California Great Whites
California is host to probably one of largest Great White shark populations in the world. Simply put, this coastal state has the right range of water temperatures and good food sources for Great Whites. The two main population centers for adult Great White Sharks is the Farallon Islands off of San Francisco and Mexico’s Guadalupe Island. The southern coast of CA is a nursery for YOY (Young of Year- less than a year old 5.7ft) and juvenile Great Whites (5.8-11.4ft). (11.5 ft and up is considered an adult shark)
An increase in sightings has some people worried and others excited. Here are some articles, videos and research papers that explain the movement patterns of sharks in CA, where most sharks are found and what the increase in sightings really mean.
The Shark Lab at the California State University in Long Beach is one of the authorities on California White Sharks. Their page holds a wealth of information on every aspect of this topic. To start, this video of a presentation by Dr. Chris Lowe is a must see. It gives an overview of California's fisheries management and White shark distribution (Great White movement patterns starts at 26:45).
Aside from conducting cutting-edge research on the local populations of sharks and rays, CSULB Shark Lab also spearheads a Beach Safety initiative to educate locals on beach safety in regards to wildlife, swimming, currents, you name it. They have produced more than 25,000 paper versions of the Beach Days comic book and distributed it in English and Spanish throughout California, Massachusetts, Florida and South Africa. TO learn more about our local species and how to best keep yourself, and them safe, you can download the Beach Days comic books below.
