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Great White Shark

Summary

Summer 2017 in Santa Barbara, CA dubbed the “summer of sightings” by NBC news in Los Angeles saw a massive increase of Great White shark sightings in Southern California. A large increase in the Juvenile Great White Shark population made Santa Barbara, CA a hot spot for these juvenile sharks. Multiple encounters with the sharks of of the beaches including Santa Clause beach, the Harbor, and Padaro Point lead to local warnings to “stay out of the water” and “swim at your own risk”. In some cases, more than 25 sharks would be sighted along the Southern California coast in one afternoon. Hot spots for juvenile white shark populations, which could cover a 40 to 50-mile area, existed at several locations along the Southern California Bight, such as Santa Barbara/Ventura, Santa Monica Bay, Huntington Beach & Long Beach, Dana Point and Oceanside .

Legislation

Due to years of federal protections, the great white shark is making a comeback after a kill-off following the release of "Jaws" in 1975, coming back to their natural numbers. The overall white shark populations in the area have risen because of environmental protections established some 40-plus years ago. “The Clean Water Act of 1972 protected the sharks’ habitat; the Clean Air Act of 1970 created federal and state regulations to control air pollution, affecting the health and population stability of many of the sharks’ major food sources; the Magnuson-Stevens Act of 1976 prevents against overfishing; and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was designed to protect species whose populations had been severely depleted by human activity. In 1994, white sharks were given special protected status under California law, which made it illegal to fish for or catch white sharks throughout the state" . White sharks have also been protected under U.S. federal law since 2004 and must be released immediately if they’re caught by fishers. After a severe drop in population in the 1990’s, great white shark activity has spiked along the beaches .

Implications

Many of those sightings are babies and Santa Barbara County has become their nursery. Few of these encounters reported aggression from the shark. However, there have been some aggressive encounters, including a kayaker whose kayak was bitten and overturned by a shark in the Santa Barbara Harbor and a spear-fisherman who was bitten in the foot off the coast of Santa Barbara . Overall, this increase in shark population should be here to stay and shows the positive impact legislation has had on the Great White shark population. We must learn how to live harmoniously with these animals as they are a natural and important art of the environment . The Juveniles so close to the coast do alleviate the sting ray population as that is their main food source in their early years.