The Monterey Bay Aquarium's White Shark Project, started in 2002, is helping research and exhibit white sharks caught off the California coast. This project is promoting study, awareness and conservation of these magnificent animals, including the latest white shark, which went on exhibit in August 2009 and was released on November 4.
Great White Sharks as Ambassadors
Five times—from 2004 to 2009—the Aquarium exhibited young white sharks in our Outer Bay exhibit. Seen by millions of visitors, these animals have helped us convey their powerful beauty, and educate visitors about the threats they face in the wild. After the first white shark in 2004 drew almost a million visitors, Executive Director Julie Packard called it "the most powerful emissary for ocean conservation in our history."
Three of the sharks stayed at the Aquarium for more than four months; the most recent white shark was on exhibit for two-plus months; and one remained with us for just 11 days. All were released healthy, and carried tracking tags that indicated they were doing well in the wild.
Electronic satellite tags help provide a shark’s view of the world, telling us where juvenile and adult white sharks go in the ocean. We’re also taking DNA samples to learn more about their population structure. By studying how white sharks fit into the ocean ecosystem, we can help fisheries managers develop better ways to protect them. To date, scientists have tagged and tracked 18 juvenile white sharks and 167 adults. The juvenile sharks tended to remain in the coastal zone from Southern California to Baja, Mexico. Adult sharks traveled as far west as Hawaii.
Juvenile white shark tagging is coordinated by the Aquarium’s husbandry department but other partners include the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC), a collaboration between the Aquarium and Stanford University; the Southern California Marine Institute; the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach; Chuck Winkler of the Southern California Marine Institute; and Dr. Oscar Sosa of Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) in Mexico.
The Art and Science of Tagging
In most cases, before a shark is returned to the wild, we fit it with an externally attached pop-up satellite tag with a tiny computer that collects and stores data on temperature, depth and light (used to estimate position). On a pre-programmed date, the tag pops off and floats to the surface. At the surface it transmits its data to us via the Argos satellite system. If the tag is recovered, even more data can be retrieved.
Learn more about the white sharks at the Aquarium
Tagging of Pacific Predators
Adult white sharks are being studied by scientists with Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP), which is aimed at understanding the migratory patterns of large, open-ocean animals in the North Pacific. The Aquarium is a partner in TOPP research and conservation efforts.
Learn more about TOPP