Great White Shark Population Growing Off U.S. East Coast
![]() |
Great White Shark. Credit: Greg Skomal / Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries |
The great white shark population is making a comeback along the U.S. and Canadian East Coast, a recent study by NOAA Fisheries finds.
The study, which NOAA touts as the
most comprehensive ever on seasonal distribution patterns and historic
trends in abundance of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in
the western North Atlantic Ocean, used records compiled over more than
200 years to update knowledge and fill in gaps in information about
this species.
In the 1970s and 1980s, relative abundance data indicated that white
shark populations declined, likely due to expanding commercial and
recreational shark fisheries. However, from the early 1990s onward,
abundance has increased.
“Both the declines and, more notably, the increases in abundance
seen in our study were supported by multiple data sources” said Cami
McCandless, a biologist in the NEFSC’s Apex Predators Program and a
study co-author. “The increase in relative abundance is likely due, in
part, to the implementation of management measures. The U.S. has
managed its shark fisheries since 1993, and banned both commercial and
recreational harvesting of white sharks in 1997.”
Great White Sharks Migrate To Florida For Winter
The study also found that great white sharks occur primarily between
Massachusetts and New Jersey during the summer, off Florida during
winter, and with a broad distribution along the U.S. East Coast during
spring and fall.
During
winter, most white sharks are found off the northeast coast of
Florida, the Florida Keys, and in the Gulf of Mexico offshore of Tampa
Bay, Florida, where they have generally been considered rare.
In
spring, the distribution expands northward, and by summer most sharks
occur in the waters off New York and southern New England, and around
Cape Cod. In August, some large juvenile and mature individuals reach
Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the northernmost limit of
their range. During fall, most sharks remain in northern latitudes, but
begin to shift southward in November and December.
More Sharks:
More Sharks: