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White Shark

The white shark, perhaps more commonly known as the great white shark, is one of the most iconic and recognizable animals in the ocean.  Named for their stark white underbelly, this apex predator is one of the largest species of sharks, thought to be able to grow up to 6 meters (20 feet) long. 

 

Found in coastal waters and open oceans around the world, great white sharks feed on a variety of prey, including fast, warm-blooded mammals like seals and sea lions, as well as fishes, other sharks, and squid. Unlike most fish, they possess a unique physiology that allows them to maintain a body temperature that is higher than the surrounding water. This adaptation enables these sharks to stay active in cold waters, giving them an advantage when hunting. As apex predators, white sharks play an important role in regulating these prey populations, helping to ensure a health balance in marine ecosystems. 

White sharks may live to be over 70 years old and don’t reach maturity until into their late 20’s or early 30’s. Females give birth approximately every three years, with litter sizes reportedly ranging from 2-12 pups. These pups are already about four feet long when they are born. Because white sharks live so long and reproduce so slowly, they are especially vulnerable to human-made threats. 

 

 

Although they are apex predators with very few natural threats, white sharks do face several serious human-caused threats. Because of this, they are considered vulnerable to extinction. 

Bycatch 

White sharks may be caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries. Longlines, setlines, gillnets, and trawls are all known to accidentally catch these sharks, especially close to shore. 

Shark Finning 

Like other species of sharks, white sharks are threatened by the cruel practice of shark finning. This brutal practice involves cutting the fins off a shark and discarding its body at sea, where it drowns, bleeds to death, or is eaten alive by other fish. Between 2000 and 2016 an average of 16,117 metric tons (over 35 million pounds) of shark fin products were internationally traded annually. 

 

 

Saving sharks requires global protections and dedicated enforcement of them. In recent years, Oceana has helped to ban the deadly shark fin trade in the United States and Canada. We are also campaigning to protect important white shark nursery grounds off the coast of Southern California from indiscriminate fishing gears, such as bottom trawling and set gillnets. 

One of the most impactful ways to protect endangered ocean species is to prevent them from being unintentionally caught up in fishing gear. You can learn more about our campaign to protect threatened ocean species, and their habitat, here.  

 

 

 

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