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Abstract

This paper examines the need for conservancy of Carcharodon carcharias, more

commonly known as the great white shark, and our conservation efforts thus far. The

biological scarcity of the species including their position on the trophic hierarchy and

their K-selected status creates a naturally low abundance of the predator. The negative

impact of humans through our practice of trophy hunting, fin harvesting, and incidental

killings by commercial fishermen is greatly decreasing the population of the species. Our

conservation efforts have been focus on researching great white sharks in order to better

understand what the species needs to survive. In addition, on both a national and

international scale we are attempting to ban trade in great white shark fins, jaws and teeth

as well as protecting their habitats from trophy hunters and commercial fishing interests.

Introduction

For many of us the nightmare is common, shared by all those who have ever

looked out at the deep abyss of the ocean and ruminated about what demons it might be

concealing. The nightmare goes as follows. You find yourself swimming in the ocean as

the sun begins to set on the horizon. As the sun wanes the salty water surrounding you

quickly grows darker and less discernible. You suddenly realize that your feet cannot

reach the bottom and an anxiety fills you and refuses to dissipate. It is then that you feel a

sudden swelling in the water that lifts you up and shifts you over. This sudden undulation

instantly tells you that you are not alone in this vast ocean and indeed something very,

very colossal is certainly nearby. It is at this moment that you see a dark, shiny fin
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expertly cutting through the water with only one possible destination: you. As the

behemoth draws closer you see an enormous snout, its jaw gaping open exposing its rows

upon rows of razor sharp teeth all pointed in your direction….

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Figure 1 Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, in South Africa

http://www.marlerblog.com/78027~Great-White-Shark-Posters.jpg

Figure 1 above illustrates this nightmarish beast. This nightmare represents a

primal fear that all human beings have hidden away in our subconscious. It is the fear of

being attacked by an organism mightier than we are and eaten alive. However, thankfully

for us, there are few predators on earth that are capable of creating such a fear in our
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minds and for many none are quite as formidable as Carcharodon carcharias more

commonly known as the great white shark.

Our fear of the great white shark lies partially in the fact that we know very little

about it and the unknown is often what we find to be the most terrifying. In addition, the

mystery and lack of knowledge about great white sharks led to inaccurate speculations

about the species, which eventually manifested itself in the 1975 production of “Jaws.”

Jaws depicts a great white horrifying a small New Jersey community through its

deliberate attacks on humans. The overly exaggerated portrayal of the size of the great

white in the movie as well as the inaccurate portrayal of it as a careless man-eater spread

mass panic and exponentially increased people’s fear of this impressive predator

(Raffaele 2).

However, we must start asking ourselves this: is our fear of this predator a

rational response to its prowess? After all, we are only vulnerable to shark attacks when

we decide to go into the ocean and essentially invade their habitat. In contrast, great

white sharks are part of the larger biosphere that we as humans are constantly influencing

usually at the detriment of other species. Ultimately we are able to exert a maximum

amount of control over their habitat and food supply and hunt them for sport as well as

commercial use. Such practices are very harmful to the great white shark population

because they are already a naturally scarce species. When one considers these facts our

fear of great white sharks seems quite irrational because we are currently the top predator

of their delicate ecosystem and pose a grave threat to their survival.

The great white shark is only one of many species that humans are negatively

impacting through our social and economic objectives that we are perusing in the
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biosphere. Therefore, I would like to posit that great white sharks act as a microcosm of

the much larger negative impact that humans are exerting upon many different facets of

the biosphere. In this paper I will explore the biological causes for the scarcity of great

white sharks, the negative impact of humans, and our attempts and difficulties of

protecting and conserving this remarkable predator.

Biological Causes for the Scarcity of Great White Sharks

The natural scarcity of great white sharks can largely be attributed to the fact that

in a marine ecosystem they are found at the top-most trophic level. With the exception of

humans no other organism can easily topple their position. Although being an apex

predator can be highly advantageous this position on the trophic hierarchy greatly limits

the amount of energy that the great white shark receives owing to the ten percent rule.

The ten percent rule states that at each trophic level only ten percent of the energy is

transferred up and remains available for use by the organisms in the next trophic level

(Macdonald 20). Therefore, since the great white shark is the top marine ecosystem

consumer the species has naturally low numbers compared to the organisms filling the

lower levels of the trophic hierarchy ((McGhee & Townsend 4).

Great white sharks are largely euryphagous predators meaning that they consume

a wide variety of prey (Macdonald 79). The great white’s diet consists of: sea birds,

snails, bony fish, rays, crabs, other sharks, and turtles. However, research has shown that

its meal of choice is the more blubber filled marine mammals such as sea lions and seals.

One explanation why marine mammals are their choice prey is because blubber has twice
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as many calories as protein and therefore has twice the amount of energy (Martin &

Martin 3). In this sense great white sharks use an optimal foraging strategy of seeking to

maximize the amount of energy they consume by largely choosing to reject low-fat foods

and instead seeking the more calorically satisfying marine mammals (Martin & Martin

3). This is turn renders them at least slightly stenophagous in their consumption.

Great white sharks are also naturally rare predators owing to the fact that they are

K-selected. Great Whites Sharks take approximately nine to sixteen years to reach full

maturity (Martin & Martin 8). Little is known about great white sharks mating patterns

owing to the fact that they have never been witnessed. However, we do know that the

gestation period takes at least a full year and that only two to eight pups are birthed. It is

also believe that reproductive events only take place about every other year (Raffaele 2).

When the pups are birthed they are approximately four to five feet long and weight

between 40-50 pounds. Although the pups are certainly not defenseless many do not

survive long after birth because other sharks, including great whites, will prey upon them

(Benchley 3). One possible explanation for the lack of parental investment in the pups is

that they are quickly separated from their mothers in an attempt to keep them from being

preyed upon (McGhee & Townsend 6). Although the precise number of great whites in

existence today eludes us, among the scientific community there is a growing consensus

that not enough young are being reproduced and surviving to sufficiently preserve the

population (Benchley 2). Both the great whites position on the trophic level and the fact

that they are a K-selected species makes them naturally predisposed to a small population

and therefore more vulnerable to even moderate levels of fishing.

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The Negative Impact of Humans

The great white shark’s population seems to be declining worldwide due to trophy

hunting by sports fishermen as well as due to commercial interests attempts to meet the

ever growing demand for their teeth, jaws and fins (Broad 1). Mike Rutzen, who runs a

shark-diving business in South Africa, recalls seeing the bodies of great white sharks with

their jaws cut out. On the black market in the U.S. a Jaw with all its teeth can run up to

$25,000 while a single tooth can sell for as much $500 (Raffaele 5). Figure 2 below

illustrates the gruesomeness of such trophy hunting.

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Figure 2 Shark hunter with his trophy

http://www.jawshark.com/photos/jaws_cut_out_great_white_shark.jpg

Shark fins are also in high demand in the market today. The shark-fin trade endangers all

sharks especially the larger species such as the great white (Coghlan 1). Shark fins sell

for $300 a pound or more and are desired mainly to be used for Shark Fin soup. Fin

hunters usually cut off the pectoral and dorsal fins and then throw the shark’s body back

into the water. This is truly cruel because without their fins sharks are unable to swim and

pass oxygen-rich water though their gills and they drown (Raffaele 5). In 2004 a report
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was published by the conservation group TRAFFIC East Asia and it stated that 10,000

tons of shark fins are being harvested each year and that the demand is only continuing to

grow by six percent each year in Hong Kong (Coghlan 1). The fins are used mainly in

shark fin soup, which is considered a delicacy in Asian cultures and is customarily served

at Chinese banquets. Even the new Disneyland Hotel in Hong Kong is proposing to serve

shark fin soup at their fancy and expensive Fairytale wedding banquets. Only after much

haranguing by environmental groups did they concede to serve it only when specially

requested (Coghlan 1). This practice of finning sharks is highly detrimental to the

survival of sharks especially to already rare species such as the great white. Figure 3

below illustrates the large amount of fins that are being harvested.

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Figure 3 Shark fins in a bag awaiting delivery to Hong Kong restaurants

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/08/02/gallery/sharkfinsoup_zoom.jpg

Another threat to great white sharks is the fact that commercial fishermen

accidentally kill them when they become entangled in fishing nets or hooked on insidious

longlines (Discover 1). Although longlines are a great tool for expediting the fishing

process for commercial fishermen they are far from being environmentally friendly. In
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the open ocean some longlines stretch down as far as 80 miles and contains thousands of

hooks (Benchley 3). Such a weapon is capable of ensnaring not only the intended catch

but also any other species that meanders by. They kill arbitrarily with no concern about if

their catch is endangered or not. This is precisely what happened to a female great white

off the coast of southern Australia. A fisherman had set out a line to catch snapper and

she got hooked on it. In an attempt to free herself she ended up getting wrapped up in the

rope and when it went taut she could not longer swim and drowned (Benchley 3). Unlike

most fishermen the one who caught her notified the proper authorities and even brought

her body back to shore, which allowed researchers a vital opportunity to dissect her and

learn more about the rare species.

Conservation Attempts and Difficulties

Our attempts at conserving great white sharks have focused on conducting

research so that we have a better understanding of their habitat needs, social lives, role in

the marine ecosystem, and migration patterns. As well as passing both national and

international legislation that regulates their protection from human endangerment. Both

of these attempts are crucial for great whites continued survival.

One way that we can attempt to study great whites is by keeping them in captivity

and observing their behaviors. Our first attempts at this started in the 1950’s but were

initially very unsuccessful because the sharks were refusing to eat and died within a few

weeks of captivity (Ritter 2). In recent years aquariums have gained more knowledge

about the type of environment that great whites need to survive and Monterey Bay
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Aquarium has hosted two different great whites a young female in 2004 (which they kept

for 198 days) and a small male in 2006, which was kept for 4.5 months. The aquarium

decided that it was best to try and keep small great white sharks after attempts with larger

ones proved very unsuccessful. In order to keep the large predator at ease the great

white’s tank had 1.3 million gallons of water in it, was designed with rounded corners so

that it wouldn’t injure its nose, and the tank was cleared of all pumps that had an electric

current because such currents can disorient sharks (Ritter 2). Keeping great whites in

aquariums is crucial not only for research purposes but also as an attempt to persuade the

public to see them as more than just a threat. Part of the difficulties in encouraging people

to care about what happens to great white sharks is that unlike whales and dolphins

they’re not cute and are indeed far from cuddly. They also don’t nurse their young or

appear in any way to “talk” to each other. All of these facts make it really hard for the

average person to anthropomorphize them (Benchley 3). Another crucial research tool

used by conservationists are pop-up archival transmitting tags (PATs). PATs are an

electronic devise that is usually implanted near the shark’s dorsal fin and records such

information as the sharks movement, water temperature readings and depths. Figure 5

below illustrates the approximate placement of a PAT.

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Figure 4 PAT Tagged Great White Shark

http://www.wcs.org/media/image/patshark.jpg
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The innovative thing about PATs is that unlike older tracking devices they do not

have to be recovered to retrieve the data. Instead, after a set period of time they break

away from the shark and float to the surface where they start transmitting data to satellite

receivers. The tag’s microprocessor summarizes the data and then randomly transmits it.

This allows researchers to get a representative look at the whole picture even if the

battery dies before all data is transmitted. In addition, PATs have built in homing devices

so that they can easily be found and the data in its entirety retrieved (Perry 20). Like most

good information the data that has been received from PATs so far has only led to more

questions being asked about the behavior of great whites. For instance, recent tracking

has shown that great whites routinely go to a place that is halfway between Hawaii and

California. Although dubbed “the shark café” researchers quickly found out that the area

was essentially an ocean desert with no food source to speak of. This led to a theory that

the site might be a mating ground since both male and female sharks were showing up.

However, this theory was quickly discarded when young great whites showed up as well.

As of now no one knows the significance of this spot to great white sharks but perhaps

one day with the continued help of researchers we will have an answer to this mystery

(Ritter 3).

Thankfully for the great white people’s attitude towards this impressive creature

are gradually changing from one of fear and hatred to an attitude of admiration and

respect. This ideological change has encouraged many people to join the conservation

effort and has greatly aided the passage of protective legislation.

South Africa, which is home to a large number of great whites, was the first

country to ban commercial hunting of them in 1991. Their conservation leadership

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inspired Namibia, Australia, the United States, Malta and New Zealand to follow suit

(Raffaele 5). However, an attempted proposal in 2000 to have the great white listed

under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

(CITES) to prevent the killing of the species for its teeth, jaws and fins failed (Turner 5).

Also in 2000 the great white was listed as “vulnerable” by the United Nations. In 2002

the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species listed the great white in its

Appendix I this protects the shark against being caught or harmed inside the boundaries

of the 80 nations that ratified the treaty. Sadly countries such as the U.S., Japan, and

China, which have know great white populations did not ratify the treaty. Yet they claim

to still uphold some of its policies (Revkin 1). More recently, in 2004 CITES reviewed

the case of the great white shark and decided to list it under Appendix II of the

convention. This listing requires countries to conduct research on the impact that

commercial interests will have on the survival of the species. Both our research efforts

and the legal protection we are now starting to offer great whites is crucial in ensuring

that we do not destroy this impressive creature. It is important for all human beings to

realize that great whites are naturally a rare species and that if we continue to hunt them

into oblivion their disappearance will surely upset the delicate balance of the marine

ecosystem. For instance without great whites on the scene the seal lion population would

increase which would greatly reduce the fish population which in turn could depreciate

commercial fishing. Therefore, if for no other reason, humans should care about great

whites because they have an estranged ability to influence a small portion of our

economic state.

The tagging and tracking that we have been able to accomplish has shown us that
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great whites can travel up to thousands of miles a year. One individual swam from

Mossel Bay, South Africa to Exmouth, Western Australia and back. All in all it was a

round-trip of 12,420 miles all in the short period of nine months (Martin & Martin 8).

The fact that their range is so large and takes them through the territorial waters of

several nations makes them very hard to study and protect. Figure 6 below illustrates the

global distribution of great whites. Their range makes them hard to protect because even

if nations with known populations of the species protect them from fishing they would

still be vulnerable in the largely unprotected international waters (Yam 1).

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Figure 5 Worldwide Distribution of Great White Sharks

http://amykane.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/16/great_white_shark_distrub
ition.png

Recent tagging studies have shown that great white sharks from Hawaii and

California do not mingle with those from South Africa and Australia. As of now no one

knows why such a disjunct population exists yet it poses a problem for conservation. This

is because if one population shrinks more quickly than great whites from the other side of

the ocean cannot simply replenish it (Raffaele 4). All of these factors create a lot of

difficulty in our great white conservation attempts.

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Conclusion

In this paper we discussed the biological causes for the scarcity of great whites,

the negative impact of humans, as well as our conservation attempts and difficulties.

Once the evidence has been reviewed our primal fear of great white sharks does indeed

seem irrational owing to the fact that we present a far greater threat to their species than

they ever have to ours. This is often the same position that we find ourselves in with other

organisms in the biosphere. For at this moment in time we are the ultimate predator and

in such a position of power we must be responsible and consider how our actions affect

the organisms below us. Gradually we are becoming more in touch with this great

responsibility. As to the great white shark, little by little we are learning more about

these awe inspiring creatures. I can only hope that we learn to respect them and learn

enough about them before, through our ignorance and inadequacies, we drive them out of

existence.

Works Cited

Broad, William J. "Shark is Efficient Killer, but Picky Eater." New York Times 15 July
1997.
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Coghlan, Andy. "Find Nemo, lost the great white shark." New Scientist 11 June 2005: 8-
8.

Great White, Deep Trouble. Prod. John Bredar. DVD. 2000.

MacDonald, Glen. Biogeography Introduction to Space, Time, and Life. New York, NY:
Wiley, 2003.

"Man Bites Shark." Discover June 1999: 1-1.

Martin, Aidan, and Anne Martin. "Sociable Killers." Natural History Oct. 2006: 42-48.

McGhee, Karen, and Alex Townsend. "Great White Troubled Water." Australian
Geographic Spring 2004: 52-67.

Perry, Tekla S. "Tracking a Great White." IEEE Spectrum Aug. 2005: 20-21.

Revkin, Andrew C. "Thailand: Protection For The Great White." New York Times 13
Oct. 2004: 6.

Ritter, John. "Aquarium's young star could change perceptions." USA Today 23 Oct.
2006: A2.

Turner, Pamela. "Showdown at sea." National Wildlife Oct. 2004: 48-51.

Yam, Philip. "Going the Distance." Scientific America Dec. 2005: 34-34.