes behind the eyes common in bottom dwelling sharks, are reduced or absent in this species. Over 95% of the shark's musculature is white fast twitch muscles, which allow them to move in quick sprints, particularly when ambushing prey. The rest is dark slow-twitch muscles which contain oxygen and power the shark while at cruising speed.

The white shark has a large, double-lobed, liver that can be almost 30% of its body weight, and stores lipids, fatty acids and oils. White sharks appear to have strong immune systems and can tolerate high amounts of toxic heavy metals in their blood, more so than other vertebrates. They are also documented to heal relatively quickly from even severe wounds, and the species' genome shows "positive selection in key genes involved in the wound-healing process".

White sharks are somewhat warm-blooded, or more specifically regionally endothermic. This allows them to be active and hunt in cool waters, and one study found that stomach temperatures ranged from 24.7 – in waters 12.9 –.

Distribution and habitat

Great white sharks range from tropical to temperate and even colder waters around the world, Shark expert Greg Skomal lists the Farallon Islands, California, Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Western Cape, South Africa, Neptune Islands, Australia, and both Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, New Zealand as major coastal feeding aggregations. Researchers have also identified an offshore feeding aggregation between western North America and Hawaii dubbed the White Shark Café.

White sharks can be found both along the coast and in the open ocean, and may dive to depths of up to 1300 m but are typically closer to the surface. Juvenile white sharks are more limited to shallow coastal waters with temperatures between 14 and. Increased observation of young sharks in areas they were not previously common, such as Monterey Bay on the central California coast, suggest climate change may be forcing juveniles towards the poles.

Migrations

White sharks go on vast migrations. One individual that was tagged off the South African coast swam to the southern coast of Australia and back within a year. Another white shark from South Africa was tracked and documented swimming to Australia's northwestern coast and back, a journey of 20000 km in under nine months. In May 2024, a satellite tag was recovered from an Indonesian fisherman which was determined to have come from a subadult female great white shark tagged off the South African coast in May 2012 which swam to and was killed off the Indonesian coast in November 2016.

In the northeastern Pacific, white sharks travel between the coastal US and Mexico and the Hawaiian Archipelago; they feed along the coast mostly during fall and winter, and farther out to sea during spring and summer. In the western North Atlantic, white sharks congregate between the Gulf of Maine and Cape Hatteras during spring and summer, and shift farther south towards Florida and around to the Gulf of Mexico during the fall and winter. In fall, winter and spring, some sharks disperse widely across the ocean, reaching as far east as the Azores.

Behavior and ecology

White sharks are recorded to swim at around 2.88 –, but can sprint to around 24.12 km/h.{{efn|There are higher estimates, but these have been described as having a high margin of error. How they sleep is not well understood. At nighttime, one individual was recorded swimming slowly in one direction along a current with its mouth open.

The white shark is generally considered to be a solitary species, though aggregations do occur. A 2016 study of sharks around Mossel Bay, South Africa concluded that white shark associations are generally random with few social interactions. By contrast, a 2019 study found that sharks around Neptune Islands gathered in non-random aggregations. Similarly a 2022 study of white sharks at Guadalupe Island suggests that individuals may associate so that they can learn from others where to find prey or carcasses to scavenged. White shark aggregations can also differ in composition of individuals based on age and sex. At Neptune Islands, sightings of subadult females peak during April and May, subadult males in February and again in September, adult females in June and adult males in September.

Diet and feeding

The great white shark is an apex predator that opportunistically feeds on fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, sea birds and sea turtles. Diet differs based on size and age; individuals that have reached 3 m can feed on marine mammals, while juveniles are limited to smaller prey like fish and cephalopods. Great white sharks are said to prefer prey with high fat content, but even large individuals are recorded to eat low-fat foods.

Marine mammals preyed on include pinnipeds and cetaceans. They are also recorded to bite sea otters but do not usually consume them. The seasonal availability of pinnipeds drives white shark migration to certain locations. Targeted species include harbor seals, northern elephant seals and California sea lions off western North America; harbor seals and gray seals off eastern North America; Cape fur seals off South Africa; Cape fur seals (Australian subspecies), New Zealand fur seals, and Australian sea lions off Australia; and New Zealand fur seals off New Zealand. White sharks mainly hunt pinnipeds by ambush and often target newly weaned young as they have thick blubber but are still small, inexperienced and vulnerable. bull elephant seals are particularly formidable, being as massive as adult white sharks.

Observations off California find that white sharks ambush pinnipeds near the surface from below, seizing and dragging them under. Earless seals, like elephant seals, are more likely to be struck in front of the hind flippers or the head—even leading to decapitation—while sea lions are more likely to be grabbed behind the torso. With their large fore-flippers, sea lions are usually able to break free from the first bite but are weakened and usually recaptured. Prey is released after it dies of blood loss, and the shark feeds on the carcass after it floats to the surface. In 1984, Tricas and McCosker suggested that white sharks bite pinnipeds, release them and then wait for them to bleed to death before eating, Sharks may breach partially or entirely out of the water at different angles, clearing up to 3 m when airborne. Missed seals may be chased after; such pursuits involve the prey using its speed and agility to escape as the shark employs various maneuvers to catch them. The longer the chase, the less likely the shark succeeds. White sharks in Cape Cod hunt seals in shallow water, relying on the murkiness of the water for concealment and striking them from the sides.

Cetacean species recorded as prey include small toothed whales like bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso's dolphins and harbor porpoises. There are two records of white sharks managing to kill a small humpback whale, one involved two sharks working as a pair. In both cases the whale was weakened by net entanglement, and the sharks employed strategic biting and as well as drowning. White sharks are more likely to scavenge large whales. Multiple sharks will gorge themselves on a single whale carcass, biting into it and ripping off chunks by shaking their heads side-to-side. They may spit out pieces, possibly judging them to be too low in energy using their teeth as mechanoreceptors. The sharks do not appear to act aggressively towards each other, but accidental bites can occur. Eventually, the sharks become lethargic, they can no longer lift their heads out of the water nor can they get in a good bite as they bump into the dead whale.

White sharks feed on numerous fish species, including other sharks. One 2023 study found that juvenile and subadult white sharks off the east coast of Australia fed primarily on ray-finned fishes, particularly flathead grey mullets, Japanese scads and various species of porgies, mackerels and tuna. Off California, white sharks will eat cabezons, white seabasses, lingcod, halibut, leopard sharks, smooth-hounds, spiny dogfishes, school sharks, stingrays, bat rays and skates. In the Mediterranean, they consume Atlantic bluefin tunas, bullet tunas, Atlantic bonitos, swordfishes, blue sharks, shortfin makos and stingrays. An ocean sunfish was also recorded in a white shark stomach.

They are also recorded to consume cephalopods as evidenced by beaks found in their stomachs. Off South Africa, white sharks under 2.5 m were found with remains of coastal and bottom-dwelling species like certain octopus species, as well as species of the genera Sepia and Loligo, while sharks over that length seem to prefer more open ocean species like those of the genera Ancistrocheirus, Octopoteuthis, Lycoteuthis, Ornithoteuthis, Chiroteuthis and Argonauta. Near Guadalupe, white sharks have been documented with scars which appear to have been caused by neon flying squids, jumbo squids and giant squids. Both fish and cephalopods may be important food sources at the White Shark Café.

Other animals recorded as prey include sea turtles. The shells of green sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles have been found in white shark stomachs in the Mediterranean, and bites have been recorded on leatherback sea turtles off central California. Around Seal Island, South Africa, white sharks are recorded to attack and kill seabirds like Cape cormorants, white-breasted cormorants, kelp gulls, Cape gannets, brown skuas, sooty shearwaters, and African penguins, but rarely consume them.

Social communication

Great white sharks communicate with each other through a complex array of body language. Most behaviors have been observed at aggregations around seal rookeries shortly after peak hunting periods, where sharks engage in extensive socializing. At least 20 unique forms of body language are known, most of which consist of two sharks swimming with or around each other in passing, parallel, or in circles to examine the other in a ritualized manner. Occasionally one shark will openly show off its body in a lateral display to the other. It is hypothesized that the main purpose of these interactions is to establish social rank by size to avoid competition. Indeed, observations by Sperone and colleagues in 2010 found display behaviors to be more common between individuals of similar size where differences are not immediately obvious. There is no evidence that sex is a significant factor in behavioral patterns. With dominance established, the smaller shark then acts submissively towards the larger shark by yielding during subsequent encounters or simply avoiding confrontation. Body language is less frequent in California and Australia compared to Dyer Island in South Africa. It is thought that this is because the former locations are less densely populated, and so sharks there are more readily familiar with each other's hierarchy.

Direct violence is extremely rare, as individuals typically end conflicts through peaceful means. The contest is "won" by the shark that compels the other to concede via the most tenacious splashing, which appears to be determined by a cumulative signal strength of vigor and strength. Larger body size does not always secure superior signal strength, on occasion the smaller shark emerges victorious. Great white sharks have also been observed employing tail splashing to intimidate tiger sharks around a whale carcass, and even against boats and shark cages which were likely perceived as competitors.

Reproduction and growth

Little is known of the reproductive behavior of the great white shark. There are two anecdotal accounts of the species possibly mating, one in 1991 and a second one in 1997, both off New Zealand. These testimonies both report belly to belly rolling during copulation. It is assumed that the male bites onto the female's head or fin while inserting one of his claspers, as is the case in other shark species. The accounts also suggest that that white sharks mate in shallow water away from feeding areas. Females at Guadalupe and Cape Cod have been seen with scarring that may have been the result of copulation, possible evidence that these areas are used for mating. Conversely other studies have concluded that white sharks may mate offshore; males were found to gather in the White Shark Café during spring and where followed by some females, suggesting a lek mating system where females move through and choose their partners. In 2013, it was proposed that whale carcasses are an important location for sexually mature sharks to meet for mating.

Some pregnant females have been caught and have provided information on the species' reproductive biology. The great white shark is ovoviviparous; fertilized eggs hatch within the female, and the embryos continue to develop within each uterus. Their nourishment comes in three stages; they first feed on their yolk sacs, followed by a milky substance secreted by the uterus known as lipid histotrophy, and finally switch to consuming unfertilized eggs. After around 12 months, the female gives live birth to two to ten pups. Birth intervals last two or three years. White sharks are born at a length of 1 –. In July 2023, a possible newborn white shark was filmed for the first time, off the coast of southern California (just off Carpinteria), measuring an estimated 1.5 m and with a pale complexion attributed to histotrophy. A follow-up study confirmed the Carpinteria shark being a newborn, but suggests that the paleness is embryonic epithelium that covers the shark's skin denticles, known to exist in the related salmon shark, and which rubs off shortly after birth.

Bands in the shark's vertebrate are used to determine the animal's age and growth. Early studies determined that the species grows relatively quickly; a 1985 study concluded that white sharks reach maturity nine to ten years of age at a length of 3.7 –. Conversely, a 2015 study concluded that white sharks are a slow growing and long lived species. Males reach maturity at approximately 26 years and a length of around 3.5 m while females take 33 years to reach maturity at a length of around 4.5 –. Their growth rate levels off after the age of 40.

Mortality and health

Great white sharks are estimated to reach over 70 years of age. A 2018 study of sharks off eastern Australia and New Zealand found that juveniles had a survival rate of over 70%, while adults survived at a rate of over 90%.

White sharks are sometimes preyed on by orcas, which they also likely compete with for food. The first recorded orca predation occurred at the Farallon Islands in 1997 when an estimated 4.7 – female orca killed an estimated 3 – white shark. Another similar attack apparently occurred there in 2000, but its outcome is not clear. Subsequently, orca predation on white sharks would be documented off South Africa and Australia. Around South Africa, orcas typically hunt white sharks in groups of two to six. These cetaceans consume the energy-rich liver of the sharks and dead white sharks washed ashore are found with these organs removed. The arrival of orcas in an area can cause white sharks to flee and forage elsewhere for the rest of the year, as has been documented both off South Africa and California. In addition to orcas, white sharks may also fall prey to other sharks as pups and juveniles, including older white sharks.

There are two recorded instances of the ectoparasitic cookiecutter shark targeting subadult white sharks off Guadalupe. However, the relative dearth of predation records indicates that white sharks are not a common food source for them. The great white shark is the definitive host of two species of tapeworms from the genus Clistobothrium, these being Clistobothrium carcharodoni and Clistobothrium tumidum. The former is believed to be transmitted to great whites through the consumption of infected cetacean prey which serve as intermediary or paratenic hosts of the tapeworm. The latter species of tapeworm's transmission vector is currently unknown. The intensity of C. carcharodoni infestations in affected great whites is extremely high; in one case, up to 2,533 specimens were recovered from the spiral intestine of a single individual.

Relationship with humans

Prior to the 1970s, the great white shark as a species was known mostly to biologists and fishermen. The release of the 1971 documentary Blue Water, White Death is crediting with bringing the shark to public attention. The white shark's popularity would increase further with the 1974 novel Jaws written by Peter Benchley, and its 1975 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. The novel and film helped create the image of the species as a dangerous man-eater. Benchley would later express regret stating "I cannot rewrite Jaws, nor make an ignoble monster of this magnificent animal."

Compared to other fish, the great white shark was not an important species for fishermen. Their meat was considered tasty but was not considered worth it due to the difficulty of hauling them in. Nevertheless, their reputation and size made them targets for sport fishing. The species was lured by chumming, and then presented with a hooked bait. Port Lincoln, South Australia was an epicenter of white shark fishing starting in the 1950s. In 1959, a fisherman named Alf Dean caught a 1,208 kg shark, and was given the record for being the largest fish caught by rod and reel. A larger white shark was caught in Streaky Bay but was disqualified based on the bait used.

Bites

Of all shark species, the great white shark is responsible for the largest number of recorded shark bite incidents on humans, with 351 documented unprovoked bite incidents on humans since 1580 as of 2024. The majority of them have been non-fatal, while 59 have been fatal. White sharks do not appear to find humans suitable as prey, though cases of humans being consumed have been reported. A white shark was blamed for the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, but some experts have suspected that it was actually a bull shark.

In 1984, Tricas and McCosker proposed that white sharks attack humans out of mistaken identity; surfboards in particular may have a similar silhouette to seals and sea lions. Other studies have disputed the 'mistaken identity' hypothesis and have instead proposed that shark bites are actually exploratory bites. A 2016 study finds that most shark bites on surfers are too superficial to kill a pinniped and compares them to the test bites they make on different objects. Similarly, a 2023 paper criticized the 'mistaken identity' hypothesis for focusing too much on vision and not considering the shark's other senses. The authors conclude that "sharks don't make 'mistakes' but instead continually explore their environments and routinely investigate novel objects as potential prey by biting them". Great white sharks infrequently bite boats. Tricas and McCosker's underwater observations suggest that sharks are attracted to boats by the electrical fields they generate, which are picked up by the ampullae of Lorenzini.

A 2025 study of drone footage from various white shark "hotspots" found that despite the frequency of encounters between them and humans in nearshore areas, no aggression was documented. Fisherman were the most likely to encounter a shark while swimmers were least likely.

Captivity

The great white shark is difficult keep in captivity due to its large size and migratory nature. Attempts had been made since 1955, in facilities in North America, Hawaii, Australia and South Africa. The sharks survived only for days during the earliest attempts, while the early 1980s, aquariums like Steinhart Aquarium, Sea World San Diego, and Marineland of the Pacific were able to keep juvenile white sharks for weeks before releasing them. A major contributor to the mortality of captive white sharks was the poor transport; many were accidentally captured by commercial gillnets and kept on fishing lines or in a tank before being handed over to aquarium staff, causing them stress. One famous shark named Sandy, who measured 2.3 m, was kept at Steinhart for five days in August 1980 and was released for bumping into the walls.

The most successful attempts at keeping the species occurred at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), where six white sharks were displayed between 2004 and 2011. The sharks started at 1.4 – but grew too big and had to be released; one shark was kept for 198 days and attracted one million visitors. Having gained enough information on the species, MBA discontinued keeping white sharks.

Tourism

Areas were white sharks gather have been sites for ecotourism; operators allow guests to view them from boats or from inside shark cages. Most operators allow chumming to attract the sharks. Cited benefits of ecotours include education, funding for research and increasing the value of living sharks. One study in southern Australia found that shark tours had positive effects on the participants knowledge and awareness of the animals and support for their conservation.

There is some fear that interactions with tourists could affect the sharks' behavior. At Neptune Islands, it was found that white sharks used more energy during encounters with cage divers. The researchers note, however, that cage-diving can have a minimal effect on shark populations as long as they limit interactions with individual sharks. In the same area, excessive boats drove away many sharks, though the implementation in 2012 of new regulations on the number of licensed boat operators and number of operating days per week allowed for the population to recover. There is also no strong evidence that chumming alters the feeding behavior of white sharks or habituates them to being fed by humans. In January 2023, the Mexican government banned white shark tourism at Guadalupe; due to reports of swimming outside cages, mishandling chum, littering and two incidents of sharks getting stuck and harmed by the cages, one of which may have resulted in death.

File:Chuming the water.jpg|alt=Photo of man dropping chum off the side of a boat|Putting chum in the water File:Great white Dyer island 2010-07.jpg|A great white shark approaches divers in a cage off Dyer Island, Western Cape, South Africa File:Great white shark and cage diving 2.wmv.OGG|A great white shark approaches a cage File:White shark cage diving, Gansbaai.jpg|Tourists in a cage near Gansbaai

Conservation

As of 2025, the great white shark is classified as vulnerable worldwide by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to a population decline of 30–49% over the past 159 years. It was also given a green status of "moderately depleted" with a recovery score of 59%. The biggest threat to white shark populations is accidental catching in fishing nets and, in Australia and South Africa, beach protection programs, where are caught in protective drum-lines and gillnets. They nevertheless have a high survival rate when released from nets. The species is included in Appendix II of CITES, meaning that international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) requires a permit. A 2025 study suggested the global population at a minimum of 5,800 individuals, and co-author Gavin Naylor states that the population is likely 20,000.

South Africa

South Africa started protecting the species in 1991. The province of KwaZulu-Natal, via the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZN), allows for the use of nets around protected beaches to reduce the risk of shark attacks but not at major aggregation sites. A 1996 study estimated the average population size between 1989 and 1993 to be 1,279, however, in 2004, a study estimated 1,953 individuals post-protection. A 2023 study concluded that white shark numbers off South Africa have remained stable since 1991. While sightings of sharks at major aggregation sites in Western Cape have declined since the early 2010s, the researchers have attributed this to shifting their distribution further east, possibly in response to attacks by orcas. The results of this study are disputed; in 2024 it was noted that catches of white sharks in KZN have declined since 2010, suggesting they have not moved eastward.

Oceania

The great white shark population is estimated to be 2,500–6,750 individuals around eastern Australia and New Zealand. The species was given legal protection by the Australian Government under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act of 1999 and declared vulnerable in 2000. Similar protections are given at the state level; some of which have protected the species before the national government. New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia list the species as Vulnerable while Victoria lists it as endangered. In 2002, the Australian government created the White Shark Recovery Plan, implementing government-mandated conservation research and monitoring for conservation in addition to federal protection and stronger regulation of shark-related trade and tourism activities. An updated recovery plan was published in 2013 to review progress, research findings, and to implement further conservation actions. The report found that the 2002 plan had some success, having completed 14 of 34 tasks listed. A study in 2012 revealed that Australia's white shark population was separated by Bass Strait into genetically distinct eastern and western populations, indicating a need for the development of regional conservation strategies.

The causes of decline prior to protection included mortality from commercial and sport fishing harvests, as well as being caught in beach protection netting. In 2013, it was reported that deaths from commercial fishing have reduced and no incidental takes from sports fishing, though the population did not fully recover. In spite of official protections in Australia, great white sharks continue to be killed in state "shark control" programs within the country. The states of Queensland and New South Wales have implemented "shark control" programs (shark culling) to reduce shark attacks at beaches. These programs kill great white sharks (as well as other marine life) using shark nets and drum lines with baited hooks. Partly because of these programs, shark numbers in eastern Australia have decreased. Critics have disputed that these programs reduce shark-related fatalities, and have proposed alternatives like helicopter patrols as well as tagging and displaying the location of individual shark via social media. Western Australia implemented a shark cull program in 2013, but discontinued the following year in response to a recommendation by the Environmental Protection Authority.

In April 2007, great white sharks were given full protection in New Zealand waters 370 km from land, as well as from New Zealand-flagged boats outside this range. Violations of the law could carry as much as a $250,000 fine and up to six months in prison. In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the great white shark under the New Zealand Threat Classification System as "Nationally Endangered". The species meets the criteria for this classification as there exists a small, stable population of between 250 and 1000 mature individuals. This classification has the qualifiers "Data Poor" and "Threatened Overseas".

United States

Since 1997, the US federal government has prohibited harvesting of the white shark in US waters and any shark that is caught is expected to be released immediately. The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan manages Atlantic white sharks, while Pacific Fishery Management Council (under the West Coast HMS Fishery Management Plan) manages the species in the Pacific. The white shark also receives protection in National Marine Sanctuaries managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Great white sharks receive additional protection in some states. Since 1 January 1994, the species has been protected in California waters up to 3 miles offshore, though exceptions exist for great whites caught for scientific research or unintentionally caught as bycatch. In 2013, great white sharks were added to California's Endangered Species Act which added further restrictions on both scientific captures and bycatches, requiring a special permit for both. In September 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2109 into law, banning the luring of white sharks using bait, chumming and decoys in California waters, and prohibiting their usage within one nautical mile of any shoreline, pier, or jetty when a shark is present.{{cite news|title=California Assembly Bill 2109 Provides New Protections For White Sharks|date=30 September 2022|website=California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)| url=https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/california-assembly-bill-2109-signed-into-law-providing-new-protections-for-white-sharks|url-status=live|access-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803190236/https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/california-assembly-bill-2109-signed-into-law-providing-new-protections-for-white-sharks|archive-date=3 August 2024}} A 2014 study estimated the population of great white sharks along the California coastline to be approximately 2,400.

The white shark is also protected at the state level in Massachusetts. In 2005, a law was passed to prohibit the capturing of white shark in state waters, while in 2015, bans were placed on using chumming or baiting to lure them. In 2025, shore-based fishing around Cape Cod was restricted, a response to viral videos of anglers doing such activity and catching white sharks. White sharks have benefited from the increase in seal populations off Cape Cod since the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, and as many as 800 individual white shark have been documented to visit the area.

Europe and the Mediterranean

The IUCN listed the species as critically endangered around Europe in 2015 and in the Mediterranean in 2016. Factors that contributed to this listing include; its genetic isolation in this region, its slow growth rate, its decline in numbers along with those of other large shark species, and its negative public perception. The IUCN suggests that no more than 250 mature white sharks inhabit the waters around Europe, mostly in the Mediterranean.

A 2017 study suggested a decrease in average size of Mediterranean white sharks which may be a sign of a declining population. In 2020, a study examined records of white sharks from 1860 to 2016, and concluded that white shark sightings peaked in the 1880s and again in the 1980s, but detected a 61% decrease since 1975. Similarly, a 2025 study found that only four white sharks were seen in the past ten years, in contrast to around ten sightings per year between 1985 and 1995. Fishing is one cause for the decline. While there is no fishing industry based on this species, it has been deliberately caught and harpooned in response to attacks and media coverage. These sharks are also accidentally captured or intentionally killed when stealing from nets, longlines or hooks. Other possible causes include the decline of prey species like bluefin tuna and Mediterranean monk seals.

The great white shark is protected as an endangered species by every coastal Mediterranean nation under the Barcelona Convention of 1978 (amended in 1995). In 2009, white sharks were also given legal protections from fishing and capturing by the European Commission specifically Regulation No 43/2009. An EU funded program managed to successfully release a by-caught juvenile white shark around Lampedusa in 2023. Researchers have highlighted this as an example of how cooperation between scientists and local fishermen is important for the conservation of the white shark in Mediterranean waters.

Notes

References

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